As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

• 1 Samuel 17:48-49

I will make Mount Seir a desolate waste and cut off from it all who come and go.

• Ezekiel 35:7

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”
Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it.

• Jonah 3:1-3

This is another quiz that could use The Moody Atlas of Bible Lands by Barry J. Beitzel.  What I am trying to do is look at Bible stories where people travelled to one place or another, or their destination was a place and they never got there.  In a way, it is a matter of perspective.  When the story talks of people walking from one place to another, did it take hours or days.  In hours, a lesson can be learned.  In days, a relationship can be made.

This quiz is about reading a map.  Yes.  But there are three places mentioned in each question.  The starting point is mentioned and then two destinations.  The question is which is closer.  For the Bible Reference, the reference will be a story of a trip, or aborted trip, from the starting point to the destination.  For a nonbiblical example:  You are in Jerusalem.  You could go to Egypt or Spain.  Which is closer?  Okay, the Apostle Paul wanted to go to Spain, but then again, we have no record that he went to Egypt.  But Spain is a lot further away.  The answer to “Which is closer?” would be Egypt.

In most cases, in the travels of the person in question, it is the location that the person reached first, but if the question was that the Israelites left Egypt, which is closer, Kadesh Barnea where they rebelled against God, taking the ten spies report in fear, or Mount Sinai, where they received the Law.  They went to Mount Sinai first, a location that people question these days, but really, if they had not needed to receive the Law first, Kadesh Barnea might be closer.  By a straight line reckoning, they are near the same.  I will try to avoid such questions where the people seem to wander.

The Questions:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	Abram was in Harran with his father.  He went to Shechem and Egypt.  Which is closer to Harran?
2	When Jacob left Paddan Aram, he went to Mamre (Hebron) and Mahanaim.  Which is closer to Paddan Aram?
3	When Moses left the banks of the Red Sea, the Israelites went to Mount Sinai, where the Law was given to Moses and Rephidim where Joshua defeated the Amalekites.  Which is closer to where the Israelites crossed the Red Sea?
4	Let’s say you are in the city of Dan.  You could go to Jerusalem or Beersheba.  Which is closer?
5	If you were in Joppa like Jonah, you could go by boat to places near Tarshish or Tarsus.  Which would be closer?
6	Jesus went through Bethany and Jericho on his last trip to Jerusalem before His crucifixion.  Which is closer to Jerusalem?
7	Jesus arose from a tomb near Jerusalem.  He appeared to disciples on the road to Emmaus and the Sea of Galilee.  Which is closer to Jerusalem?
8	In starting at Syrian Antioch, Paul went to Derbe and Pisidian Antioch.  Which is closer to Syrian Antioch?
9	When the prisoner, Paul, set sail from Caesarea, he went to Malta and Crete.  Which is closer to Caesarea?
10	Assuming that the evil armies of the End Times attack from the direction of Damascus, following the fertile crescent.  They might go to Jerusalem or Megiddo.  Which is closer to Damascus?

There are a few times when the people of the Bible did not take the most direct route.  The Israelites went to the foot of Mount Sinai to receive the Law.  It would have been a much closer trip to go directly to the Promised Land.  It is thought by most scholars that Mount Horeb, where Moses saw the burning bush, and Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Law are the same place.  This would make sense.  Moses would go to where He knew God had spoken to him to receive the next bit of instructions.

Then after the rebellion at Kadesh-Barnea, God foiled their ill-conceived attack by simply not helping them.  They were not allowed to attack again until that evil generation had died off, except for Joshua and Caleb.  Then Edom would not allow them to pass through.  And they finally conquer much of the East bank of the Jordan before they travel in a direction that is basically back toward Egypt to enter the Promised Land.

Joshua had three major campaigns: Central, Southern, and Northern.  That seemed quite organized.  Cut the enemy in half so that the Canaanites cannot reinforce each other.  Then attack what’s left.  The reason to attack the southern kingdoms first was due to the five-king allies who attacked Gibeon.  Gibeon had tricked Joshua into allowing them to be protected instead of exterminated.  Gibeon was attacked, and trick or not, Joshua gave his word.  All five of these kings, who allied themselves against the Israelites were Southern kings: Jerusalem, Hebron, Lachish, Eglon, and Jarmuth.  The sun was still in the sky, but the five kings were killed.  It was more likely that these city-nations would be in confusion with their kings killed and army defeated.  But of the five, Jerusalem was not defeated.

But the pattern of each campaign seemed haphazard.  There were many reasons for this looping attack on a map.  The travel was easiest by means of valleys.  This is before the days of the Roman road building.  Joshua was attacking strongholds.  Joshua had his reasons, but trying to reason the next city to attack as being the closest geographically was usually not the concern.  God was guiding him.

Bible References:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	Abram was in Harran with his father.  He went to Shechem and Egypt.  Which is closer to Harran?	Genesis 12:4-7
2	When Jacob left Paddan Aram, he went to Mamre (Hebron) and Mahanaim.  Which is closer to Paddan Aram?	Genesis 32:1-3
3	When Moses left the banks of the Red Sea, the Israelites went to Mount Sinai, where the Law was given to Moses and Rephidim where Joshua defeated the Amalekites.  Which is closer to where the Israelites crossed the Red Sea?	Exodus 17:8-16
4	Let’s say you are in the city of Dan.  You could go to Jerusalem or Beersheba.  Which is closer?	Judges 20:1
5	If you were in Joppa like Jonah, you could go by boat to places near Tarshish or Tarsus.  Which would be closer?	Jonah 1:3
6	Jesus went through Bethany and Jericho on his last trip to Jerusalem before His crucifixion.  Which is closer to Jerusalem?	John 11:17-20
7	Jesus arose from a tomb near Jerusalem.  He appeared to disciples on the road to Emmaus and the Sea of Galilee.  Which is closer to Jerusalem?	Luke 24:13
8	In starting at Syrian Antioch, Paul went to Derbe and Pisidian Antioch.  Which is closer to Syrian Antioch?	Acts 16:1
9	When the prisoner, Paul, set sail from Caesarea, he went to Malta and Crete.  Which is closer to Caesarea?	Acts 27:7
10	Assuming that the evil armies of the End Times attack from the direction of Damascus, following the fertile crescent.  They might go to Jerusalem or Megiddo.  Which is closer to Damascus?	Revelation 16:16

Paul also did some jumping around, or so it may seem.

