Now the king had put the officer on whose arm he leaned in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king came down to his house.

• 2 Kings 7:17

The king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the king about impaling Mordecai on the pole he had set up for him.

• Esther 6:4

And now the Lord has brought it about; he has done just as he said he would. All this happened because you people sinned against the Lord and did not obey him.

• Jeremiah 40:3

This quiz is about the words “Just” and “Now” in the same Bible verse.  There are about 30 times that happens in the NIV.  The search reveals 32 times, but there are two of those where “just” is the beginning of “justice” and once where “just” is the beginning of “justified.”  You might argue that this quiz has no theme in that those two words together mean one thing, but separate, it could mean anything.  The concept of “just now” is truly meant in a couple of cases and those are among the questions.

The questions are in biblical order, with only two questions from the New Testament.

The Questions:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	Who was told by God that the animals would now be given fear of the humans, and “now” all animals are given to them as food “just” as all plants had been given?
2	Who followed Isaac across the desert because he could tell the Lord was with Isaac and this king feared Isaac might attack him?  Hint: Isaac’s servants found water where they met and the well was called Beersheba, since a treaty had been signed there.
3	Who says to whom that “now” your sons born to you in Egypt are mine, Ephraim and Manasseh both mine, “just” as Reuben and Simeon are mine?
4	Two “now just” statements are made in the book of Numbers, within a span of three verses.  Now show the Lord’s Strength and just as God had pardoned us before, from the time we left Egypt until now.  Did God grant them another pardon, and at what prompted this exchange between God and the people of Israel?
5	Now the people of Israel passed by just as Moses had directed Joshua (before Moses died); the ark, held by the priests, stood in the middle as the Israelites passed.  The middle of what?
6	Forty-five years after the events in question 4, who makes three “just now” or “now just” statements before, as an old man, he drives the Anakites from the hills at Hebron, relying on God’s strength?
7	Who was shown a piece of his garment by David, after David had cut it off while this man slept in a cave?
8	When Elisha prophesied that grain could be bought at a gate of the city during the Aramean siege of Samaria, an officer mocked him.  Then Elisha said that within a day’s time the officer would see it, but never eat it.  Why?
9	Before Paul tells what people that the wages of sin is death, at least by a few verses, he gives an example that just as they were slaves to wickedness, now they should offer themselves as slaves to holiness and righteousness?
10	In one of Paul’s letters, Paul is in Athens and he sends Timothy back to the church identified in this letter.  And “just now” Timothy has returned with a good report of their faith.  Which church (city, or book in the Bible)?

Question 2:  How does this relate to “just now”?

The person who followed Isaac into the desert begged Isaac to sign a treaty.  He basically said, “ ‘Just’ as this king had not harmed Isaac, ‘now’ please do not harm us.”  The king, his advisor, and his military commander were there, having learned that Isaac was favored by the true God, and they feared a retaliation after they had asked Isaac to leave their city.  Of course, they had kicked out Isaac after he used the same ruse his father had done, passing his wife off as his sister.

Question 7:  How does this relate to “just now”?

People had suggested to David to kill the person (the answer to the question), but David refused, and the other person said, “You have just now told me about the good you did to me; the Lord delivered me into your hands, but you did not kill me.”

Question 8:  How does this relate to “just now”?

The officer who had mocked Elisha was placed in charge of the gate as two charioteers investigated what had happened to the Aramean army.  When they reported that the Arameans had retreated beyond the Jordan River …

Bible References:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	Who was told by God that the animals would now be given fear of the humans, and “now” all animals are given to them as food “just” as all plants had been given?	Genesis 9:4
2	Who followed Isaac across the desert because he could tell the Lord was with Isaac and this king feared Isaac might attack him?  Hint: Isaac’s servants found water where they met and the well was called Beersheba, since a treaty had been signed there.	Genesis 26:29
3	Who says to whom that “now” your sons born to you in Egypt are mine, Ephraim and Manasseh both mine, “just” as Reuben and Simeon are mine?	Genesis 48:5
4	Two “now just” statements are made in the book of Numbers, within a span of three verses.  Now show the Lord’s Strength and just as God had pardoned us before, from the time we left Egypt until now.  Did God grant them another pardon, and at what prompted this exchange between God and the people of Israel?	Numbers 14:17-19
5	Now the people of Israel passed by just as Moses had directed Joshua (before Moses died); the ark, held by the priests, stood in the middle as the Israelites passed.  The middle of what?	Joshua 4:10
6	Forty-five years after the events in question 4, who makes three “just now” or “now just” statements before, as an old man, he drives the Anakites from the hills at Hebron, relying on God’s strength?	Joshua 14:10-12
7	Who was shown a piece of his garment by David, after David had cut it off while this man slept in a cave?	1 Samuel 24:18
8	When Elisha prophesied that grain could be bought at a gate of the city during the Aramean siege of Samaria, an officer mocked him.  Then Elisha said that within a day’s time the officer would see it, but never eat it.  Why?	2 Kings 7:17
9	Before Paul tells what people that the wages of sin is death, at least by a few verses, he gives an example that just as they were slaves to wickedness, now they should offer themselves as slaves to holiness and righteousness?	The book gives away the answer, chapter 6, verse 19.
10	In one of Paul’s letters, Paul is in Athens and he sends Timothy back to the church identified in this letter.  And “just now” Timothy has returned with a good report of their faith.  Which church (city, or book in the Bible)?	The book gives away the answer, chapter 3, verse 4, but it is the first of two letters to that church.

