Once again Professor Ooops had fixed his time machine so that he, MJ, and Precious could travel back in time to visit the ancestors of Jesus. When MJ and Precious arrived at the lab, the Professor was ready. He turned the dial to ‘Abraham’ and opened the door to the booth. Precious asked, “Are you sure that it is going to work this time?” The Professor was positive that his machine was going to work perfectly! They all went into the booth; the Professor shut the door and pushed the button. The machine hummed for about 30 seconds, then… the booth began to shake like a mosquito who had too much caffeine, there was the sound of thunder, and the air was filled with loud laughter!
They opened the door and ran out of the booth…right back into the Professor’s lab! They had not gone anywhere! The Professor said, “Ooops!” They were not alone, an old man with a long beard came out of the booth and he was laughing as hard as he could! Even though he was old, he had a youthful look, and he could not stop laughing! He said, “I have just experienced the best joke ever! Have you heard any good jokes lately?”
The Professor said he knew a good joke, and this is the joke he told them, “There were once three squirrels that were flying an airplane through a subway to stay dry during a rainstorm. Their plane ran into a giant mushroom that was growing on the tracks. The squirrels went flying out of their plane, and one of the squirrels hit his head on an ostrich who was going to Europe on a tricycle! The squirrel yelled, ‘Help me! Help me! I hurt my knee!” The other two squirrels looked at him and asked, ‘What do you think we are, mailboxes?” The Professor laughed and laughed at his joke, and the others stood around with a stunned look on their faces. Finally, Abraham asked the Professor, “Was that supposed to be funny?” The Professor said, “Ooops!”
Abraham then told the Professor, MJ, and Precious his joke. He said, “Years ago God made a very special promise to my wife Sarah and me. God said:
“I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2-3)
This was a wonderful promise, but there was a big problem; my wife and I did not have any children. How could my family become a great nation, if I had no children? I was confused. Years passed and Sarah and I became too old to have children, and I became more confused. Then one day when I was 99 years old, and Sarah was 89 years old, God sent three messengers to me, and they told me that by this time next year we would have a son! I could not believe it, I wanted to laugh out loud, but I held my laughter inside because I did not want to be rude to my guests. Sarah was inside the tent listening to us, and she did begin to laugh! The messengers from God asked her why she was laughing, and she tried to deny that she laughed, but they knew that she had laughed.
It all came true! A year later we did have a baby boy! I was 100 years old, and Sarah was 90 years old when he was born! It is the best joke in all of history! Two old people like us having a baby and having those awesome promises from God about what was going to happen to our family in the future! We named the baby Isaac, the name means ‘he laughs’. There has been so much laughter and rejoicing in our family, we cannot stop! This truly is the best joke of all time!”
Abraham stopped laughing for a few minutes so that the Professor could explain those promises that God had made to Abraham.
- The great nation that God promised would come from Issac is known as the nation of Israel. This has been a nation especially chosen by God and the nation is still in existence today.
- Throughout history God has blessed those people and nations who have helped Israel, and God has been against those people and nations that were against Israel.
- All the families of earth have been blessed by Israel because Jesus was born into the nation of Israel. He was both God and human, and His human part was descended from Abraham!
When Abraham heard what the Professor said, he burst into laughter again! He said, “Who would have believed it! All these wonderful things came from an old man and an old woman who were too old to have children! It is the best joke ever!
MJ and Precious wished they could spend more time with Abraham, but he had to get back to his own time. He had a boy to raise. Abraham was still laughing as he went back into the wooden booth. The Professor shut the door and Abraham pushed the button. The machine hummed for about 30 seconds, then… the booth began to shake like a mosquito who had too much caffeine, there was the sound of thunder, and the laughter faded away. When they opened the door, Abraham was gone.
Precious said, “We can learn a lot from the story of Abraham. God is always faithful, and He always keeps His promises. In Sunday School my teacher gave me a paper with some Bible verses about some of God’s promises.”
For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him. (John 3:16,17)
Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)
Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you. (Deuteronomy 31:8)
(Jesus said) “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Then Jesus said, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
God has made many more promises in the Bible for those who believe and have asked Jesus to come into their life and forgive them. Read your Bible to learn more of these wonderful promises!