Book of Deuteronomy Quiz: Covenant Renewal and the Death of Moses

1. What is commanded in Deuteronomy 19 about witnesses in court cases?

1. 'One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offence... A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses'
2. 'The accused has the right to face their accuser — anonymous testimony is forbidden in Israel'
3. 'Witnesses must be landowners — the homeless and poor could not testify as they had no stake in the community'
4. A man may not testify against his own family — conflict of interest disqualifies close relatives

2. What does Deuteronomy 20 command concerning cities outside Canaan versus cities within it?

1. All cities: offer peace first; only fight those who refuse. The degree of destruction depends on the level of resistance
2. Outside cities: destroy everything as a holy war. Inside cities: offer peace and allow them to become servants
3. Outside cities: leave them completely untouched — Israel's war was only for the Promised Land. Inside cities: offer peace first
4. Outside cities: offer peace first; if refused, besiege them, kill the men, keep the rest as plunder. Inside cities: completely destroy everything — it is devoted to God

3. What ceremony was prescribed in Deuteronomy 21 when a murder victim was found but the killer unknown?

1. The body was carried to the central sanctuary where priests performed a purification ritual over the whole community
2. The elders of the nearest town broke a heifer's neck in a valley with running water, washed their hands over it, and declared their innocence
3. The high priest performed a Day of Atonement ceremony specifically for the unresolved bloodguilt in the land
4. The tribal elders gathered and offered a collective sin offering until the killer was revealed through the casting of lots

4. What does Deuteronomy 22:8 command about building a house with a flat roof?

1. 'Rooftop idols and altars are forbidden — build a parapet so that no one uses the roof for worship'
2. 'The roof may not be used on the Sabbath — build a parapet as a reminder that the roof is for work days only'
3. 'When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof'
4. The roof must be accessible only to men — women and children must not use the roof without male supervision

5. What is the 'firstfruits confession' in Deuteronomy 26, and what does the worshipper declare?

1. A declaration of personal sin and a commitment to keep the covenant more faithfully in the coming year
2. A formal oath that the tithe being brought is accurate and not less than what is owed
3. A statement of the worshipper's gratitude for specific blessings received during the past year
4. When bringing firstfruits to the priest, the worshipper recites Israel's history — 'my father was a wandering Aramean... we cried to the LORD... he brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand'

6. What was the ceremony to be performed at Mounts Gerizim and Ebal after crossing the Jordan?

1. A burnt offering was to be made on each mountain simultaneously — one for blessing, one for curse
2. All Israel would march between the two mountains — those who had sinned turned to Ebal, those who were faithful turned to Gerizim
3. Moses would stand between the two mountains and declare the law to all twelve tribes gathered on the slopes
4. Six tribes on Mount Gerizim would pronounce blessings; six tribes on Mount Ebal would pronounce the corresponding curses — the Levites read the covenant terms between them

7. What does Deuteronomy 28 say will happen if Israel fully obeys the LORD? (The blessings)

1. 'The LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth... You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country... The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season'
2. God will give Israel supernatural wisdom that will make them advisors to all the kings of the earth
3. Israel's population will grow until it fills the whole earth — they will inherit every nation
4. The most powerful nations will bring tribute to Israel and no enemy will dare attack them

8. The curses section of Deuteronomy 28 is longer than the blessings. What is the most severe curse described?

1. A plague that would kill nine out of ten Israelites — only a small remnant would survive
2. Exile to a distant nation where Israel would serve gods of wood and stone — living in fear and finding no resting place
3. Permanent famine — the land would produce nothing for forty years as punishment
4. The permanent withdrawal of God's presence — the tabernacle fire would be extinguished and never relit

9. What does Deuteronomy 29:29 say about revealed and hidden things?

1. 'The hidden things belong to the LORD — he reveals them only to the prophets he has chosen'
2. 'The LORD hides some commandments as a test — those who seek them diligently will find them and be rewarded'
3. 'The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law'
4. 'What God has hidden, no human wisdom can discover — only divine revelation can unlock the mysteries of creation'

