Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

• Matthew 25:40

I used Herbert Lockyer’s All the Men of the Bible as a reference for inspiration on this quiz.  Somewhere in the house, we have a companion book for the women, but I cannot find it.  I may have to do those quizzes the hard way.

As for the Scripture above, most of the people in this quiz served God, not all.  None, however, would be listed among the least of these, in worldly terms.  We might think of them as the greats.  After all, they were mentioned by name in the Bible, but we will be judged by our relationship with the Lord in the end, not by our press clippings.  And as I said, some of these people might not be the best of men.

Each answer is a person’s name that begins with the same letter as the lettered question.  “Adam” might be the answer to the “A” question, but it’s not.

The Questions:

1. This name means “eagle.”  I had a trainee by this name when I first started teaching in ‘86.  He was an electrician, and an extremely intelligent young man.  But for the question:  Who was a tentmaker, who allowed the Apostle Paul to stay with him so that he, his wife, and Paul could make tents while spreading the Gospel?  This man had come from Rome but lived in Corinth.  If you haven’t gotten the name yet, he and his wife had names that rhyme.
2. This name could mean “a pilgrim, devouring, or the lord of the people.”  Who talked to a donkey (or an ass, if you are a KJV only person) and the animal talked back to him?
3. This name could mean “miserable or an heir.”  Who was the founder of the Persian Empire who conquered Babylon and was chosen by God to be the instrument of the return of God’s people from Babylonian captivity?
4. This name means “beloved.”  I have said it before, being the “Hat Rack,” I love people who wear many hats.  With just that hint, some will guess the correct answer.  But for the question:  Who was a shepherd, a musician, a composer, a killer of giants – at least one, a fugitive from a king’s jealous rage, a military leader, and a king?
5. This name could mean “teacher, initiated, or dedicated.”  There were two men with this name in the Bible.  I am not thinking of Cain’s son.  Who was the second of them who walked faithfully with the Lord?  He lived 365 years.
6. This name could mean “joyous, festal, or prosperous.”  Who took the place of a different Roman governor of Judea (also starting with “F”)?  In talking with the Apostle Paul, who his predecessor had kept in prison to please the Jewish leaders, this new governor accused Paul of having so much education that it had been made mad.  Non-biblical hint:  Dennis Weaver played Chester Goode in the television show, Gunsmoke.  When Weaver left the show, they needed an off-beat sidekick for Marshall Dillon.  Enter Ken Curtis, who played a character with the same first name as the Roman governor.
7. This name could mean “a cutting down, he that bruises, or great warrior.”  Who judged Israel for 40 years?  He asked for signs from God using a fleece, not trusting what he was hearing.  But once he knew it was God talking to him, he cut his army from 22,000 to 10,000 to 300 and defeated the Midianites.  The Give-away hint: There is an organization named for him that distributes Bibles.
8. This name means “well disposed.”  Who was the first great anti-semite with plans to kill all the Jews?  He was the chief minister of King Ahasuerus.  After the queen’s uncle would not bow before him, he set out to destroy all the Jews, but the queen exposed his plot, and this man faced his own destruction, impaled on the pole he had made to kill the queen’s uncle.  His name is still hated by the Jewish people, with his effigy often hung during the Feast of Purim, the feast set aside to remember their deliverance from this man.
9. This name could mean “the glory is not, where is the glory, or inglorious.”  Who was a son born into tragedy?  Phinehas’ wife gave birth to him after learning of her husband’s death, the loss of many Israelite lives to the Philistines, including Phinehas and his brother Hophni, and the capture of the ark of the covenant.  When her father-in-law, Eli, heard the news of the loss of his son’s, he died as well.  A non-Biblical Hint:  There once was a man by the name of Crane, who saw a headless horseman…
10. This name could mean “Jehovah is high or exalted of God.”  Who is the prophet who spent time in chains and in a cistern because the king did not like what this prophet had to say?  He bought a field and he wore a linen belt.  His life was marked by great sadness.  Hint, if you really needed one:  A different one of this name “was a bullfrog.”

I will now give the Bible references for each of these questions, at least one for each question, if you needed to look them up, but also to provide a break between the questions and the answers.

The Bible References:

1. Acts 18, Romans 16:3, 1 Cor. 16:19, 2 Tim. 4:19
2. Numbers 22. The king that sent him on his mission had a name starting with “B: also.  The story continues in Numbers 23-24.   His notoriety, or God’s influence over him, is mentioned in Deut. 23:4, 2 Pet. 2:15, Jude 11, Rev. 2:14.
3. 2 Chronicles 36:22-23.  Also see Ezra 1:1-8; 3:7; 4:3-5; 5:13-17; 6:3-14.
4. Ruth 4:17,22; 1 Samuel 16:19-23
5. Genesis 5:18-23; Luke 3:37 (Jesus’ genealogy); Hebrews 11:5; Jude 1:14-15
6. Acts 25
7. Judges 6, 7, 8.
8. Esther 3:1-5
9. 1 Samuel 4:21,22
10. 2 Chronicles 35:25; 36:12, 21, 22

The Answers:

1. Aquila
2. Balaam
3. Cyrus
4. David
5. Enoch
6. Festus
7. Gideon
8. Haman
9. Ichabod
10. Jeremiah

Treat yourself to a bit of a video of the introduction of Festus Haggen to the television classic Gunsmoke.  The video is kind of long, over 17 minutes, but the first few minutes tells a lot about Festus, who was on the show for eleven years.  WARNING:  In the video, there is justice dished out by Marshall Dillon, Gunsmoke style.  No blood, but a lot of shooting.

The Biblical Festus was wrong.  The Apostle Paul was not mad, crazy, or insane.  And the Gunsmoke Festus was a lot more entertaining.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.