He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters for a boundary between light and darkness.

• Job 26:10

“The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

• Psalm 82:5

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

• John 3:19

This quiz is about the word “darkness.”  The word “darkness” is mentioned 148 times in the NIV.  Since God is Light, there must be darkness in order to understand what Light is.  Often evil is portrayed as darkness.

The questions are in biblical order, sort of, most from the Old Testament.  One story is a recounting of a tale that happened prior to the previous question.

The Questions:

	Question	Bible Reference	Answers
1	In the first few references to darkness in the Bible, the word is used literally, as in the darkness being over the surface of the deep.  In what Bible Story is this darkness described?
2	The next story of darkness features Abram who falls into a deep sleep and a dread darkness overtakes him.  In this dream, God prophesies that there will be 400 years of Abram’s descendants being in slavery in a foreign land, but then what does God promise?
3	The next major reference to “darkness” is as a plague of Egypt.  This may be obscure, but what plague preceded it and which followed?
4	What great thing did God give Moses just before the Israelites stood back and then Moses entered the darkness where God was?  Oddly, this is the last mention of darkness before darkness is mentioned again, retelling the same story and following the story with the same great thing.
5	What story is retold when the covenant is renewed in the time of Joshua, at Shechem?
6	In the first clear reference to evil being in darkness, it comes from whose prayer after she leaves her son with the priest, dedicating her son to the Lord’s service?
7	King David wrote a Psalm, recorded in 2 Samuel, about how in distress, God came with a canopy of darkness around Him.  But what provided the light?
8	What does the beginning of the Gospel of John say about the light shining in the darkness?
9	What does Jude accuse people of doing, then likens them to Cain, those who profited in Balaam’s error, and Korah’s rebellion, and then the blackest darkness has been reserved for them?
10	What happens to the entire nation when the fifth angel pours out its bowl on the throne of the beast?

The phrase “darkest before dawn” has been used in poetry and music, but the origin is a bit unclear, a phrase maybe 400-500 years old.  But there is some spiritual reality in it.  We can be at our darkest point right before the dawn of accepting Jesus.

Just think of the most moving Christian conversion testimonies that you have heard.  They were at their last choice.  What they saw of their future was utter darkness.  They were blindly groping for anything to erase the pain, or the emptiness, or the darkness…  They might have suicidal thoughts.  They might be strung out on drugs.  They might be in an abusive relationship.  But they saw no way out until they looked toward Jesus.  God is Light and He shines His light, sometimes at our darkest hour.

Whether it is our darkest hour, we will never have full darkness in our lives ever after that moment, because God is Light.

The darkness cannot control us.  And in our hard times, we have God with us.  It will never be total darkness ever again.

Bible References:

	Question	Bible Reference	Answers
1	In the first few references to darkness in the Bible, the word is used literally, as in the darkness being over the surface of the deep.  In what Bible Story is this darkness described?	Genesis 1:2, 4, 5
2	The next story of darkness features Abram who falls into a deep sleep and a dread darkness overtakes him.  In this dream, God prophesies that there will be 400 years of Abram’s descendants being in slavery in a foreign land, but then what does God promise?	Genesis 15:12-21
3	The next major reference to “darkness” is as a plague of Egypt.  This may be obscure, but what plague preceded it and which followed?	Exodus 10-11
4	What great thing did God give Moses just before the Israelites stood back and then Moses entered the darkness where God was?  Oddly, this is the last mention of darkness before darkness is mentioned again, retelling the same story and following the story with the same great thing.	Exodus 20:1-21 and Deuteronomy 4-5, specifically Exodus 20:21 and Deuteronomy 4:11
5	What story is retold when the covenant is renewed in the time of Joshua, at Shechem?	Joshua 24:7, original story in Exodus 14:20
6	In the first clear reference to evil being in darkness, it comes from whose prayer after she leaves her son with the priest, dedicating her son to the Lord’s service?	1 Samuel 2:9
7	King David wrote a Psalm, recorded in 2 Samuel, about how in distress, God came with a canopy of darkness around Him.  But what provided the light?	2 Samuel 22:12-13
8	What does the beginning of the Gospel of John say about the light shining in the darkness?	John 1:5
9	What does Jude accuse people of doing, then likens them to Cain, those who profited in Balaam’s error, and Korah’s rebellion, and then the blackest darkness has been reserved for them?	Jude 1:9-13
10	What happens to the entire nation when the fifth angel pours out its bowl on the throne of the beast?	Revelation 16:10

I have written about a night orienteering course that my partner and I won in Army training.

