Fasting in the Old and New Testaments Quiz

Answer: Mount Sinai

Exodus 34:27-28 tells of the LORD proclaiming the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai. According to the two verses, Moses was with God for forty days and forty nights and he "neither ate bread nor drank water".

At the time, Moses was leading the Israelites on a forty-year-long journey to Canaan, known as the Promised Land.

Answer: David

After his son was born as a result of an adulterous affair with Bathsheba, David was rebuked by Nathan the prophet, who told him the baby would "surely die". Shortly after Nathan made his pronouncement, Scripture tells of the baby becoming seriously ill and David fasting and pleading with God for the child's life. According to 2 Samuel 12:17, the unnamed infant died on the seventh day of David's fast.

See 2 Samuel 12:1-23 for complete details.

Answer: Nineveh

Jonah, of course, was the prophet who resisted God's instructions to go to Nineveh to preach to the people and ended up being swallowed by a gigantic fish. According to Scripture, he spent three days in the stomach of the fish before being regurgitated on dry land. Scripture goes on to tell of Jonah going to Nineveh, as per God's original instructions.

While in Nineveh, Jonah's message deeply resonated with the citizens, with Jonah 3:5-10 telling of a vast number of people, including the king, believing in God. The passage also states the Ninevites "proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them."

Answer: Ezra

Ezra is the correct answer, as per Ezra 8:21-23. In the passage, Ezra tells of proclaiming a fast "at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions."

Ezra goes on to explain he did not request the king of Babylon to provide an escort of soldiers and horsemen to ensure a safe trip for the Israelites travelling from Babylon to Jerusalem. In other words, he was counting on God for divine protection.

"The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him," Ezra states in Verse 22. The following verse states, "So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer."

Answer: Ahab

Ahab, king of Israel, and his wife Jezebel were wicked and brutal adversaries of prophets of God in the time of Elijah. However, 1 Kings 21:27 tells of the powerful king tearing his clothes, putting a sackcloth on his body and fasting. Ahab took such action after Elijah denounced him for orchestrating the death of Naboth, the owner of a vineyard the king coveted.

While denouncing Ahab, Elijah also proclaimed the king and his wife would die in the very near future.

Answer: Paul

Paul is the correct answer. According to Acts 27:33, Paul's boat was being battered by such a severe storm no one had eaten for fourteen days. Verse 33 states there were two hundred and seventy-six people on the ship which was taking Paul to Italy to appear before Caesar.

When Paul assured his shipmates "not a hair will fall from the head of any of you", they followed his instructions and ate. True to Paul's predictions, everyone survived the incident, even though the ship ran aground off the coast of Malta.

Answer: Peter

Acts 10:1-3 tells of Cornelius, a Roman centurion, fasting and praying in Caesarea when an angel appeared before him and instructed him to call for Peter, who was in Joppa at the time. Scripture goes on to tell of Cornelius selecting two of his household servants and a devout soldier "from among those who waited on him continually" to travel to Joppa to arrange a visit by Peter.

Chapter 10 provides details about Peter visiting the household of Cornelius and baptizing a large number of Gentiles. The church would never be the same.

Answer: Driving out demons

In Matthew 17:21, Jesus states prayer and fasting can drive out demons. He made the comments to the disciples after an unnamed man brought his epileptic son to Him to be cured. According to Matthew 17:16, the man had taken his son to the disciples and they were unable to cure the boy.

Scripture goes on to tell of Jesus curing the boy by driving a demon out of him and the disciples asking Him why they could not cure him. Scripture states Jesus told the disciples they were unable to cure the boy because of their unbelief. Then in Verses 20 and 21, Jesus states: "I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

Answer: Paul and Barnabas

Acts 13:1-3 tells of the church elders in Antioch fasting, praying and laying their hands on Paul and Barnabas before sending them away as missionaries. Scripture goes on to tell of Paul and Barnabas visiting Cyprus.

According to Acts 11:26, believers in a resurrected Jesus Christ were first called Christians in Antioch, a city in present day Turkey. According to Bibleodyssey.org, at one time the Hellenistic city was one of the largest in the Roman world.

Answer: Jesus

Jesus, of course, is the correct answer. According to Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus fasted for forty days and nights in the wilderness, and faced temptation. The passage tells of Satan being unsuccessful in his bid to tempt Jesus.

Details about Christ's fasting for forty days and nights can be also found in Mark 1 and Luke 3.