“Anyone who has killed someone or touched someone who was killed must stay outside the camp seven days. On the third and seventh days you must purify yourselves and your captives.

• Numbers 31:19

When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.

• Esther 5:2

Part your heavens, Lord, and come down; touch the mountains, so that they smoke.

• Psalm 144:5

For this is what the Lord Almighty says: “After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye—I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me.

• Zechariah 2:8-9

They are drenched by mountain rains and hug the rocks for lack of shelter.

• Job 24:8

This quiz is inspired by a recent post from Rev. David Robertson, the Wee Flea, Relearning the importance of touch.  After an extended lockdown and the touch phobia that the virus has created, Rev. Robertson’s post is an important one.  He brings many types of touch to the forefront.  I will specifically use the word “touch.”  Maybe I can do this again and use such words as embrace, caress, kiss, etc.  I looked up “hug” and the Scripture from Job is the only mention in the NIV, thirteen mentions of “huge” however.

The word “touch” appears in 138 verses in the Bible (NIV).  Of course, “touch” can be a noun or a verb.  As a verb, the verb tense might change.

The Questions:

#	Question	Bible Reference	Answer(s)
1	Who was warned in a dream and told not to touch her because she was a married woman and her husband was a prophet?
2	When Jacob was afraid his father might touch him, how did Rebekah ensure Jacob felt like Esau?
3	Carrying the holy things in the tent of meeting was no easy task.  Who carried them and after what was done?
4	Who deceived Joshua so that he agreed to protect them when they were one of the next cities to be destroyed by Joshua’s army?  When Joshua realized their deception he lamented that they could not touch them once they had sworn an oath of protection.
5	How did the angel of the Lord “consume” Gideon’s offered meat and unleavened bread?
6	When Jezebel called for the death of Elijah, Elijah escaped to Mount Horeb, but on the way, he fell asleep, but an angel touched him and said what?
7	The psalmist wrote that foes are not to touch the anointed one or harm what other group of people?
8	After the Sermon on the Mount, what did Jesus do when a leper claimed that if Jesus was willing, Jesus could heal him?
9	What did the woman with the issue of blood touch, according to the NIV?
10	How did the Apostle John describe the reliability of what he was saying about the Word of life in his first letter?

In an interview with Mark Lowry, Gloria Gaither explained how their biggest hit song, He Touched Me, came about.  She struggled to explain how God could have an intimate relationship with people.  How could God change our lives in an instant?  It had to be something very personal.  Then it dawned on her that a simple touch illustrated what she was trying to say.  As Lowry would joke at the Homecoming gatherings, it was He Touched Me that “bought the bus.”

And if you are wondering, Elvis Presley was not the first person to record the song.  Most of Elvis’ Gospel recordings sold the usual 200,000 copies, mostly because it was … well … sung by Elvis, but his version of He Touched Me sold over one million copies.

The song conveyed that intimacy to me as I first heard the song after it had been out a few years.  It was a hit on the radio before I accepted Jesus, but we never listened to the radio.  I heard it in church soon after I had Jesus in my heart.  And for years, the song would bring me to my knees each time.

As Gloria Gaither said in the interview, I had derived in my own life.  To think that almighty God would love us so much that He would reach down, through time and space, to touch a sinner like me.

I’ll have the videos below of the song.

Bible References:

#	Question	Bible Reference	Answer(s)
1	Who was warned in a dream and told not to touch her because she was a married woman and her husband was a prophet?	Genesis 20:3-6
2	When Jacob was afraid his father might touch him, how did Rebekah ensure Jacob felt like Esau?	Genesis 27:11-17
3	Carrying the holy things in the tent of meeting was no easy task.  Who carried them and after what was done?	Numbers 4:15
4	Who deceived Joshua so that he agreed to protect them when they were one of the next cities to be destroyed by Joshua’s army?  When Joshua realized their deception he lamented that they could not touch them once they had sworn an oath of protection.	Joshua 9:1-19
5	How did the angel of the Lord “consume” Gideon’s offered meat and unleavened bread?	Judges 6:21
6	When Jezebel called for the death of Elijah, Elijah escaped to Mount Horeb, but on the way, he fell asleep, but an angel touched him and said what?	1 Kings 19:5, 7
7	The psalmist wrote that foes are not to touch the anointed one or harm what other group of people?	Psalm 105:15
8	After the Sermon on the Mount, what did Jesus do when a leper claimed that if Jesus was willing, Jesus could heal him?	Matthew 8:3
9	What did the woman with the issue of blood touch, according to the NIV?	Mark 5:7
10	How did the Apostle John describe the reliability of what he was saying about the Word of life in his first letter?	1 John 1:1

