That's Not My Supper

Paul saying, “There have to be divisions among you” sounds like there’s humor in it. Part of the humor vanishes upon inspection.

produced by static force llc sometimes things don't change.

Transcript

That’s Not My Supper

© 2025 Static Force, LLC All rights reserved

This episode touches on the subject of humor. While I was thinking about this episode, I felt like the Lord told me that He is very secure in Himself.

God is the most secure person you'll ever meet. That's why He can help someone who is insecure.

But they'll have to admit their insecurity. They'll have to admit that God is the source of all security. 

God can infinitely test the security and sincerity of people.. He can infinitely probe their heart.

He has – in Christ – left a way for us to grow close to Him. But that involves confessing with Him that He's the one who is always right.

I WANT TO SHOW YOU A PATTERN ABOUT HUMOR IN THE BIBLE.

CHECK THIS

There once was a prophet named Balaam. He had a reputation of saying powerful things even though he didn't worship the Most High. What he cursed was cursed, and what he blessed was blessed.

Balaam had a way of asking the Most High for permission to curse things. Balaam eventually received permission from the Most High to go on a trip to curse Israel with the caveat that Balaam could only speak what the Most High gave him. But on the way, Balaam's heart deceived himself about the upcoming reward. So the Most High spoke to Balaam in another way.

Balaam got in a verbal argument with his donkey and lost. The donkey showed Balaam things that Balaam didn't know.  A New Testament writer would in the future say that the mouth of the donkey was used to try and restrain the madness of the prophet.

RESEARCH THE NT MESSAGE

God made Balaam a symbol for what happens when you fail to follow the Most High.

THE PATTERN

Here's a pattern I want you to see. First: this is funny. A donkey talking to the most powerful diviner around and showing him that he's close to death.

God is the one who can make the most powerful prophet on earth talk to a donkey and lose the argument.

The humor of the picture is not lost on generations and geography. God can reveal knowledge through a donkey.

The second part of the pattern: part of the humor vaporizes over time. The prophet Balaam blessed instead of cursed because the Most High constrained him. But then the prophet ignored the message behind the humor. He died staying in a territory that was taken by the very war machine he blessed. Balaam didn't respond to the very words he uttered.

HERE'S THE FIRST PART OF THE SCRIPTURE I WANT TO INTRODUCE

Paul wrote to the Corinthian church: 

For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. 

For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you.

I Cor 11:18-19

The line about "there must be divisions among you" still strikes me as a little humorous. I picture a bunch of people in Corinth getting together in one place to celebrate the unity they have in Christ and Paul says "there have to be divisions among you."

But this Scripture went through some humor vaporizing as I considered it. Paul was not just trying to entertain when he gave some bad feedback about how the church was doing. He was giving a warning that the Corinthian church largely had no idea what they were doing.

HERE'S THE FIRST PART of the Scripture I want to introduce:

I Corinthians 11:20-21

Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 

I Corinthians 11:20-21

The picture of the gathering now doesn't look so funny. It's people saying, "We're eating the Lord's Supper!" and the Lord saying, "That's not *my* supper!"

Thinking you're worshipping the Most High when you're not is not funny.

ABOUT THE PAST.

The pattern I talked about also held for Moses and the ten plagues. Pharaoh "changed his mind" after declaring the release of Israel multiple times. The accounts of his duplicity have a tinge of humor in them, making Pharaoh appear very dense. Unfortunately for Pharaoh, his last "change of mind" won him a place in the Scriptures as someone who sank in the sea like a stone.

© 2025 Static Force, LLC All rights reserved