I was always comfortable in the darkness.  In Boy Scout campouts, most of the boys went nowhere without their flashlights blaring, ruining everyone’s night vision.  It irritated me.  Just a little light destroyed your natural night vision.  In the army, I was taught to always have one eye closed in such situations.  Thus, once the stupid lights went out, I could open my closed eye and it would be adjusted to the darkness.

The point is that as long as you have the moon or a few stars, the night is not total darkness.  In a very interesting novel, Lost Light, Michael Connelly tells a story about a Vietnam veteran who had been a tunnel rat, going into a tunnel, in total darkness, to rid the tunnel of enemy soldiers, but somehow he had survived.  He could see by “lost light.”  That thread connected the dots in the murder mystery that Harry Bosch solves.  I have been in a cave when the lights went out.  They do not do that very often anymore.  Some people panic and then do something stupid, too much liability for the tour guide.  I was unable though to see that lost light.

But there are those who do evil among us.  They count on us not seeing in the darkness.  They operate in the shadows, but God has His own version of “lost light.”  Nothing escapes God’s presence, not even in total darkness.

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The Answers:

	Question	Bible Reference	Answers
1	In the first few references to darkness in the Bible, the word is used literally, as in the darkness being over the surface of the deep.  In what Bible Story is this darkness described?	Genesis 1:2, 4, 5	Creation
2	The next story of darkness features Abram who falls into a deep sleep and a dread darkness overtakes him.  In this dream, God prophesies that there will be 400 years of Abram’s descendants being in slavery in a foreign land, but then what does God promise?	Genesis 15:12-21	Abram’s descendants will possess the Promised Land. Note: This land is from the wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River.  Thus it is probably talking about the millennial reign.
3	The next major reference to “darkness” is as a plague of Egypt.  This may be obscure, but what plague preceded it and which followed?	Exodus 10-11	The plague of darkness was the ninth plague.  It was preceded by the plague of locusts that killed all the plants that the hailstorm did not kill.  Darkness was followed by the killing of the firstborn.  Besides proving that God is the sovereign God over all creation, there is symbology in the pattern of these plagues.
4	What great thing did God give Moses just before the Israelites stood back and then Moses entered the darkness where God was?  Oddly, this is the last mention of darkness before darkness is mentioned again, retelling the same story and following the story with the same great thing.	Exodus 20:1-21 and Deuteronomy 4-5, specifically Exodus 20:21 and Deuteronomy 4:11	God gave the Ten Commandments, repeated in the first verses of Deuteronomy 5.
5	What story is retold when the covenant is renewed in the time of Joshua, at Shechem?	Joshua 24:7, original story in Exodus 14:20	When the Egyptian army chased the Israelites toward the Red Sea, the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night provided light to the Israelites and left the Egyptian army in darkness.
6	In the first clear reference to evil being in darkness, it comes from whose prayer after she leaves her son with the priest, dedicating her son to the Lord’s service?	1 Samuel 2:9	Hannah, Samuel’s mother
7	King David wrote a Psalm, recorded in 2 Samuel, about how in distress, God came with a canopy of darkness around Him.  But what provided the light?	2 Samuel 22:12-13	Light from the presence of God with flashes of lightning
8	What does the beginning of the Gospel of John say about the light shining in the darkness?	John 1:5	The darkness does not overcome the light.
9	What does Jude accuse people of doing, then likens them to Cain, those who profited in Balaam’s error, and Korah’s rebellion, and then the blackest darkness has been reserved for them?	Jude 1:9-13	The ungodly, but specifically those who slander what they do not understand.
10	What happens to the entire nation when the fifth angel pours out its bowl on the throne of the beast?	Revelation 16:10	The nation plunges into darkness and the people will gnaw their tongues in agony.  This is the last mention of darkness in the Bible, for God, who is the Light, will later reign with His people.

Whether you did well on this quiz or, ummm, not so well, … In thinking of this topic of darkness, I heard a sound.  Yes, words were heard without being spoken.  Could anyone think that darkness was their old friend?  Here is part of a Simon and Garfunkel reunion show, singing The Sounds of Silence.

Here is Ginny Owens with Sing in the Darkness.

And here is Way Maker sung by Leeland.  God is the Light in the Darkness

And here is the Ephrata Bible School with There’ll Be No Dark Valley.

And we can count on God’s promises.

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.