They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace.  The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”  …  By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire.

• Nehemiah 1:3 and 2:13

All her idols will be broken to pieces;
    all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;
    I will destroy all her images.
Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,
    as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.”

• Micah 1:7

But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground.  The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.

• Acts 27:41

Obviously, since there is a quiz, the quiz maker is not “broken,” but it seems to be stuck on the word “broken” in the NIV.  For the most part, the answers to the questions will be what was broken?  One provides an alternate of what was NOT broken.

“Broken” appears in the NIV 133 times.  In a few cases, it may be only part of the word.  You can take that as a hint.  And while I am on the subject of hints, I usually avoid examples that are shown in the selected Scriptures, but in this case, I did not use the Scriptures shown above.  But what was broken?  …  Maybe.

The Questions:

1. When a man in Abraham’s household is not circumcised and does not get circumcised, what has he broken?
2. A sin offering is cooked and the clay pot that the sin offering is cooked in is then broken.  But if you used this other kind of pot to cook the offering in, you do not have to break it.  What is NOT broken?  (Instead scoured and rinsed)
3. When someone intentionally blasphemes the Lord, he/she is said to have despised God’s Word and broken what?
4. The people came to Joash to surrender Gideon so that he could be killed for having broken down what?  You need not mention what he “tore down,” just the thing he broke.  And a bonus for knowing what name Gideon was given after this incident and why.
5. When the barren Hannah prayed, she mentioned in her prayer two things that were, or would become, broken.  What were they?
6. What was broken that led to the death of Eli?  And a bonus for what portion of the news that he received that precipitated the events leading to him dying?
7. What did Nebuchadnezzar’s forces break in Jerusalem?
8. When God speaks to Job, finally, God says that the wicked will be denied light and what will be broken?  And a bonus if you give the orientation of the thing that is broken.
9. What is left after the feeding of the 5,000?  And a bonus if you give the amount of the items that are broken.  Notice the hint, “items” as in more than one.
10. The demon-possessed man who lived near the Gerasenes was made strong by the demons.  The demons would eventually be cast into pigs by Jesus, but what had the demon-possessed man broken prior to Jesus’ arrival?
11. The Apostle Paul tells Timothy that young widows who follow sensual desires break what?
12. The psalmist says that the Lord is close to this type of person and saves their crushed spirit.  What attribute that is ascribed to a person is the psalmist talking about?  Hint: This is the only case where “broken” is a part of the word.

Other than the last question, the questions are listed in Biblical order, not necessarily chronological order, since the experts place Job as the earliest written book, and if Luke’s chronology is correct, the two questions related to Jesus’ miracles should be flipped.

A note on the Bible References:  They provide the main answer, but more reading may be required for the bonus answers.

Bible References:

1. Genesis 17:14
2. Leviticus 6:28
3. Numbers 5:31
4. Judges 6:30
5. 1 Samuel 2:4 and 2:10
6. 1 Samuel 4:18
7. 2 Kings 25:4
8. Job 38:15
9. Mark 6:43
10. Luke 8:29
11. 1 Timothy 5:12
12. Psalm 34:18

Regardless of what gets broken, God can make it right.

That is why I put the last question in there.  This attribute of our existence is something that God will deal with in a profound way.  It is only mentioned four times in the NIV, three of them being in the Psalms.  Why so few?  Why waste time on it when God has already provided the remedy?

Maybe not everyone has had that particular issue, but in Mark Lowry’s routine about seeing a television show on open-heart surgery, he asks the audience who has ever suffered from the condition.  Then he mutters something about those who did not raise their hand must not have reached puberty yet.  Now if that isn’t a hint, I do not know what a hint is!!!

   …

   …

   …

The Answers:

1. A covenant.  Specifically, the covenant of circumcision given to Abraham.  Note: Abram was renamed Abraham during the time this covenant was made between God and Abraham.
2. A bronze pot could be used instead of a clay pot.  If so, it was NOT broken, only scoured and rinsed.
3. The blasphemer broke a command.
4. Gideon broke down Baal’s altar.  As for the bonus, Joash, Gideon’s father, argued that if Baal was so powerful, Baal should deal with Gideon, not fellow Israelites.  The mob that had come to kill Gideon went away, but they named Gideon, Jerub-Baal, meaning “Let Baal deal with him.”
5. Hannah mentions the broken bows of the warriors early in her prayer and near the end of the prayer she mentions those who oppose the Lord will be broken.
6. Eli broke his neck when he fell upon hearing bad news, and Eli died.  The news included both of his sons being killed in battle, Hophni and Phinehas, but the news that Eli felt was unbearable, leading to him falling, was that the Ark of the Covenant had been captured.
7. The walls of Jerusalem were broken.  This is the only broken thing from the opening Scriptures, just using the historical reference from the time it was done, rather than the historical reference before rebuilding the walls.
8. “Arms” is the answer.  As for the bonus, the arms are upraised.
9. “Bread and fish” are the two answers.  As for the bonus, twelve basketfuls were gathered.
10. The demon-possessed man broke chains.
11. The young widows would have broken their first pledge.
12. God is close to the brokenhearted.

And since you did so well, or even if you did not, here is a song from Tim Hawkins.  It is obviously when he was younger.  The song is My Arms are Broken, but if you know Tim Hawkins’s routines, he is also, kind of … broken, in a funny way.

Here is another Tim Hawkins song, The Buffet Man.  Just as crazy, but you might do as I did halfway through and sing along on the chorus.

After the last two songs, I felt that I had to reel in the humor a bit, but this one touched my heart as well, possibly the opposite in mood from the first two.  It describes just about any long-lasting marriage – Casting Crowns, Broken Together.

And this last song is from TobyMac, Love Broke Thru.  The video is appropriate for these troubled times.  If only this could be the result.  If we could only allow God’s Love to break through.

And I know some viewers who go through these quizzes enjoy this music.  But for an old stodgy traditional worship type guy like me, I am learning and enjoying the newer music too.  Who says an old dog cannot learn new songs?  Or is that tricks?  Regardless, God can fix anything that is broken, even me.  …  Even you.

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.