I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.”

• Ezra 8:22

The archer will not stand his ground, the fleet-footed soldier will not get away, and the horseman will not save his life.

• Amos 2:15

The shields of the soldiers are red; the warriors are clad in scarlet. The metal on the chariots flashes on the day they are made ready; the spears of juniper are brandished.

• Nahum 2:3

Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

• Luke 3:14

But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs.

• Philippians 2:25

also to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier—and to the church that meets in your home:

• Philemon 1:2

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 have had a commander quiz and a leader quiz.  Next we have the soldier.

The word soldier comes from the name for a Roman gold coin, a solidus.  Both French and English used solidus in one form or another to mean the men who work for their pay.  I should have known that when I was in the military.  I had four out of every five guys who would work hard, but the fifth of each five had to be well-supervised to get them to do any work at all.  I had two problems who were sergeants.  I think one had narcolepsy.  He was caught sleeping in the shower, and he was asleep half the day on the job.  We made him the tool room keeper so that he could be minimally effective and not be in the way of the work being done.  The other sergeant had been in admin for some time, pushing papers, and he did not know much about riding the slackers to keep them moving.  But with only a couple of exceptions, I only have fond memories of all my soldiers.  The couple of exceptions I lift up a prayer for God to watch over them and a prayer of thanks that I do not have to watch over them.  The next quiz in the series, in a couple of weeks, will be the Warrior Quiz.  Other quizzes may be for officer and centurion.  Spy (spies) might be workable.

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

The verses are in biblical order.  There are six questions from the Old Testament and four questions from the New Testament.

The Questions:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	In the first use of “soldier” in the NIV, the Midianites had been defeated, and the commanders had to make up for their mistakes.  But then why were many of the soldiers required to stay outside the camp for seven days?  Bonus for which soldiers had to stay outside the camp.  What did the captives consist of?
2	When the spoils were divided after the soldiers came into the Israelite camp, how much did the soldiers who fought in the battle get?  Use a fraction or percentage for the answer.
3	When the Israelites were ready to take the Promised Land, they were instructed to do what if someone was afraid or faint-hearted?  Bonus for why.
4	The next use of “soldier” is when the Israelites were defeated.  When they were again ready to attack the city, the soldiers were split into two groups.  What was this city? And what two groups were the soldiers divided into?
5	The Benjamites were in the city of Gibeah with many swordsmen, defending themselves from the other tribes of Israel.  Among them were 700 soldiers who could sling a stone at a hare and not miss.  What was unique about these 700 soldiers?  Bonus: Why was all Israel attacking their own fellow Israelites?
6	Naaman was the commander of the army of the king of Aram.  He was a valiant soldier, but what problem did he have?
7	Late in the day when Jesus was crucified, soldiers broke the legs of the criminals, but what happened when they came to Jesus?
8	When the storm was raging and the ship, carrying Paul, was going to crash upon the rocks, what did the soldiers plan to do with the prisoners on board the ship that had been bound for Rome? Bonus: Who changed their minds to protect which passenger?
9	When the prisoner, Paul, reached Rome, he was allowed to live in a home with how many soldiers guarding him?
10	Paul told Timothy to be a good soldier for Christ Jesus.  To be a good soldier, Timothy should not be involved in civilian affairs but focus on what one thing only?

The last two Scriptures at the beginning identify two of Paul’s team as soldiers.

There are hymns that have fallen by the wayside.  I am speaking of those hymns that speak of soldiers of the cross or Christian Soldiers.  I will have a few below.

But where have we gone wrong?  The song writers understood what Paul meant in calling his comrades his fellow soldiers.

We have a good fight to fight.  We do not go into this battle armed with the weaponry of war, but we are fighting still.  We stand firm with the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness.  Our feet are protected by readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  Our helmet is salvation, and our sword is the word of God, the sword of the Spirit.

Bible References:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	In the first use of “soldier” in the NIV, the Midianites had been defeated, and the commanders had to make up for their mistakes.  But then why were many of the soldiers required to stay outside the camp for seven days?  Bonus for which soldiers had to stay outside the camp.  What did the captives consist of?	Numbers 31:19-20
2	When the spoils were divided after the soldiers came into the Israelite camp, how much did the soldiers who fought in the battle get?  Use a fraction or percentage for the answer.	Numbers 31:27
3	When the Israelites were ready to take the Promised Land, they were instructed to do what if someone was afraid or faint-hearted?  Bonus for why.	Deuteronomy 20:8
4	The next use of “soldier” is when the Israelites were defeated.  When they were again ready to attack the city, the soldiers were split into two groups.  What was this city? And what two groups were the soldiers divided into?	Joshua 8:13
5	The Benjamites were in the city of Gibeah with many swordsmen, defending themselves from the other tribes of Israel.  Among them were 700 soldiers who could sling a stone at a hare and not miss.  What was unique about these 700 soldiers?  Bonus: Why was all Israel attacking their own fellow Israelites?	Judges 20:16, bonus found in previous chapter.
6	Naaman was the commander of the army of the king of Aram.  He was a valiant soldier, but what problem did he have?	2 Kings 5:1
7	Late in the day when Jesus was crucified, soldiers broke the legs of the criminals, but what happened when they came to Jesus?	John 19:32-34
8	When the storm was raging and the ship, carrying Paul, was going to crash upon the rocks, what did the soldiers plan to do with the prisoners on board the ship that had been bound for Rome? Bonus: Who changed their minds to protect which passenger?	Acts 27:42-44
9	When the prisoner, Paul, reached Rome, he was allowed to live in a home with how many soldiers guarding him?	Acts 28:16
10	Paul told Timothy to be a good soldier for Christ Jesus.  To be a good soldier, Timothy should not be involved in civilian affairs but focus on what one thing only?	2 Timothy 2:4

