The Little Bible Quiz

Answer: Four times

The story of Zacchaeus is one of the most familiar of Jesus' encounters with people recorded in the Gospels. (My husband's cousin came home from Sunday school telling her parents that the story that day had been about Saccharin in the second-hand tree!) Zacchaeus was a tax collector who worked for the occupying Romans and lived in the city of Jericho. Tax collectors at that time were well known for overcharging people and keeping the extra money for themselves. They were hated by their fellow citizens for this practice and also simply because they worked for the Romans. Zacchaeus therefore would not have been the most popular person in town!

When Zacchaeus heard that Jesus was coming to Jericho he, like a lot of the other townspeople, wanted to get a look at this famous man. He had a bit of a problem, though, as he was rather on the short side (at 4'11" this is a problem I can relate to!). His fellow residents of Jericho probably didn't want to stand next to him in the crowd either. He decided therefore to climb a sycamore fig tree so that he could get a better view. He must have been quite desperate to see Jesus as I would imagine that climbing a tree (especially in the robes he would have worn) would have been quite undignified for a man in his position.

Zacchaeus must have been incredibly surprised when Jesus stopped under his tree, looked up at him and called him by name. He must have been even more surprised when Jesus invited himself for dinner! His encounter with Jesus, however, had a profound impact on him. Zacchaeus decided that day to give half of his possessions to the poor and to repay anyone he had cheated four times the amount taken.

The story of Zacchaeus can be found in Luke 19:1 - 10.

Answer: Flour and oil

God sent Elijah to Zarephath to find a widow whom he had prepared to feed Elijah during the time of drought. When Elijah arrived at the town he spotted a widow who was gathering sticks, so he asked her to bring him a drink of water and a piece of bread. She informed him that she didn't have any bread but just a little oil and flour, and that she was gathering a few sticks to take home to make a fire so that she could cook a final meal for herself and her son. As a widow, she had no means of providing for herself, so once this food was eaten she and her son would starve to death.

Elijah, however, told her that, before she made bread for herself and her son, she should make some for him because God had promised him that her flour and oil would not run out until the drought was over. She did as Elijah asked and sure enough God performed a miracle! Every day there was bread for the widow, her family and Elijah to eat.

This story can be found in 1 Kings 17:7 - 16.

Answer: Bethlehem

I love this verse as one that's so familiar to hear read at Christmas time! Micah was writing in the 8th century BC; that's about 800 years before Jesus' birth. In chapter 5:2 he prophesies that out of Bethlehem "will come one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times" (NIV). As Christians, we believe that this predicts the birthplace of Jesus.

Answer: Gideon

The Israelites were under the oppression of the Midianites because they (the Israelites) were not following God. God, however, wanted to change this, and sent his angel to find Gideon, son of Joash the Abiezrite, whom he had chosen to lead the Israelites to victory over their enemy. When the angel arrived Gideon was threshing wheat but, due to the fact that the Midianites were always stealing the Israelites' crops, he was carrying out the threshing hidden in a winepress.

In spite of the fact that he looked nothing like it, the angel greeted him with, "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior." Gideon wasn't convinced about this due to the circumstances that he and his people found themselves in! However the angel told him that the Lord was sending Gideon with the strength that he had to defeat the Midianites. It was at this point that Gideon brought out the excuse that his clan was the weakest in his tribe and that he, Gideon, was the weakest in his family! The angel promised Gideon, though, that God would be with him.

You can read the story of Gideon's encounter with the angel in Judges 6:11 - 24. The rest of chapter 6 and chapter 7 recount what Gideon did next and how he and just 300 men routed Midian.

Answer: Mustard

Jesus was trying to help the people understand that, although the Kingdom of God would have small beginnings, it would become something big. To do this he used the example of a mustard seed. This is a small beige-coloured seed just a few millimetres in diameter but, when planted, it grows into something quite large. Jesus describes it as "the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade" (NIV).

Answer: 2 John

2 John has just 13 verses! It was written by the apostle John and addressed to "the chosen lady and her children". There has been debate over the years regarding to whom "the chosen lady" refers. It is a brief note reminding the readers to continue walking in the way of truth and love, and to warn them to be on their guard against deceivers who might try to lead them away from their faith.

3 John has 14 verses, and Jude and Philemon both have 25. The only book in the Old Testament with one chapter is Obadiah, which has 21 verses.

Answer: Silver

As well as being wise, Solomon was an extremely rich king. It's recorded in 1 Kings 10 that he received the equivalent of about 25 tons of gold a year and that didn't include various revenues from merchants, traders and other rulers! Because he had so much gold, everything in his palace was made of it. Who would give any value to silver when the had that much gold?

Answer: A little wine

It seems from what Paul says in 1 Timothy 5:23 that Timothy wasn't always in the best of health, especially in the area of digestion. Paul tells him to stop drinking just water and to drink a bit of wine to help settle his stomach.

Answer: Elijah

Elijah had prophesied to King Ahab that there would be no rain again in the land until he, Elijah, said so. After Elijah had had the showdown with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:16 - 40), he knew that now was the time for rain to come to the land again. He climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and told his servant to look for signs of the rain. Six times he sent the servant, who reported that there was nothing to see. When he sent him the seventh time the servant reported the small cloud - something which hadn't been seen in the land for some while!

See 1 Kings 18:41 - 46 for this account.

Answer: John the Baptist

John the Baptist was in prison because of his outspokenness regarding the morality of King Herod. He was having a crisis of faith and sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus if Jesus really was the one that they had been waiting for. Having given them an answer for John, Jesus began to affirm who John was. He stated that John was a prophet and said that it was about him that the scripture "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you" was written. He then went on to say that John was the greatest man ever born! That's a pretty amazing thing for someone to say about you! Jesus didn't leave it there, though, as he continued by saying that the person who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John. Now that is awesome!

This account can be found in Matthew 11:1 - 11.