As I am still struggling to focus on certain aspects of my writing after my wife passed away, I again became distraught that I could not think of the subject for a quiz.  I had just opened a spreadsheet, and where the top bar gives the file name and then the saving status (last modified yesterday, or 4 hours ago OR saving OR saved), it said “Just Now.”

I have no clue whether “Just Now” means I just opened the file, but I have not modified anything.  Or is it that I just now modified it, but the saving/saved cycle has not begun.

In the Microsoft Support explanation of saving files to the cloud, I cannot find the explanation of the meaning for “Just Now” and in many attempts, I cannot replicate it.

So, I have to chalk another one up to God giving me an idea for a quiz.

But then, the meaning of “just” is often different when not used with “now”, which means this quiz has many questions that spread over many types of stories.

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   …

   …

The Answers:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	Who was told by God that the animals would now be given fear of the humans, and “now” all animals are given to them as food “just” as all plants had been given?	Genesis 9:4	Noah.
2	Who followed Isaac across the desert because he could tell the Lord was with Isaac and this king feared Isaac might attack him?  Hint: Isaac’s servants found water where they met and the well was called Beersheba, since a treaty had been signed there.	Genesis 26:29	Abimelek
3	Who says to whom that “now” your sons born to you in Egypt are mine, Ephraim and Manasseh both mine, “just” as Reuben and Simeon are mine?	Genesis 48:5	Jacob (Israel) to Joseph, essentially giving Joseph a double portion of the inheritance.
4	Two “now just” statements are made in the book of Numbers, within a span of three verses.  Now show the Lord’s Strength and just as God had pardoned us before, from the time we left Egypt until now.  Did God grant them another pardon, and at what prompted this exchange between God and the people of Israel?	Numbers 14:17-19	The people heard bad reports from 10 of the 12 spies who first entered Canaan and did not trust God that they could overcome the Canaanites.  God granted a partial pardon.  He allowed their children to enter the Promised Land, but none who saw the wonders performed in Egypt, except for Joshua and Caleb.
5	Now the people of Israel passed by just as Moses had directed Joshua (before Moses died); the ark, held by the priests, stood in the middle as the Israelites passed.  The middle of what?	Joshua 4:10	The Jordan River which, at flood stage, had dried up.
6	Forty-five years after the events in question 4, who makes three “just now” or “now just” statements before, as an old man, he drives the Anakites from the hills at Hebron, relying on God’s strength?	Joshua 14:10-12	Caleb, relying on God’s promises made 45 years before.  Just as God said before, now it will come to pass.
7	Who was shown a piece of his garment by David, after David had cut it off while this man slept in a cave?	1 Samuel 24:18	King Saul
8	When Elisha prophesied that grain could be bought at a gate of the city during the Aramean siege of Samaria, an officer mocked him.  Then Elisha said that within a day’s time the officer would see it, but never eat it.  Why?	2 Kings 7:17	The Arameans had fled and the starving people rushed out to plunder the empty camp, trampling the officer, who then died.
9	Before Paul tells what people that the wages of sin is death, at least by a few verses, he gives an example that just as they were slaves to wickedness, now they should offer themselves as slaves to holiness and righteousness?	The book gives away the answer, chapter 6, verse 19.	The Romans with Romans 6:23 speaking of the wages of sin is death but the gift of life is in Christ Jesus.
10	In one of Paul’s letters, Paul is in Athens and he sends Timothy back to the church identified in this letter.  And “just now” Timothy has returned with a good report of their faith.  Which church (city, or book in the Bible)?	The book gives away the answer, chapter 3, verse 4, but it is the first of two letters to that church.	The Thessalonian church in Thessalonica

Whether you did well on this quiz or, ummm, not so well, for the first video:  Here is one of my favorite videos where Cliff Barrows remembers the London Billy Graham Crusade in 1967.  The Gaither Homecoming crowd is singing Just as I Am. 

Here is Jonny Diaz singing Breathe.  “Just” may not be in the title, but he tells us to “just breathe” and “just be”.  And rest at His feet.

And here are Casting Crowns singing Just Be Held.

Here is Monica McCoy singing Now I Belong to Jesus.

Here is the Maranatha Vocal Band singing Now unto the King Eternal.

And as I listen to a variety of different videos to choose a good selection, I can remember my wife saying, “I went into the kitchen and heard you downstairs, all kinds of music, you singing along, and you laughing a lot.  That did not sound like you were working.”  This time, I almost stopped with that first video.  If it did not sink in, go back and play it again.  As the reporters pled, “Bring back Just As I Am, the silence is killing us!”

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.