When John the Baptist preached repentance and baptism, soldiers asked what they should do? (Luke 3:14, above)

John told them not to extort money.  That was a common practice at the time.  When Jesus spoke of carrying a man’s cloak another mile, he was referring to the practice of the soldiers making a person walk a mile to carry his cloak, or whatever he had that needed carrying, except for his weapon of course.  The person was chosen at random.  If the person was at home, he would be a mile from home when the soldier released him from that charge.  It was probably rare when the soldier did not add two miles to the person’s trip.  But John could have easily meant that practice along with extortion of money.

Another practice was that “justice” must be administered quickly.  They would arrest someone falsely and have that person executed.  Even if they were innocent of the crime, the fear of being accused was a deterrent.  Was this justice?  No, but crime was reduced by the practice, or so they thought.

And finally, John told them to be content with their pay.  Soldiers throughout history were not paid well.  In wartime, there were the spoils of war.  Of course, by World War II, the enemy in their retreat would boobytrap prized items, to kill those willing to take the spoils of war.  Note: One of my classes was to determine whether the boobytrap could easily be neutralized or if the experts had to be called in.  That was part of the setting of the boobytrap class, in case the commander changed his mind.

But, in most cases, the soldier was given his basic needs.  But like anyone else, he wanted more than that.  After all, he risked his life, and that should be worth something.

But that is like all of us.  We should be content with our pay.

   …

   …

   …

The Answers:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	In the first use of “soldier” in the NIV, the Midianites had been defeated, and the commanders had to make up for their mistakes.  But then why were many of the soldiers required to stay outside the camp for seven days?  Bonus for which soldiers had to stay outside the camp.  What did the captives consist of?	Numbers 31:19-20	All those who had killed someone or touched someone who was killed had to remain outside the camp.  They had to purify themselves and their garments and their captives on the third and seventh days, according to the law of Moses. The captives who were not killed were the girls who had not slept with a man.  It was the Midianite prostitutes who tempted the men that started the plague in the Israelite camp.
2	When the spoils were divided after the soldiers came into the Israelite camp, how much did the soldiers who fought in the battle get?  Use a fraction or percentage for the answer.	Numbers 31:27	Half, or fifty percent.  Their donation to the priests, a tribute to God for a successful battle, was less than the tribute in the share of the spoils for the community (rest of the camp).
3	When the Israelites were ready to take the Promised Land, they were instructed to do what if someone was afraid or faint-hearted?  Bonus for why.	Deuteronomy 20:8	Send them home to prevent the soldiers from getting disheartened.
4	The next use of “soldier” is when the Israelites were defeated.  When they were again ready to attack the city, the soldiers were split into two groups.  What was this city? And what two groups were the soldiers divided into?	Joshua 8:13	Ai, and in their second attempt, a successful one, the soldiers were divided into the main force and the ambush.  The main force would retreat, and then the ambush would attack the city and burn it down.
5	The Benjamites were in the city of Gibeah with many swordsmen, defending themselves from the other tribes of Israel.  Among them were 700 soldiers who could sling a stone at a hare and not miss.  What was unique about these 700 soldiers?  Bonus: Why was all Israel attacking their own fellow Israelites?	Judges 20:16, bonus found in previous chapter.	The 700 unique soldiers were left-handed.  The city of Gibeah was being attacked since men of that city raped and murdered a travelling Levite’s concubine.
6	Naaman was the commander of the army of the king of Aram.  He was a valiant soldier, but what problem did he have?	2 Kings 5:1	He had leprosy.  And he eventually came to Elisha for healing.
7	Late in the day when Jesus was crucified, soldiers broke the legs of the criminals, but what happened when they came to Jesus?	John 19:32-34	A soldier pierced his side with a spear and blood and water came forth, showing that Jesus was already dead.  This fulfilled the prophecy that not one bone would be broken (Ps. 34:20).
8	When the storm was raging and the ship, carrying Paul, was going to crash upon the rocks, what did the soldiers plan to do with the prisoners on board the ship that had been bound for Rome? Bonus: Who changed their minds to protect which passenger?	Acts 27:42-44	The soldiers planned to kill all the prisoners to keep them from escaping, but the centurion told them not to do so.  He wanted to protect Paul from execution.
9	When the prisoner, Paul, reached Rome, he was allowed to live in a home with how many soldiers guarding him?	Acts 28:16	One.  The text says “a soldier” to guard him.
10	Paul told Timothy to be a good soldier for Christ Jesus.  To be a good soldier, Timothy should not be involved in civilian affairs but focus on what one thing only?	2 Timothy 2:4	Pleasing his commanding officer, Jesus.

Whether you did well on this quiz or, ummm, not so well, for the first video, here is the West Point Glee Club singing Onward Christian Soldiers.  This performance was not long after the end of the Korean Conflict (as if they ever really stopped shooting at each other) in January 1954 on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Here is Hymns of Grace singing Am I a Soldier of the Cross.

Here is Ricky Skaggs, a little Bluegrass, with Soldier of the Cross.

Here is Michael W. Smith singing Fight My Battles.

We each have our battles to fight.

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.