When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.

• Joshua 2:11

“Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you.

• 2 Samuel 7:27

Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.

• 1 Chronicles 22:13

When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord’s temple.

• 2 Chronicles 15:8

Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with you? I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.

• Ezekiel 22:14

“With a large army he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to stand because of the plots devised against him.

• Daniel 11:25

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

• Matthew 14:27

So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.

• Acts 27:25

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.

• 1 Corinthians 16:13

Nearly five years ago, I encouraged everyone to “Do Not Fear … the Quiz.”  But this time, I am putting a positive spin on the same encouragement.  Be courageous.  These questions relate to verses that contain the word courage or courageous.

The first three questions have to do with a command: “Be strong and courageous.”  Once, this command adds “very courageous.”  Once the command says, “Only be strong and courageous.”  And when asked for a number, not that 1 Corinthians 16 states two commands, “be courageous; be strong.”

The questions are in Biblical order, and the first seven questions are from the Old Testament.

The Questions:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	How many times does “Be strong and courageous” appear in the Old Testament (NIV)? Hint: The number is less than a dozen.
2	The command “Be strong and courageous” is said to, or said by, one person roughly two-thirds
3	One example of the command “Be strong and courageous” is shown above.  This command is in three other Old Testament books.  Considering question 2 especially, name one of the three remaining books.  Bonus for more.
4	The first verse above speaks of heart’s melting and courage failing, who makes this statement and who do they fear?
5	What happened to cause Ish Bosheth, Saul’s son, to lose courage and all Israel to become alarmed?
6	In the second Scripture above from 2 Samuel 7, who is the servant who is praying, and in response to what?
7	Who is told to take courage and do it, when he falls to the earth, weeping, when he hears that those in Jerusalem have intermarried with the local population?
8	Both in Matthew and Mark, Jesus says, “Take courage. It is I.  Don’t be afraid.”  Who was He talking to and what was Jesus doing at the time?
9	What group of people first had Peter and John arrested for speaking about the resurrection of the dead, but then were astounded by Peter’s and John’s courage and public speaking ability, knowing that they were not “formally” educated.
10	What is the impending fear when Paul mentions twice over four verses for the people to keep up their courage?  The second of these verses is mentioned above.

The Scripture from Daniel is very specific and came to pass less than 300 years after it was penned.

One kings’ land would be split into four pieces.  This happened when Alexander the Great died.  The king of the North was Antiochus who gave his daughter, Cleopatra, to the king of the South, Ptolemy V Epiphanes.  “the North” in this case is the Seleucid empire containing Asia Minor to India with the capitol of Syrian Antioch.  ”the South” in this case is Egypt.  Cleopatra is Cleopatra I, not the Cleopatra VII who consorted with Caesar and ruled all of Egypt.  But this first Cleopatra was given by Antiochus to be a spy, but she flipped her allegiance and supported her husband, thus the plans of Antiochus did not help him (Daniel 11:17).

Antiochus IV Epiphanes met with Philometer of Egypt, and they ate and drank and lied to one another (Daniel 11:25-27).

Antiochus IV Epiphanes persecuted the Jews, currying favor with those who would go against God’s commands, but the persecution was thwarted by the Macabee rebellion by those whose feared the Lord (Daniel 11:32-34).

Many scholars say that this portion was too specific to have been written by Daniel.  Those naysayers found out this portion of Daniel was written prior to these events when the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.