In his first missionary journey, he sets sail to Cyprus.  His partner at the time was Barnabas.  Barnabas had sold land on Cyprus to give the proceeds to the church.  His familiarity with the people there was probably the reason that they went that direction.  Then a boat to Perga and then inland to Pisidian Antioch.  Being persecuted there, they went to Iconium, further persecution and then Lystra and Derbe.

But on his second mission, he takes Silas by land and visits the churches in reverse order.  Later, he is headed into Asia Minor.  He might have easily established the seven churches that are mentioned in the book of Revelation, but the Spirit of God told him to not enter.  Then he sees a vision of people in Macedonia who are calling for help.  The Grecian campaign in his ministry seems straightforward, with moving on due to persecution from time to time.

But the thing to remember is that the Holy Spirit was at work, both with Joshua and with Paul.

In mathematics, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.  But on a map, there might be a mountain in the way.  The trade routes might go by way of the valleys, providing a stream to water the oxen that drive the ox carts, or the horses that pull the chariots.  In life, the shortest distance is not always a straight line.  The lyrics of the Scottish classic song, Loch Lomond, come to mind.  O you take the high road, and I’ll take the low road And I’ll be in Scotland afore ye.  The low road is usually the longer road, going around the mountains, but the one that took the low road gets to Scotland first.

But we cannot ever forget that the Holy Spirit is working within us, just like He worked within the people in these Bible stories.  The reason that they went to one town or another may have never been because it was the next closest town.  The Holy Spirit guided those people where God’s will would be done.

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The Answers:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	Abram was in Harran with his father.  He went to Shechem and Egypt.  Which is closer to Harran?	Genesis 12:4-7	Shechem, where God said that all Abram saw would belong to his descendants.
2	When Jacob left Paddan Aram, he went to Mamre (Hebron) and Mahanaim.  Which is closer to Paddan Aram?	Genesis 32:1-3	Mahanaim, near where Jacob wrestled with the Lord
3	When Moses left the banks of the Red Sea, the Israelites went to Mount Sinai, where the Law was given to Moses and Rephidim where Joshua defeated the Amalekites.  Which is closer to where the Israelites crossed the Red Sea?	Exodus 17:8-16	Probably Rephidim.  They at least went past Rephidim on their way to Mount Sinai (which no one is certain of the exact location).
4	Let’s say you are in the city of Dan.  You could go to Jerusalem or Beersheba.  Which is closer?	Judges 20:1	Jerusalem.  Since the phrase, from Dan to Beersheba was used to describe the northern to southern limits of the Israelites, anything in between should be closer.
5	If you were in Joppa like Jonah, you could go by boat to places near Tarshish or Tarsus.  Which would be closer?	Jonah 1:3	Tarsus, Jonah wanted to get far away from Ninevah, and Tarsus might actually be closer to Ninevah.
6	Jesus went through Bethany and Jericho on his last trip to Jerusalem before His crucifixion.  Which is closer to Jerusalem?	John 11:17-20	Bethany.  Note: In John 11:8, the disciples warned Him against getting that close to Jerusalem.
7	Jesus arose from a tomb near Jerusalem.  He appeared to disciples on the road to Emmaus and the Sea of Galilee.  Which is closer to Jerusalem?	Luke 24:13	Emmaus, just seven miles from Jerusalem.  Galilee would be a few days of walking.
8	In starting at Syrian Antioch, Paul went to Derbe and Pisidian Antioch.  Which is closer to Syrian Antioch?	Acts 16:1	Derbe.  Paul visited both places in his first and second mission trips.  In the second trip, he walked in the most direct route as he could, coming to Derbe and eventually reaching Antioch.  In the first trip, he went by boat to Cyprus, then Perga, thus Antioch would be easier to reach next.
9	When the prisoner, Paul, set sail from Caesarea, he went to Malta and Crete.  Which is closer to Caesarea?	Acts 27:7	Crete.  Although they did not sail in a straight line, Crete is an island of Greece, where Malta is south of Italy.
10	Assuming that the evil armies of the End Times attack from the direction of Damascus, following the fertile crescent.  They might go to Jerusalem or Megiddo.  Which is closer to Damascus?	Revelation 16:16	Megiddo.  Armageddon being the mountain of Megiddo.  The army will naturally set up a defense between the invaders and Jerusalem to protect the city.

Whether you did well on this quiz or, ummm, not so well, for the first video, here are the Corries singing Loch Lomond.

And here is Jimmy Fortune with a few friends singing Just a Closer Walk with Thee.

And here are the Petersens singing the Fannie Crosby hymn Near the Cross.  Near?  Closer?  It works for me.

But what about even nearer?  And here is the First Methodist Church Choir, Houston, Texas singing another Fannie Crosby hymn, I Am Thine, O Lord.

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.