Sound Familiar?
The Bible says, "God helps those who help themselves"—or does it? Many familiar sayings that sound scriptural really aren't, while other phrases that sound contemporary are taken from Scripture. Can you separate the true biblical sayings from the imposters in this true or false quiz?

1. True or false:
A stranger in a strange land.

2. True or false:
Inherit the wind.

3. True or false:
God helps those who help themselves.

4. True or false:
Be sure your sin will find you out.

5. True or false:
The lion will lay down with the lamb.

6. True or false:
God is love.

7. True or false:
Tempt not a desperate man.

8. True or false:
Love covers a multitude of sins.

Answers to Build Your Bible Power
1. True. After killing an Egyptian overseer, Moses fled from Egypt to the land of Midian where he married and lived for 40 years. Moses' firstborn son was named Gershom—Hebrew for "alien"�?for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land" (Ex. 2:22, kjv).

2. True. Proverbs 11:29 (KJV) says, "He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind." Jacob's three oldest sons, Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, forfeited their inheritance to their younger brother Judah, because of the trouble they brought upon their family (see Gen. 49:1-8; 34:25-30; 35:22).

3. False. Although George Barna's poll found that 82 percent of Americans believed this quote from Thomas Jefferson is in the Bible, Scripture says, "The Lord helps [the righteous] and delivers them" (Ps. 37:39-40).

4. True. (Num. 32:23, KJV). When Moses divided the Promised Land among the Israelites, the tribes of Reuben and Gad requested land on the east bank of the Jordan. Moses granted their request but made them promise to go to war to conquer the land on the west bank. If they broke this oath, Moses warned, God would hold them accountable.

5. False. Both animals are mentioned in two Isaiah references (11:6 and 65:25), but not paired together. The lamb is "dwelling" and "eating" with the wolf—something American artist Edward Hicks portrayed in his painting, "The Peaceable Kingdom of the Branch" on page 29.

6. True. These exact words are found twice in John's epistle (1 John 4:8, 4:16). The fullest expression of God's love is seen in the gift of his son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16).

7. False. The Bible records numerous instances of temptation arising from desperate circumstances, but this line is from William Shakespeare's pen in Romeo & Juliet, Act 3, Scene 2.

8. True. Both Peter and James adapted Proverbs 10:12 in their epistles, reminding Christians of the importance of forgiveness and brotherly love (1 Pet. 4:8; James 5:20).

Copyright © 1999 by the author or Christianity Today International/Christian Reader magazine. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or e-mail [email protected].
January/February 1999, Vol. 37, No. 1, Page 29