Meanwhile, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces.

• Genesis 26:26

Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting as a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord.

• Numbers 31:54

So I took the leading men of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them to have authority over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens and as tribal officials.

• Deuteronomy 1:15

So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And he repeated all his words before the Lord in Mizpah.

• Judges 11:11

In the year that the supreme commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it—

• Isaiah 20:1

After receiving the commander’s permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic:

• Acts 21:40

I thought of an offshoot to the End Times Quiz series.  If war is the focal point in most people’s minds regarding the End Times, why not look at the military by the division of duties.  We will start with the commander.

As the word implies, the commander commands others to do certain tasks.  He does not lead them into battle.  He commands others to do that.  Thus, the next quiz in the series, in a couple of weeks, will be the Leader Quiz.  Other quizzes may be for soldier, warrior, officer and centurion.  Spy (spies) might be workable.

This quiz is made up of ten questions about verses mentioning a “commander.”

The verses are in biblical order.  There are seven verses from the Old Testament and three verses from the New Testament.

The Questions:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	Abimelech and Phicol, commander of his forces, met Abraham at what became known as the “well of the oath” or “well of the seven.”  They agreed to a treaty at this well.  What city is known by these names and has been the name used for the southern border of the Promised Land?
2	When Balaam failed at cursing Israel, he succeeded in hiring Midianite women to entice Israelite men into adultery.  The Israelite army thoroughly defeated the Midianites, but why, upon their return, was Moses angry with the commanders?
3	In Deuteronomy, the officers are told to speak to the army and only then select commanders.  What do the officers say, which allows some of the men to go home?  At least one thing.
4	When Joshua crossed the Jordan River and camped at Gilgal, Joshua had the men circumcised and they celebrated the Passover.  Then, the commander of the Lord’s Army appeared to Joshua and commanded that he take off his sandals for he was on holy ground.  What did the commander of the Lord’s army tell Joshua?
5	When the five Amorite kings had been defeated, Joshua commanded his army commanders to do what before the kings were killed?
6	Sisera, the commander of the Jabin king of Canaan’s army, was killed in what manner, by what gender?  Bonus for what reason, proclaimed by Deborah, the prophetess?
7	How did Joab become the commander of David’s army?
8	Herod gave orders for his chief officials and military commanders to attend a birthday celebration where the daughter of Herodias danced.  When Herod swore an oath that he would give her anything, what was her request?
9	Who approached the commander at the garrison in Jerusalem where Paul was being held after the riot? This person’s name is never mentioned.  Bonus to mention the reason to be so bold.
10	When Paul was sent to Caesarea, he was placed on trial by what governor, but the governor delayed his verdict until Lysias, the commander, came, but delayed it again until replaced by Festus?

Question 7 refers to Joab being the commander of David’s army.  It was not until after Solomon became king that Joab was killed for all his crimes.

Joab killed Abner, former commander of Saul’s Army, in revenge for Abner killing Asahel, Joab’s brother.  Abner may not have killed him on purpose.  Asahel ran into Abner’s spear, the blunt end.  Abner had warned him not to follow.

Joab was commanded to not harm Absalom, David’s son who rebelled and set himself up as king.  They found Absalom hanging by his hair from a tree, and Joab killed him by thrusting spears into his heart.

Then, David appointed Amasa commander of his army.  This was a political move to solidify his kingdom, as appointing Abner would have been, but it was also due to David being fed up with Joab’s bloodthirsty attitude and disobedience.

Amasa was to lead the army against a rebel from the tribe of Benjamin, Sheba.  He delayed in the attack, which allowed Sheba to seek refuge.  David sent Joab’s brother Abishai to enquire as to why Amasa was not following orders.  But Joab went along and killed Amasa and the army rallied around Joab once again.

Question 7 is about how Joab originally became the commander of the army, but it was a decision that David lived to regret.

