They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”
He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”
Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him.
Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.

• Genesis 37:32-36

His attendants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!”
He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him; and because the Lord loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.

• 2 Samuel 12:21-25

The descendants of Ephraim:
Shuthelah, Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son, Zabad his son and Shuthelah his son.
Ezer and Elead were killed by the native-born men of Gath, when they went down to seize their livestock. Their father Ephraim mourned for them many days, and his relatives came to comfort him.

• 1 Chronicles 7:20-24

In yesterday’s post, I wrote about a comfy chair, and that got me thinking about comfort.  God gives us comfort, but we also give comfort to one another.

The questions in this quiz are about comfort or even the lack of comfort.  The word “comfort” appears 71 times in the NIV, but a few as section titles.  These questions only scratch the surface.

In the Scriptures above, each of the quoted Scriptures feature the mourning of someone who had died or was thought to be dead in the first case.  Jacob (Israel) refuses comfort after hearing that Joseph has “died.”  David provided comfort to his wife Bathsheba and they had another child, naming him Solomon (yet, God gave him a different name, Jedidiah).  And Ephraim was comforted when two of his sons were killed by raiders who were after the livestock.

As usual, the questions come with no hints at first (except that each question is from a different book of the Bible).  The Bible Reference will list the verse that the word “comfort” is used, but you may have to read a few verses before or after to answer the question.  And then the answers will be given after the white, red, and black bars.

The Questions:

?	Question	Bible Verse(s)	Answer
1	In the first use of “comfort” in the NIV, Lamech named his son the word for “rest” but meaning comfort from the labor and painful toil of working the ground that God had cursed due to Adam’s sin.  Who is Lamech’s son?
2	Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar came to comfort Job, but also to do this, which accusing Job of unrepented sin hardly qualifies.
3	These two tools of the shepherd hardly seem to bring comfort, but the psalmist thought so.  What are they?
4	Isaiah starts this chapter with “comfort” twice in the NIV.  Comfort for whom?
5	Lamentations begins with a “woman” in great distress with no one to comfort her.  In this metaphor, who is the woman?
6	In this Old Testament quotation about Rachel weeping for her children, what action of what king led to Matthew’s quoting this verse?
7	In Luke, Jesus provides a list of Blessings and Woes.  In the woes, who has already received comfort?
8	Why are many Jews in and around Bethany comforting Mary and Martha?
9	Which young man did the people of Troas take home, with what had happened to him giving them comfort?
10	In this letter to the Thessalonians, Paul speaks of encouraging and comforting as being like something who might do?

In one of C. S. Lewis’ Letters (I have the book, but to find this one quote in several hundred pages of letters?!), he wrote that we often expect earthly comfort from God, but that is not the type of comfort that He provides.  In some aspects, I agree with C. S. Lewis, but not in all.  Knowing that we have God within us is a great comfort.  In the midst of pain and suffering, God’s comfort is very real here on this earth, but that comfort is nothing in comparison to the heavenly reward when pain and suffering cease.

In agreeing with Lewis, praying for great riches and many servants so that we need never lift a finger?  That is not the comfort God provides.  It brings about complacency.

Bible References:

?	Question	Bible Verse(s)	Answer
1	In the first use of “comfort” in the NIV, Lamech named his son the word for “rest” but meaning comfort from the labor and painful toil of working the ground that God had cursed due to Adam’s sin.  Who is Lamech’s son?	Genesis 5:29
2	Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar came to comfort Job, but also to do this, which accusing Job of unrepented sin hardly qualifies.	Job 2:11
3	These two tools of the shepherd hardly seem to bring comfort, but the psalmist thought so.  What are they?	Psalm 23:4
4	Isaiah starts this chapter with “comfort” twice in the NIV.  Comfort for whom?	Isaiah 40:1
5	Lamentations begins with a “woman” in great distress with no one to comfort her.  In this metaphor, who is the woman?	Lamentations 1:2, 9
6	In this Old Testament quotation about Rachel weeping for her children, what action of what king led to Matthew’s quoting this verse?	Matthew 2:18
7	In Luke, Jesus provides a list of Blessings and Woes.  In the woes, who has already received comfort?	Luke 6:24
8	Why are many Jews in and around Bethany comforting Mary and Martha?	John 11:19
9	Which young man did the people of Troas take home, with what had happened to him giving them comfort?	Acts 20:12
10	In this letter to the Thessalonians, Paul speaks of encouraging and comforting as being like something who might do?	1 Thessalonians 2:12

