Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

• 2 Corinthians 5:17

This is indeed a new quiz.  I wrote it.  I know that it is new, but that is not what I meant in naming it the new quiz.  I mentioned last week that I might use this format again, and as I thought about it, why not repeat the format for another week?  All the questions in this quiz have to do with the word “new.”  The referenced verses have the word “new” in them in the NIV.

The Scripture above is the key to the word “new.”  When we accept Jesus as our Savior and become His, we become new creations.  As the Scripture above states, the old is gone and the new is here.

But is that not like a lot of the cartoon illustrations of the new year?  The old year is represented by this old guy that needs a cane to put one foot in front of the other.  A few weeks ago, I got busy preparing for an outing with my wife, stopping at 4-5 different shops (Christmas buying, pharmacy, and groceries).  I got so busy that I forgot my cane.  She said that it would be a good test to prove to me that I do not need a cane.  By the end of the shopping, about three hours later, my back hurt and my knees hurt, I had been limping, but limping in a hurry, and every footfall was causing bones to rub against bone with nothing to cushion the blow.  I am not as old as “father time,” but I can sympathize with the cane use.

But how is the new year depicted?  A baby wearing a sash with the year number on it.  The old is gone.  The new is here.  Wow!  If we saw it in that light, they would declare New Years celebrations to be religious holidays and thus offensive and not politically correct.  They are an annual reminder of how being saved by Jesus has a profound effect on us.

But in these quiz questions, you may only get one more question about “new creation.”  Before you start, you might want to think about how “new” could be used in Bible stories or in Biblical teaching.  I tried to find questions pertaining to different new things, and a hint – the words “new thing(s)” may appear three times in Isaiah and once in Jeremiah, but I did not use that one.

The Questions:

	Question
1	What prompted someone to give each of the sons of Jacob (Israel), except one, new clothing?
2	When are the words “new king” first used in the NIV? And was it good news?
3	When defiling mold is found in a home, you must first scrape the walls and discard the rubble in an “unclean” place outside the town, and then use what to plaster the house?
4	In what phase of the moon must the monthly offering of two bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs be made?
5	Why is there a requirement to put a parapet around your roof when you build a new house?
6	Before Samson grabbed the jawbone of a donkey (or an ass, depending on translation), he had been bound with two new ropes by whom?
7	Last week in the “gift” quiz, we had a question about the people who captured the Ark of the Covenant, but after horrible things were happening, they wanted to give the cart back.  How were they told to carry the Ark?
8	How does Job explain the advantages that a tree has over him?
9	What provides praise, shouts of joy, and is played skillfully?  And a bonus if you can name all the Bible books that mention this “new” thing.
10	Although there are many references to new wine in the old testament, what does Jesus say about where not to place new wine?
11	When Jesus was in Capernaum teaching and an evil spirit interrupted, the people were amazed at Jesus’ authority over evil spirits and what new thing?
12	Where was the body of Jesus buried?  It was a place owned by Joseph of Arimathea.
13	What new thing is established in the blood of our Savior and is part of a sacrament?
14	After the high priest and others became jealous that the apostles were performing signs and wonders, arrested the apostles.  An angel set the apostles free and told them to tell the people about what new thing?
15	Was the Apostle John quoting an Old Testament prophet when he saw two new things?  What two things did he see that were new?  For a bonus, which prophet might he have been quoting?
16	What other book of the Bible also mentions “new creation?”

There are 280 verses in the NIV that contain the word “new.”  Okay, the letters N-E-W in that order.  You might have “knew” or “news.”  And it would be easier to list the books that do not have “new” in them.  I will list them here as another hint.  In the Old Testament: Ruth, Esther, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Habakkuk, and Malachi.  In the New Testament: 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, James, 3 John, and Jude.

And I lament giving a hint like that, it would be so nice to ask: “Which book of the Bible named for a woman has the word “new” in it?” And the answer would be “Neither.”  You see.  I can use restraint from using “trick questions,” at least some of the time.

But another question arises that is not that tricky: “Which of the single chapter books of the Bible has the word “new?”  The answer is 2 John 1:5, a new command. Obadiah, Philemon, 3 John, and Jude do not.

Bible References:

1. Genesis 45:22, and for a big hint, Benjamin was singled out, receiving five sets of clothes and 300 shekels of silver.
2. N/A, but for a hint, the chapter and verse is 1:8.  As for the “good news,” it was probably “good news” for some, but for whom might it have been bad news?
3. Leviticus 14:42
4. Numbers 28:14
5. Deuteronomy 22:8
6. Judges 15:11-15
7. 1 Samuel 6:7
8. Job 14:7
9. Psalm 33:3
10. Matthew 9:17
11. Mark 1:27
12. John 9:41
13. 1 Corinthians 11:25
14. Acts 5:20
15. Revelation 21:1
16. N/A, but the chapter and verse are 6:15.  And a hint: Both uses of “new creation” are in letters from the Apostle Paul.

And now for the answers…

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The Answers:

1. Joseph revealed himself as being their brother, thus he gave them new clothing, not himself, and five sets of clothing to his full brother, Benjamin, the only other son of Rachel.
2. Exodus 1:8, when a new king, a pharaoh who was not impressed by what Joseph had done for Egypt came into power.  He enslaved the Israelites.  Bad news for the Israelites, ultimately bad for the king when they were eventually freed.
3. New clay.
4. New moon.
5. To prevent the guilt of bloodshed if someone falls from your roof.
6. 3,000 men of Judah who were afraid the Philistines would claim them responsible for Samson’s actions.
7. In a new cart, pulled by two cows that had just calved.  So, you might say a new cart pulled by two new mama cows.
8. Even if the tree is cut down, a new shoot can emerge, and the tree lives again.
9. A new song.  A new song is mentioned in Psalm 33, 40, 96, 98, 144, and 149.  And also in Isaiah 42:10, Revelation 5:9 and Revelation 14:3.
10. Never put new wine in old wine skins.  As the wine matures, the old wine skin will not have the elasticity needed to stretch and the skin will burst.  In some Gospels, an example of new cloth to patch an old garment is also used by Jesus to illustrate that we must become new people when we accept Him and what He is saying.
11. It does not say in Mark’s Gospel what Jesus was teaching, but they were amazed at His “new teaching.”  As scholars note, other teachers in the synagogues would quote their teachers as their authority, but Jesus was His own authority and what He said was new in interpretation compared to the flawed human knowledge of the biblical scholars of the day.
12. A new tomb, that had never been used before.
13. A new covenant.  Jeremiah 31:31 said it was coming.  Of the four Gospels, only Luke 22:20 uses the word “covenant” (in the NIV).
14. New life.  And it is a new life.  Once you accept Jesus, nothing is the same.
15. A new Heaven and a new earth, quoting Isaiah 66:22 or expressing the vision of the same thing.
16. Galatians 6:15.  We are indeed new creations.

Since you did so well or even if you did not do too well, treat yourself to two songs by the “new”-sboys. Okay, its a strech, but if Newsboys was in the NIV, it would have come up in my search for “new.”

And what about the lead singer of Newsboys, Michael Tait?  Does he not look a lot like Gospel singer, Lynda Randle, from the Gaither Homecoming shows?  They ought to look a little alike.  They are brother and sister.  But that shouldn’t be shocking news.  They do not hide that fact.

If you like these Saturday morning Bible quizzes, but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Saturday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.