Bible References:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	Abimelech and Phicol, commander of his forces, met Abraham at what became known as the “well of the oath” or “well of the seven.”  They agreed to a treaty at this well.  What city is known by these names and has been the name used for the southern border of the Promised Land?	Genesis 21:32
2	When Balaam failed at cursing Israel, he succeeded in hiring Midianite women to entice Israelite men into adultery.  The Israelite army thoroughly defeated the Midianites, but why, upon their return, was Moses angry with the commanders?	Numbers 31:13-16
3	In Deuteronomy, the officers are told to speak to the army and only then select commanders.  What do the officers say, which allows some of the men to go home?  At least one thing.	Deuteronomy 20:5-8
4	When Joshua crossed the Jordan River and camped at Gilgal, Joshua had the men circumcised and they celebrated the Passover.  Then, the commander of the Lord’s Army appeared to Joshua and commanded that he take off his sandals for he was on holy ground.  What did the commander of the Lord’s army tell Joshua?	Joshua 5:14-6:5
5	When the five Amorite kings had been defeated, Joshua commanded his army commanders to do what before the kings were killed?	Joshua 10:24
6	Sisera, the commander of the Jabin king of Canaan’s army, was killed in what manner, by what gender?  Bonus for what reason, proclaimed by Deborah, the prophetess?	Judges 4:21, bonus Judges 4:7
7	How did Joab become the commander of David’s army?	1 Chronicles 11:4-6
8	Herod gave orders for his chief officials and military commanders to attend a birthday celebration where the daughter of Herodias danced.  When Herod swore an oath that he would give her anything, what was her request?	Mark 6:21-25
9	Who approached the commander at the garrison in Jerusalem where Paul was being held after the riot? This person’s name is never mentioned.  Bonus to mention the reason to be so bold.	Acts 23:16-21
10	When Paul was sent to Caesarea, he was placed on trial by what governor, but the governor delayed his verdict until Lysias, the commander, came, but delayed it again until replaced by Festus?	Acts 24:22

When I was a platoon leader in West Germany, the executive officer was sent off to be the lead on a huge project.  They promoted me to the executive officer role, which in the Corps of Engineers meant also the construction officer.  The executive officer put me second in command.  The construction officer put me in charge of liaison and supply for all projects.  At that time, I was still in charge of my platoon, since we were an officer short.  My platoon had a local construction project that I managed part time.  We had people in Belgium and we had the big project with over two hundred people (parts of three engineering companies).  It was in West Germany, but about as far away as you could get, a day’s drive one way or a three-hour helicopter flight.  I chose the helicopter.  I could not afford to be away from the phone longer than that (before cellphones).  If someone needed a hammer or an earth mover, I wheeled and dealed and begged favors until it was on the appropriate site.

But my commanding officer, the commander, had other ideas.  He hid in a closet all day long and had me command the entire company in his “absence.”  Then, he would come out of his closet after everyone had gone home, except me half the time, to do non-judicial punishments before he went home and complain to anyone who had no desire to listen how poorly I was running the company.

So, in a way, for nine months, the construction season, I had three fulltime jobs, one of them being the acting company commander.  The assigned commander could complain, but he gave me the keys to the entire outfit, and as the construction officer, I had weekly convoys going in one direction or another to keep the construction projects moving forward.  And all projects were finished on time and under budget that construction season.

But I had a different style of commanding to most people.  They were the boss.  They gave orders.  Instead of that style, I let the sergeants do as much as they could.  I reviewed their ideas and signed off on the paperwork if I agreed that it would work.  And I gave them the credit.  On the other hand, the assigned commanding officer took credit for everything we did right and tried to destroy my career for the things we did not do according to his wishes, wishes that he never said out loud or wrote down on paper.

It can be lonely at the top, but if you respect those who work under you and give them encouragement and authority to do a task on their own, you might find that you were not that much alone.  They will have your back.