Comfort is one of the things that sometimes takes the least in resources.  Giving of your time to comfort someone who is hurting, making a phone call to someone who may be alone, these things provide comfort.

I try to call my sister in Mississippi once a month, and then on special days.  The comfort is reciprocal.  She may say nothing other than “Everyone here is fine,” but hearing her voice is a comfort to me, and I hope I have provided her comfort in knowing that she still has a sibling who is alive and still loves her, since our brother passed away over ten years ago now.  I think of our brother about this time each year in that when he wasn’t preaching, he would be hunting deer up until the last day of the season.

It is odd.  I think of how having a schedule, like always hunting deer at this time of year, is a comfort.  I can bring up memories of family members long gone, and I can guess what they might be doing – those scheduled things that we loved about them.  But some people get nervous when around those who have schedules.  But without a schedule, there is little comfort.  Will someone prepare a meal?  Or will mealtime come, everyone is hungry, and you have to order a pizza, and the wait becomes painful?  And this is a daily haphazard routine?  Please, schedules, at least for someone in the household, can be comforting and can save a lot of money in the long run.

   …

   …

   …

The Answers:

?	Question	Bible Verse(s)	Answer
1	In the first use of “comfort” in the NIV, Lamech named his son the word for “rest” but meaning comfort from the labor and painful toil of working the ground that God had cursed due to Adam’s sin.  Who is Lamech’s son?	Genesis 5:29	Noah
2	Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar came to comfort Job, but also to do this, which accusing Job of unrepented sin hardly qualifies.	Job 2:11	Sympathize
3	These two tools of the shepherd hardly seem to bring comfort, but the psalmist thought so.  What are they?	Psalm 23:4	Rod and Staff
4	Isaiah starts this chapter with “comfort” twice in the NIV.  Comfort for whom?	Isaiah 40:1	God’s people
5	Lamentations begins with a “woman” in great distress with no one to comfort her.  In this metaphor, who is the woman?	Lamentations 1:2, 9	The woman is a widow representing the city, Jerusalem.
6	In this Old Testament quotation about Rachel weeping for her children, what action of what king led to Matthew’s quoting this verse?	Matthew 2:18	King Herod ordered the deaths of all the male children two years old and younger in and near Bethlehem.
7	In Luke, Jesus provides a list of Blessings and Woes.  In the woes, who has already received comfort?	Luke 6:24	Woe to the rich
8	Why are many Jews in and around Bethany comforting Mary and Martha?	John 11:19	On the death of their brother Lazarus
9	Which young man did the people of Troas take home, with what had happened to him giving them comfort?	Acts 20:12	Eutychus, the young man who fell asleep and fell out a window while Paul preached, but Paul raised him from the dead.
10	In this letter to the Thessalonians, Paul speaks of encouraging and comforting as being like something who might do?	1 Thessalonians 2:12	A person’s father.

And regardless of how you did …  Here is the full sketch, the second instance of:  Monty Python’s Flying Circus – The Spanish Inquisition sketch number 2.

And what song mentions “comfort” and “joy” a few times, at least?  Here is a very odd, but beautiful rendition of God, Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen with “low bass cover” by Geoff Castellucci.

And here is Eclipse 6 singing, Be Still, My Soul.

And here is BYU Vocal Point with one of my favorite hymns, It is Well with my Soul.

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.