Bible References:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	How many times does “Be strong and courageous” appear in the Old Testament (NIV)? Hint: The number is less than a dozen.	N/A
2	The command “Be strong and courageous” is said to, or said by, one person roughly two-thirds	N/A
3	One example of the command “Be strong and courageous” is shown above.  This command is in three other Old Testament books.  Considering question 2 especially, name one of the three remaining books.  Bonus for more.	N/A
4	The first verse above speaks of heart’s melting and courage failing, who makes this statement and who do they fear?	Joshua 2:11
5	What happened to cause Ish Bosheth, Saul’s son, to lose courage and all Israel to become alarmed?	2 Samuel 4:1
6	In the second Scripture above from 2 Samuel 7, who is the servant who is praying, and in response to what?	2 Samuel 7:27
7	Who is told to take courage and do it, when he falls to the earth, weeping, when he hears that those in Jerusalem have intermarried with the local population?	Chapter 10, verse 4
8	Both in Matthew and Mark, Jesus says, “Take courage. It is I.  Don’t be afraid.”  Who was He talking to and what was Jesus doing at the time?	Matthew 14:27 and Mark 8:50
9	What group of people first had Peter and John arrested for speaking about the resurrection of the dead, but then were astounded by Peter’s and John’s courage and public speaking ability, knowing that they were not “formally” educated.	Acts 4:13
10	What is the impending fear when Paul mentions twice over four verses for the people to keep up their courage?  The second of these verses is mentioned above.	Acts 27:22-25

Have you had a moment in your life when you showed great courage?

I heard a Congressional Medal of Honor winner once say that some people are so scared that they run in the wrong direction.  Meaning: His exploits that earned him the medal could not be characterized as “bravery.”

Sometimes, you just do something instinctive.  Sometimes you follow your training although it makes no sense at all at the time.

And I think that sometimes you really do get so scared that you run in the wrong direction and then the circumstances dictate the next series of events.

But God is telling all of us to Be Strong and Courageous.  This command shows that the strength and courage come with the command.  God is giving us the capacity to be strong and courageous.

Then as Jesus commanded His disciples.  We are to “take courage.”  This means that we are running low on that commodity and Jesus is offering a large bucket of strength and courage.

Then, with that courage within us and the circumstances have not improved, we must do as Paul commanded, “keep your courage.”  We need that reminder that God already gave us what we need that will see us through.

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The Answers:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	How many times does “Be strong and courageous” appear in the Old Testament (NIV)? Hint: The number is less than a dozen.	N/A	11
2	The command “Be strong and courageous” is said to, or said by, one person roughly two-thirds	N/A	Joshua, 8 of the 11
3	One example of the command “Be strong and courageous” is shown above.  This command is in three other Old Testament books.  Considering question 2 especially, name one of the three remaining books.  Bonus for more.	N/A	Deuteronomy, Joshua, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles
4	The first verse above speaks of heart’s melting and courage failing, who makes this statement and who do they fear?	Joshua 2:11	Rahab makes the statement.  She is telling the spies, but the people of Jericho fear the Israelites.  And Rahab speaks of fearing God.
5	What happened to cause Ish Bosheth, Saul’s son, to lose courage and all Israel to become alarmed?	2 Samuel 4:1	Abner, commander of Israel’s army died.
6	In the second Scripture above from 2 Samuel 7, who is the servant who is praying, and in response to what?	2 Samuel 7:27	David, in his response to God giving him the Davidic Covenant, that someone from David’s bloodline would be on the throne forever.
7	Who is told to take courage and do it, when he falls to the earth, weeping, when he hears that those in Jerusalem have intermarried with the local population?	Chapter 10, verse 4	Ezra
8	Both in Matthew and Mark, Jesus says, “Take courage. It is I.  Don’t be afraid.”  Who was He talking to and what was Jesus doing at the time?	Matthew 14:27 and Mark 8:50	Jesus was talking to the disciples, while Jesus was walking on the water toward their boat.
9	What group of people first had Peter and John arrested for speaking about the resurrection of the dead, but then were astounded by Peter’s and John’s courage and public speaking ability, knowing that they were not “formally” educated.	Acts 4:13	The Sanhedrin
10	What is the impending fear when Paul mentions twice over four verses for the people to keep up their courage?  The second of these verses is mentioned above.	Acts 27:22-25	The ship will be destroyed in the storm, but none of the people on board will be lost.  This is when the storm caused the ship Paul was on to crash off the shores of Malta.

Whether you did well on this quiz or, ummm, not so well, for the first video, here is Casting Crowns singing Courageous.

Here are the Afters with I Will Fear no More.

Here is Anne Wilson singing Strong.

Dear Lord Jesus, I can’t do this on my own.

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.