Bible Quiz

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Verdict on Quizzes

The jury is in, and we have heard its unambiguous verdict: “Keep giving us the Bible Quiz in BR.”

One hundred-seven readers responded by sending in the answers to the December quiz (we withheld the answers in that issue) and by filling out the questionnaire. Here is a summary of the results.

Ninety-two readers said that they do the quiz regularly. Seventy-one thought that the level of difficulty was just about right; 23 told us we vary all over the place; 10 felt the quizzes were too easy and only 3 people found them too difficult. As for continuing them in the future, 86 respondents said to continue them as they are; 11 wanted us to make them harder; 2 said that easier quizzes would be preferred; and 1 person asked us to replace quizzes with crosswords. However, 14 readers did say that they would like both quizzes and crossword puzzles. When asked whether they do quizzes simply to do, or to learn, 37 people said both, 34 said they do them as a test of what they know, and a number of people volunteered that they do the quizzes because they are fun.

A few of the comments added to the questionnaire were: “I’ve used them with Sunday School classes,” “They encourage me to look up things I don’t know,” and most passionate of all, “If you stop the Bible Quiz you might as well refund my sub!”

Our thanks go to all of you who took the trouble to respond; you have helped us a lot. And to the 79 who had a 100 percent score on the quiz (see the answers below) and also answered the survey (no one was disqualified for lack of a mailing label), we are sending a $10 gift certificate redeemable for merchandise in the BAS Collection gift catalogue.

Answers

Here are the answers to the “Biblical Journeys” quiz in the December 1988 BR.

1. Moses and the Israelites. Recounting the long and arduous journey across the desert wasteland from slavery in Egypt, Moses reminded the people of Israel, “Your clothing did not wear out upon you, and your feet did not swell, these forty years” (Deuteronomy 8:4).

2. Jesus. Thinking their 12-year-old son was among friends and relatives, Mary and Joseph did not miss him until the group stopped to camp for the night. The anxious parents went back to Jerusalem and were relieved to find Jesus in the Temple, listening to the teachers and asking them profound questions. When Mary told her son how worried they had been, Jesus replied, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49).

3. The queen of Sheba. Assuming she and her retinue traveled by slow baggage camels, during daylight hours only, it would have taken the caravan at least 48 days to make the trip at about 25 miles per day. Unbelieving or, at most, skeptical before her journey, she was greatly impressed by King Solomon and his grandeur: “… behold,” she declared, “the half was not told me; your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report which I heard” (1 Kings 10:7).

4. Nehemiah. Three days after his long journey from Babylon, Nehemiah began to secretly inspect the walls of Jerusalem to determine the extent of reconstruction needed. After overcoming many difficulties, “the wall was finished … in 52 days. And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations round about us were afraid … for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God” (Nehemiah 6:15–16).

5. Jonah. God had commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach against its wickedness, but instead he boarded a ship for Tarshish. After the frightening experience of being thrown overboard and swallowed by a whale, Jonah repented and “went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord” (Jonah 3:3).

6. Paul’s. During his return to Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary journey, Paul spent a week at Troas after a slow five-day voyage from Philippi, Greece. On Sunday he preached until midnight. A youth named Eutychus, who was sitting in a window, then “sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer,” fell, and “was taken up dead” (Acts 20:9). But Paul embraced him and said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him” (Acts 20:10).

7. An angel of God. Cornelius, a Gentile and a God-fearing man of Caesarea, albeit a captain in the Roman army, had a vision in which an angel of God instructed him to send for Peter, giving directions as to Peter’s whereabouts in Joppa. Obeying God’s command, Cornelius sent two of his servants and a devout soldier to get Peter. The next day, Peter also had a vision, which told him: “Behold, three men are looking for you. Rise and go down, and accompany them without hesitation; for I have sent them” (Acts 10:19–20). So Peter traveled with the men to Caesarea, where he taught Cornelius about Jesus.

8. Ezra. After fasting and praying to God for a safe journey, Ezra “was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way” (Ezra 8:22). His prayer was answered.

9. The treasurer of Ethiopia. Philip, a newly chosen deacon, was commanded by an angel to go and meet this official, who was returning to Ethiopia after worshipping in Jerusalem. When Philip explained that the passage beginning “As a sheep led to the slaughter” (Acts 8:32; Isaiah 53:7) referred to Jesus, the Ethiopian believed and was baptized, and then continued his homeward journey. From Gaza, Philip traveled north to Azotus and Caesarea, preaching the Gospel (Acts 8:26–40).

10. Hebron. Rechab and Baanah murdered Ish-bosheth, king of Israel, at midday as he was napping in his bedroom. Expecting to be rewarded by David for their deed, they fled with Ish-bosheth’s head to Hebron, about 65 miles southwest of Ish-bosheth’s court at Mahanaim. Instead of a reward, David had the two assassins executed, declaring, “when wicked men have slain a righteous man … shall I not … destroy [them] from the earth?” (2 Samuel 4:11).

Verdict on Quizzes

The jury is in, and we have heard its unambiguous verdict: “Keep giving us the Bible Quiz in BR.”
One hundred-seven readers responded by sending in the answers to the December quiz (we withheld the answers in that issue) and by filling out the questionnaire. Here is a summary of the results.