This quiz is full of ellipses (…).  An ellipsis, those three little dots, denotes that something is missing.  In this quiz, nothing is missing, but things are not in the right order.  There are beginnings, middles, and ends, just shuffled with each column.  Your job is to “connect the dots.”  That is, the Beginnings end with an ellipsis.  Middles have an ellipsis on either side.  And Ends start with an ellipsis.  Connect the dots to make a sentence that is correct.

The original quiz comes from The Big Book of Bible Games and Puzzles by Joy MacKenzie and Shirley Bledsoe.  The strange thing is that their example was incorrect, at least for the NIV.

“Noah …  …built a boat …  … even though people laughed.”

Laughing at Noah was probably factual, but not Biblical.  Noah built the ark.  He and his family entered the ark.  And only Noah and his family survived the flood.  (Genesis 6:1 – 8:22).  At least I could find nothing about laughing in the NIV.

The questions come from the book, but I have edited the quiz for accuracy.

The Questions:

	Beginning		Middle		End
1	Lazarus …	A	… destroyed a prison, …	i	… from prison.
2	Jehu …	B	… settled a fight …	ii	… to see whose God was real.
3	An angel …	C	… dipped seven time in a river …	iii	… at night.
4	Nicodemus …	D	… commanded some men …	iv	… by a voice calling.
5	Naaman …	E	… led a march …	v	… between two mothers.
6	Elijah …	F	… rescued Peter …	vi	… to throw a queen out a window.
7	A wise king …	G	… was awakened in the night …	vii	… who rose from the dead.
8	Joshua …	H	… came to see Jesus …	viii	… and was healed of leprosy.
9	Samuel …	I	… had a contest with the prophets of Baal …	ix	… and a family found God.
10	An earthquake …	J	… was Jesus’ friend …	x	… around a wall.

Bible References:

1. John 11
2. 2 Kings 9:30-36
3. Acts 12:1-19
4. John 3:1-21
5. 2 Kings 5
6. 1 Kings 18:16-46
7. 1 Kings 3:16-28
8. Joshua 6
9. 1 Samuel 3
10. Acts 16:16-40

A good story has a beginning, a middle, and an end, but it also has something extra, something that tugs at your heart.  While the story of Jehu is a grizzly tale, it fulfilled prophecy.  There is comedy in Peter identifying himself to Rhoda, and she got so excited that she left him outside instead of welcoming him into the house.  I don’t think she ever slammed the door in his face, but for a while, Peter stared at a closed door.  Then Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram – a foreigner – has issues with Elisha’s instructions.  Elijah invents trash talking, but maybe not.  And Solomon makes a wise judgment.  These stories could each be wonderful posts regarding good story telling.

. . .

The Answers:

1.  1 > J > vii  Lazarus was Jesus’ friend who rose from the dead.
2. 2 > D > vi  Jehu commanded some men (eunuchs) to throw a queen (Jezebel) out a window.
3. 3 > F > i  An angel rescued Peter from prison.
4. 4 > H > iii  Nicodemus came to see Jesus at night.
5. 5 > C > viii  Naaman dipped seven times in a river (the Jordan) and was healed of leprosy.
6. 6 > I > ii  Elijah had a contest with the prophets of Baal to see whose God was real.
7. 7 > B > v  A wise king settled a fight between two mothers.
8. 8 > E > x  Joshua led a march around a wall.
9. 9 > G > iv  Samuel was awakened in the night by a voice calling.
10. 10 > A > ix  An earthquake destroyed a prison, and a family found God.

Since you did so well, and because I will use any excuse to use this video, enjoy Tommy Makem singing The Cobbler, where someone is dipped only three times in the river and it did not work out as well as it did for Naaman.

My wife and I got into Irish music upon our return to the USA after three years in Germany.  One of our first cassettes of Makem and Clancy was a live performance, but we only heard the performance for forty years, never having seen it.  I did not see this video until a few years ago.  Only then did I understand what all the spitting was about.  He was spitting on his pantomime cord so that he could pantomime the sowing of the sole onto the shoe.  Without a little lubricant, it would be hard to slide the cord through leather.

Until the writing of my evening of comedy performance was completed, I practiced this pantomime, my Irish accent, and the song, but it was edited out of the program.  God had better plans.

And of course, if you did not do well on the quiz, you might expect the Spanish Inquisition, but then again… Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.