A Thousand Miles From Nowhere Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mt. Ararat

Noah and his family spent many years building an ark and following God's instructions. When God flooded the earth, Noah and his family were safe on board because Noah had followed God's instructions. However it was a long journey and a long wait before the rains stopped and afterwards the world was still covered with water. God remembered Noah.

"The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible."(Genesis 8:3-5, KJV)

Noah and his family stayed in the ark on Mt. Ararat, until the waters dried up enough for them to leave. They had a new adventure settling the earth, beginning a new home, and starting a new life.

Answer: Ur

Abraham was living in Ur, a city located approximately where modern Iraq is today. In Biblical times, Ur was a city close to the Euphrates river.

"The Lord had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great,and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you,and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." (Genesis 12:1-3, KJV)

"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going." (Hebrews 11:8. NIV) Abraham endured many hardships such as traveling mishaps, being a stranger in different king's land, famine, and even a family death, but God protected him and brought him to the land of Canaan, the future inheritance of the Israelites.

Answer: Rehoboth

Isaac tried to support his family and his flocks, but needed wells to provide water for his animals and shepherds. Although his father was well respected, Isaac had to struggle for what he had when he met opposition. The Philistines stole the wells or filled them in with dirt. Two of the wells he dug were called Contention (Esek) and Hatred (Sitnah). "He moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named it Rehoboth, for he said, 'At last the LORD has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.'" (Genesis 26:22, KJV)

Answer: Bethel, "House of God"

Jacob's brother Esaau swore to kill him when Jacob stole his blessing from their father. Jacob was forced to run away to save his life. On the night he stopped to rest, Jacob had a dream in which he saw angels descending and ascending a ladder from heaven. God spoke to Jacob and told him, "I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you" (Genesis 28:13-15, KJV)

When Jacob woke up he said, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it." He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven." (Genesis 28:16-17, KJV)

So Jacob named the place Bethel, and made a vow saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's household, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth." (Genesis 28:20-21, KJV)

Answer: They were jealous of their father's favoritism and angered by Joseph's dreams of being a ruler.

Joseph was his father's favorite, because he was the son of Rachael, his father's favorite wife. To add to his brother's jealousy, he had two dreams (Genesis 37). In one dream, his brothers' stacks of wheat bowed down to him. In the other dream. the sun, moon, and stars bowed down to him.

When Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers in the field, they conspired to kill him, but sold him as a slave to a traveling caravan instead. Joseph went through many hardships, including being accused and put in prison.

However, after interpreting a dream for Pharaoh (Genesis 41), Joseph became the most powerful person in the land. He forgave his family and brought them to Egypt where he provided for them during a great famine. Joseph's dreams were fulfilled according to what God had given him.

Answer: He ran because he had killed an Egyptian task master.

Moses probably wasn't expecting to be leading millions of Israelites out into the desert, after being a fugitive from murdering a task master. When Pharaoh heard of it, he tried to kill Moses and Moses fled to the desert of Midian. (Exodus 2). Moses fell in love with and married the priest of Midian's daughter, and had two sons.

He also tended his father-in-law's sheep as a shepherd. Little did he know, after speaking with God in a burning bush, he would be the leader of God's people for forty plus years in the wilderness.

Answer: The Queen of Sheba

The queen of Sheba heard of the riches and wisdom of King Solomon and came to ask him hard questions. She traveled a great journey with many riches, but when she saw the temple and Solomon's palace, she was overwhelmed and in awe.

She said to the king, "The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard. How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord's eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness." (1 Kings 10:7-9, KJV)

She gave King Solomon gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. (1 Kings 10:10)

(On a side note, the tale of the Queen of Sheba has undergone Jewish, Arabian, and Ethiopian elaborations, and has become the subject of one of the most widespread and fertile cycles of legends in the Middle East. -Wikipedia,Queen of Sheba tales)

Answer: God wanted the deed and field to be a sign He would bring the Jews back again to their homeland.

God spoke to Jeremiah and told him to buy the field of his cousin. "This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land."(Jeremiah 32:14-15, KJV)

After Jeremiah did as God had said, he questioned why the field was bought if God was punishing the Jews for being unfaithful and leading them into captivity.

God asked Jeremiah if anything was too hard for him. "This is what the Lord says: As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them. Once more fields will be bought in this land of which you say, 'It is a desolate waste, without people or animals, for it has been given into the hands of the Babylonians.' Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed and witnessed in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, because I will restore their fortunes declares the Lord." (Jeremiah 32:42-44)

Answer: "You were brought to the kingdom for such a time as this."

A wicked advisor to the king was angry Mordecai would not bow to honor him, and plotted to kill all the Jews. Esther was approached by Mordecai to save her people, but she risked facing death herself by seeing the king without his approval.

"When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: 'Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?'" (Esther 4:12-14, KJV)

Mordecai's words encouraged Esther to go to the king, and through her efforts she saved her people from Haman.

Answer: Bethlehem

The Messiah was prophesied by many Old Testament prophets, that he would bring hope, peace, and set up his kingdom that would be everlasting. The Jews who had been in captivity and ruled over by other nations and were looking for his coming. The prophecy of his birth would be the last recorded prophecy for hundred of years until it was fulfilled. Micah ended on this hope:

"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth." (Micah 5:2-3, KJV)