Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri.

• 2 Chronicles 22:2

“Surely you know how it has been from of old, ever since mankind was placed on the earth,

• Job 20:4

Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the old men who were in front of the temple.

• Ezekiel 9:6

As for the Scriptures, the 2 Chronicles verse mentions the new king who was king for a year, followed by Athaliah his mother, daughter of Ahab, king of Israel, but the Chronicler would not dare say the name “Ahab”.  But the three verses give some of the common uses of the word “old” in the NIV.

Last year, New Year’s Day was on Saturday.  I thought it appropriate to have The New Quiz come out that moment.  With that in mind, New Year’s Day is Sunday in 2023, thus my Saturday quiz is on the last day of 2022.  Thus, Out with the Old seemed to make sense, and like last year, all the questions in this quiz have to do with the word “old.”  The referenced verses have the word “old” in them in the NIV.

While this quiz focuses on the “old,” we will someday become new creations in a new world with a new heaven.  And what happens to the “old” is referenced in a couple of the questions.

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.  That is until the new year produces the new baby (the promise of what is to come).  Note: there was a hint in this paragraph.

But in these quiz questions, you might get any type of reference to “old”.

The Questions:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	The first reference in the NIV to “old” stated that this person was 500 years old when something happened in his life.  What was it and who was he?
2	When the Gibeonites tricked Joshua, their entourage arrived with patched sandals, moldy and dry food, and what thing that was old?
3	Whose daughter-in-law was loved by her and her daughter-in-law was better than seven sons after giving birth to a son?
4	What group of people who were 20 years old and older supervised the building of the house of the Lord in Ezra’s time?
5	In one of Ezekiel’s prophecies where a large and powerful nation will be laid waste, Ezekiel mentions “the fallen warriors of old.”  Whose fallen warriors?
6	In the last reference to “old” in the OT (NIV), old men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem with what in hand?
7	In the first reference to “old” in the NT, Matthew talks of Herod ordering the deaths of a group of people two years old and younger.  Where and what people?
8	Paul mentions that our old self is crucified with Jesus so that the body, ruled by sin, might have what done to it?
9	In Philemon, who is the old man that is a prisoner of Christ Jesus?
10	In the last reference to “old” in the Bible, why will there be no death, mourning, crying, and pain once we are in the new heaven and earth with Jesus?  HINT: The answer uses the word “old” in it.

There are 366 verses in the NIV that contain the word “old.”  Okay, the letters beginning O-L-D in that order.  You might have “older” or “oldest.”  It is odd that “old” out numbers “new,” but then the numbered Kings and Chronicles say things like ‘so-and-so’ became king when he was ‘##’ years old.  The largest user of “old” is the book of Numbers (74 times), when they counted people that were so many years old, for availability to do work with, and in, the tabernacle and serve in the military.

As a big hint, the answer to the first question is not Adam, Seth, or even Methuselah.  In that first genealogy, it might say “When Enoch lived sixty-five years, he became the father of Methuselah” (Genesis 5:21).

Bible References:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	The first reference in the NIV to “old” stated that this person was 500 years old when something happened in his life.  What was it and who was he?	Genesis 5:32
2	When the Gibeonites tricked Joshua, their entourage arrived with patched sandals, moldy and dry food, and what thing that was old?	Joshua 9:5
3	Whose daughter-in-law was loved by her and her daughter-in-law was better than seven sons after giving birth to a son?	Ruth 4:15
4	What group of people who were 20 years old and older supervised the building of the house of the Lord in Ezra’s time?	Ezra 3:8
5	In one of Ezekiel’s prophecies where a large and powerful nation will be laid waste, Ezekiel mentions “the fallen warriors of old.”  Whose fallen warriors?	Ezekiel 32:27
6	In the last reference to “old” in the OT (NIV), old men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem with what in hand?	Zechariah 8:4
7	In the first reference to “old” in the NT, Matthew talks of Herod ordering the deaths of a group of people two years old and younger.  Where and what people?	Matthew 2:16
8	Paul mentions that our old self is crucified with Jesus so that the body, ruled by sin, might have what done to it?	Romans 6:6
9	In Philemon, who is the old man that is a prisoner of Christ Jesus?	Philemon 1:9
10	In the last reference to “old” in the Bible, why will there be no death, mourning, crying, and pain once we are in the new heaven and earth with Jesus?  HINT: The answer uses the word “old” in it.	Revelation 21:4

