Its undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.

• Job 41:30

Like a muddied spring or a polluted well are the righteous who give way to the wicked.

• Proverbs 25:26

Together they will be like warriors in battle trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets. They will fight because the Lord is with them, and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.

• Zechariah 10:5

He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
“Where is this man?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”

• John 9:11-15

This quiz is about verses containing the word “mud” which only has twenty occurrences in the NIV.

The questions are in biblical order.  All but the last two are in the Old Testament.  As sometimes happens, you might need to read a few versed before or after the Bible reference to find the answer.

The Questions:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	The first reference to the word “mud” in the NIV is when someone saying that he beat them into fine dust and trampled them like mud in the streets.  Who did that?
2	Who laments that he is dust and ashes and he has been thrown into the mud?
3	What psalm repeats most of the song in question 1?
4	In another psalm, God lifts him out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire, and places him on what so that he can stand firm?
5	Isaiah uses the line about trampling them like mud in the streets, but who is he referring to?
6	Isaiah also reprises the idea of mire and mud when he likens the wicked to what?
7	Where was Jeremiah placed when his feet sunk into the mud?  A bonus if you can name the person who rescued him.
8	What nation is being cursed when Ezekiel says they will not have cattle beside abundant waters, no longer muddied by the hooves of cattle?
9	The blind man washed his eyes of the mud in the pool of Siloam, but what moisture did Jesus use the create the mud.
10	Peter quotes Proverbs 26:11 about a dog returning to its vomit but he adds something about what returning to wallowing in the mud?

I grew up, it seemed, with Mississippi red clay mud between my toes.  Of course, Mississippi Mud, as an expression refers to two things, but really just one thing.  The muddy Mississippi River dumps nutrient rich soil into the land further downstream, but these days that land is guarded by a levee system.  The Mississippi Mud ends up getting dumped into salty inlets of the deltas of Louisiana.  This causes those areas to have less saltwater sea life that the fishermen and shrimpers make their living off of.  At the same time, the nutrients that could have naturally fertilized the fields further north fail to get those nutrients.  And the farmers in Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri would like their nutrients back.

But I have visited homes in what is known as the Mississippi Delta.  It is well inland, just south of Memphis, Tennessee, at least the state of Mississippi’s version of it.  I was there one summer when there was not going to be a crop.  As of mid-June there were still several feet of water on the fields.  I was there as an Army recruiter, but several of the people I talked to went into the Navy.  I guess with water in all directions, they thought the Navy was a better fit.

Oh, the other Mississippi Mud that is famous?  Named for the other one, you have Mississippi Mud Cake.  It is almost fudge as you have chocolate in every form imaginable in what is a cake.  Decadent!  Delicious! And to borrow from an old Cole Porter song, De-Lovely!

Bible References:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	The first reference to the word “mud” in the NIV is when someone saying that he beat them into fine dust and trampled them like mud in the streets.  Who did that?	2 Samuel 22, specifically verse 43
2	Who laments that he is dust and ashes and he has been thrown into the mud?	Job 30:19
3	What psalm repeats most of the song in question 1?	N/A
4	In another psalm, God lifts him out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire, and places him on what so that he can stand firm?	Psalm 40:2
5	Isaiah uses the line about trampling them like mud in the streets, but who is he referring to?	Isaiah 10:5-6
6	Isaiah also reprises the idea of mire and mud when he likens the wicked to what?	Isaiah 57:20
7	Where was Jeremiah placed when his feet sunk into the mud?  A bonus if you can name the person who rescued him.	Jeremiah 38:6-10
8	What nation is being cursed when Ezekiel says they will not have cattle beside abundant waters, no longer muddied by the hooves of cattle?	Ezekiel 32:13
9	The blind man washed his eyes of the mud in the pool of Siloam, but what moisture did Jesus use the create the mud.	John 9:6
10	Peter quotes Proverbs 26:11 about a dog returning to its vomit but he adds something about what returning to wallowing in the mud?	2 Peter 2:22

Trampling ones enemies like mud in the streets is a repeated theme in the Old Testament.

But when we trample mud in the streets, we get our boots, shoes, and feet muddy.

Sometimes that mud is hard to remove.  I have had articles of clothing permanently stained by the mud.

But when Jesus washes us, cleansing us from all sin and unrighteousness, we are washed as white as snow.

   …

   …

   …

The Answers:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	The first reference to the word “mud” in the NIV is when someone saying that he beat them into fine dust and trampled them like mud in the streets.  Who did that?	2 Samuel 22, specifically verse 43	King David in a song of praise to the Lord.
2	Who laments that he is dust and ashes and he has been thrown into the mud?	Job 30:19	Job, in his final defense
3	What psalm repeats most of the song in question 1?	N/A	Psalm 18
4	In another psalm, God lifts him out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire, and places him on what so that he can stand firm?	Psalm 40:2	A rock
5	Isaiah uses the line about trampling them like mud in the streets, but who is he referring to?	Isaiah 10:5-6	Assyria
6	Isaiah also reprises the idea of mire and mud when he likens the wicked to what?	Isaiah 57:20	A tossing sea, which cannot rest, and the waves toss up mire and mud.
7	Where was Jeremiah placed when his feet sunk into the mud?  A bonus if you can name the person who rescued him.	Jeremiah 38:6-10	A cistern, but Ebed-Melek, a Cushite, went to the king and begged to be able to rescue him.
8	What nation is being cursed when Ezekiel says they will not have cattle beside abundant waters, no longer muddied by the hooves of cattle?	Ezekiel 32:13	Egypt
9	The blind man washed his eyes of the mud in the pool of Siloam, but what moisture did Jesus use the create the mud.	John 9:6	Jesus spit onto the ground and made mud from His saliva.
10	Peter quotes Proverbs 26:11 about a dog returning to its vomit but he adds something about what returning to wallowing in the mud?	2 Peter 2:22	A sow that has been washed.

Whether you did well on this quiz or, ummm, not so well, for the first video, here are Bryann T. rapping Mud.  For those me, you may want to check for large cracks forming on the face of the earth in using a rap.  But the name of the song Mud, and the words are pretty good.  “The kingdom is a heartbeat.”

And here is Jars of Clay singing Flood.

And here is Anne Wilson singing Strong.  It may not mention “mud”, but it mentions God picking us up off the ground.  One of those times, the ground might be wet…

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.