In the Rev. David Robertson article (just click on the article title above to link to it), he covers a variety of issues with regard to touching.  People might be afraid of touching for other reasons, but the COVID paranoia is probably tops on the list.  He mentions that if someone has been abused physically, they may have the opposite reaction to a hug than what you intended.  Even without a pandemic, some people shy away from physical contact, and we need to respect that.

I wonder if our old pastor, now retired, still hugs people.  He was a greater hugger.  I recently had someone hold out his hand for a handshake recently.  I hesitated, not in fear, but in shock that it was not a fist bump or an elbow nudge.  I lustily grabbed his hand.  It felt good.  I miss the days of bro-hugs or man-hugs, depending on your vernacular.

And yes, you can have a meeting over the computer by Zoom, or other software.  You can work from home, or as a recent television commercial for an SUV, anywhere as long as you can connect to the internet, like in the middle of a forest on a mountain top.  But with those technological advances, you cannot read body language as well, position of the hands and arms, facial tics, or determine is they are making eye contact.  But you cannot touch either.

Malcolm Forbes said, “Presence is more than just being there.”

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The Answers:

#	Question	Bible Reference	Answer(s)
1	Who was warned in a dream and told not to touch her because she was a married woman and her husband was a prophet?	Genesis 20:3-6	Abimelech (Abimelek)
2	When Jacob was afraid his father might touch him, how did Rebekah ensure Jacob felt like Esau?	Genesis 27:11-17	Rebekah placed Esau’s clothing on Jacob and covered his hands with goat skins.
3	Carrying the holy things in the tent of meeting was no easy task.  Who carried them and after what was done?	Numbers 4:15	The Kohathites carried the articles after Aaron and his sons (the priests) covered them.  Kohath was Aaron and Moses’ grandfather.
4	Who deceived Joshua so that he agreed to protect them when they were one of the next cities to be destroyed by Joshua’s army?  When Joshua realized their deception, he lamented that they could not touch them once he had sworn an oath of protection.	Joshua 9:1-19	The Gibeonites
5	How did the angel of the Lord “consume” Gideon’s offered meat and unleavened bread?	Judges 6:21	The angel touched the rock that the food was on with the tip of his staff and the food was consumed by fire.
6	When Jezebel called for the death of Elijah, Elijah escaped to Mount Horeb, but on the way, he fell asleep, but an angel touched him and said what?	1 Kings 19:5, 7	“Get up and eat.”  The angel said this twice because Elijah had eaten and then fell back asleep.
7	The psalmist wrote that foes are not to touch the anointed one or harm what other group of people?	Psalm 105:15	Prophets
8	After the Sermon on the Mount, what did Jesus do when a leper claimed that if Jesus was willing, Jesus could heal him?	Matthew 8:3	Jesus touched the leper, something that people were told to not do.
9	What did the woman with the issue of blood touch, according to the NIV?	Mark 5:7	Jesus’ cloak, Matthew and Luke state the “edge of the cloak”, but in my memory it will always be “the hem of His garment.” (Geneva and Darby)  KJV uses “border.”
10	How did the Apostle John describe the reliability of what he was saying about the Word of life in his first letter?	1 John 1:1	It is what they have heard, seen, looked at, and their hands have touched.

Whether you did well on this quiz or, ummm, not so well, for the first video.  Here is the Gaither Vocal Band, made up of Guy Penrod, David Phelps, Russ Taff, and Bill Gaither, and Mark Lowry, singing He Touched Me. 

And here is He Touched Me, sung by Elvis.

And here is William McDowell ft. Trinity Anderson singing, Touch the Hem.

And here is Planetshakers, singing Just One Touch.

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.