   …

   …

   …

The Answers:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	Abimelech and Phicol, commander of his forces, met Abraham at what became known as the “well of the oath” or “well of the seven.”  They agreed to a treaty at this well.  What city is known by these names and has been the name used for the southern border of the Promised Land?	Genesis 21:32	Beersheba.  Seven ewes were given in the treaty between Abimelech and Abraham, thus either oath or seven.  “Beer” in place names denotes a well.  Seven times in the Old Testament, the expanse of the Promised Land is referred to as from Dan to Beersheba, but in the two books of 1 & 2 Chronicles, it flips the expression to Beersheba to Dan.
2	When Balaam failed at cursing Israel, he succeeded in hiring Midianite women to entice Israelite men into adultery.  The Israelite army thoroughly defeated the Midianites, but why, upon their return, was Moses angry with the commanders?	Numbers 31:13-16	They captured every woman as spoils of war, but it was the Midianite women who had tempted the Israelites into sinning against God.
3	In Deuteronomy, the officers are told to speak to the army and only then select commanders.  What do the officers say, which allows some of the men to go home?  At least one thing.	Deuteronomy 20:5-8	Has anyone built a home but has not lived in it?  Has anyone planted a vineyard but not enjoyed it?  Has anyone pledged to marry, but not yet married?  Is anyone afraid or fainthearted?  In general, those that might cause the others to become disheartened were excused from service.
4	When Joshua crossed the Jordan River and camped at Gilgal, Joshua had the men circumcised and they celebrated the Passover.  Then, the commander of the Lord’s Army appeared to Joshua and commanded that he take off his sandals for he was on holy ground.  What did the commander of the Lord’s army tell Joshua?	Joshua 5:14-6:5	In a Christophany, Jesus (commander of the Lord’s army, referred to as the Lord, and He did not admonish Joshua from worshipping Him) appears to Joshua to lay out how Jericho would be destroyed, the plan in detail.  He assures Joshua that the city is already defeated.
5	When the five Amorite kings had been defeated, Joshua commanded his army commanders to do what before the kings were killed?	Joshua 10:24	To place their feet on the necks of the kings to symbolize how God will defeat the enemies of Israel.
6	Sisera, the commander of the Jabin king of Canaan’s army, was killed in what manner, by what gender?  Bonus for what reason, proclaimed by Deborah, the prophetess?	Judges 4:21, bonus Judges 4:7	Jael, a woman, wife of Heber, drove a tent peg through his temple and into the ground while Sisera slept in Heber’s tent.  Deborah had prophesied that Barak would gain the victory, but he insisted that Deborah come with him.  For this weakness of faith, it would be a woman who killed Sisera.
7	How did Joab become the commander of David’s army?	1 Chronicles 11:4-6	After the Jebusites taunted David that he could never take the city of Jebus (Jerusalem), David said that whoever leads the army into the city and takes it will become the commander of the army.  Joab led the first assault.
8	Herod gave orders for his chief officials and military commanders to attend a birthday celebration where the daughter of Herodias danced.  When Herod swore an oath that he would give her anything, what was her request?	Mark 6:21-25	The head of John the Baptist on a platter.
9	Who approached the commander at the garrison in Jerusalem where Paul was being held after the riot? This person’s name is never mentioned.  Bonus to mention the reason to be so bold.	Acts 23:16-21	The son of Paul’s sister, or simply, his nephew.  Bonus: Paul’s nephew had heard that there was a plot to ambush the guard and kill Paul when they took Paul back to the Sanhedrin to clarify details of what happened.  Lysias, the commander took Paul to Caesarea instead.
10	When Paul was sent to Caesarea, he was placed on trial by what governor, but the governor delayed his verdict until Lysias, the commander, came, but delayed it again until replaced by Festus?	Acts 24:22	Felix

Whether you did well on this quiz or, ummm, not so well, for the first video, here is Eric Perales singing Command Your Praise.

Here is Jon Shabaglian singing In Command.

Here is the Call Quartet with Christ’s Command.

Here are Michael W. Smith singing In Christ Alone.

Jesus is the great commander of the Lord’s Army.  We have nothing to fear.

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.