I have written about how getting old is not for sissies, although I think others have said those particular words in their comments, like Linda Lee Adams.

This year has had its toll on my wife and I, but we are still hanging in there.  When people at church ask us how we are doing, I answer, “We are here.”  When they look me in the eye for more, I add, “We keep putting one foot in front of the other.”  In so saying, I do not lie and say “fine,” but I do not complain about everything that hurts, which at times is pretty much everything.  People who are also “old” know what I mean.  They laugh and say something like, “I’m right there with you.”

I can close my eyes and take myself back to when I was young, and the old folks would be sitting around comparing new pains that had cropped up within the last couple of weeks.

Why do we do that?  If the listener was being honest, they might say, “Hey, I have been having that one for a couple of years now.”

And then there is the ninety-year-old that seems to get around like she was fifty.  My wife and I are friends with a couple of those ladies.

We all have our paths to take, and God is whimsical enough that we all seem to have a slightly different path.  Getting old may not be for sissies, but we all get there one step at a time.

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The Answers:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	The first reference in the NIV to “old” stated that this person was 500 years old when something happened in his life.  What was it and who was he?	Genesis 5:32	Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth
2	When the Gibeonites tricked Joshua, their entourage arrived with patched sandals, moldy and dry food, and what thing that was old?	Joshua 9:5	Their clothing
3	Whose daughter-in-law was loved by her and her daughter-in-law was better than seven sons after giving birth to a son?	Ruth 4:15	Naomi upon the birth of Obed
4	What group of people who were 20 years old and older supervised the building of the house of the Lord in Ezra’s time?	Ezra 3:8	The Levites
5	In one of Ezekiel’s prophecies where a large and powerful nation will be laid waste, Ezekiel mentions “the fallen warriors of old.”  Whose fallen warriors?	Ezekiel 32:27	Egypt
6	In the last reference to “old” in the OT (NIV), old men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem with what in hand?	Zechariah 8:4	A cane
7	In the first reference to “old” in the NT, Matthew talks of Herod ordering the deaths of a group of people two years old and younger.  Where and what people?	Matthew 2:16	All the boys of Bethlehem and the surrounding vicinity
8	Paul mentions that our old self is crucified with Jesus so that the body, ruled by sin, might have what done to it?	Romans 6:6	Done away with (or words to that effect)
9	In Philemon, who is the old man that is a prisoner of Christ Jesus?	Philemon 1:9	Paul, who wrote the letter to Philemon
10	In the last reference to “old” in the Bible, why will there be no death, mourning, crying, and pain once we are in the new heaven and earth with Jesus?  HINT: The answer uses the word “old” in it.	Revelation 21:4	The old order of things has passed away

Since you did so well or even if you did not do too well, here is Alabama singing The Old Rugged Cross.  I had a choice of several recordings, including Guy Penrod and Alan Jackson, but I thought I have not used Alabama that often.

Although Johnny Cash is introducing the different singers that will be on his special television show, he does so while those singers are singing, Give Me that Old Time Religion.  I chose this video in part to honor all those groups of singers, though you hear very little of them here.

And what about the Gaither Homecoming Crowd singing, I’ve Got that Old Time Religion in my Heart?

And now back to the Johnny Cash show for an Old Time Religion Medley with his band, the Carter Sisters and the Stadler Brothers.  And some of the songs in the medley have the word “old” in them.

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.