10. What does Deuteronomy 30:11-14 say about the accessibility of God's commands?

1. 'God's law is a treasure to be discovered — those who search for it with all their heart will find it'
2. 'Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven... No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it'
3. 'The commandments are difficult for humans to keep unaided — that is why God provides priests to help interpret and apply the law'
4. 'The law is demanding and difficult — only the wise and educated can truly understand and apply it'

11. What is the famous 'choose life' passage in Deuteronomy 30?

1. 'Choose today whom you will serve — the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the God of Israel. As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD'
2. 'I call heaven and earth to witness against you: life and death are set before you. Choose wisely and you will flourish; choose foolishly and you will perish'
3. 'See, I set before you today life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him'
4. 'Today I set before you life and prosperity, death and destruction. If you obey the LORD your God... you will live and increase... but if your heart turns away, you will certainly be destroyed'

12. What did Moses command the Levites to do with the Book of the Law every seven years?

1. 'At the end of every seven years, in the year for cancelling debts, during the Festival of Tabernacles... read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Assemble the people — men, women and children, and the foreigners in your towns'
2. Copy it and distribute a portion to each tribe — every tribe was to have their own section of the law to memorise and teach
3. Place it in the ark of the covenant — it was too holy to be read publicly and had to be approached only by the high priest
4. Read it privately to the priests for review and correction before the people heard it

13. What is the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32, and what was its purpose?

1. A lament for the wilderness dead — a memorial song for all who perished during the forty years
2. A love poem from God to Israel — expressing his affection and the longing he had to bless his people
3. A prophetic poem that Moses was commanded to teach Israel — when they rebelled in the future, the song would testify against them ('this song will testify against them as a witness')
4. A victory song celebrating God's conquest of Egypt — Moses composed it at the Red Sea and taught it to all Israel

14. What famous image in Deuteronomy 32 describes God's care for Israel in the wilderness?

1. 'As an eagle stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft'
2. A farmer nurturing a tender vine — pruning it carefully so it would bear much fruit
3. A mother who cannot forget her nursing child — her compassion exceeding all other forms of love
4. A shepherd leading sheep through a dangerous valley — protecting from wolves and lions on every side

15. What does Deuteronomy 32:35 say — a verse Paul quotes in Romans 12?

1. 'Do not take revenge, my people; leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: Vengeance is mine'
2. 'God will repay every person according to what they have done — to those who do good he will give eternal life'
3. 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them'
4. 'The LORD is righteous; he loves justice; the upright will see his face'

16. What was Moses's Blessing of the Tribes in Deuteronomy 33?

1. A correction of Jacob's blessing in Genesis 49 — updating the prophetic words for the new generation about to enter the land
2. A military review of each tribe's strength and readiness for the conquest — a final strategic assessment
3. A promise to each tribe of the specific amount of land they would receive — a final confirmation of Joshua's territorial allocation
4. Individual poetic blessings spoken by Moses over each of the twelve tribes before his death — each reflecting the tribe's character and future

17. What famous description of God opens Moses's Blessing of the Tribes in Deuteronomy 33:26-29?

1. 'God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth gives way'
2. 'The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation'
3. 'The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty... the world is firmly established; it cannot be moved'
4. 'There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides across the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms'

18. Where did Moses die, and what view did he have before his death?

1. Moses climbed Mount Nebo/Pisgah, where God showed him the whole land from Dan to the Negev and from the Mediterranean to Jericho — he died there on the mountain
2. Moses climbed Mount Sinai one final time and died there — reunited with God at the place where they had first met
3. Moses died at Kadesh Barnea where he had struck the rock — near the place of his disobedience
4. Moses died peacefully in the Israelite camp on the plains of Moab surrounded by the elders of Israel

19. What is mysterious about Moses's burial, according to Deuteronomy 34?

1. God buried Moses in Moab in an unknown location — 'to this day no one knows where his grave is'
2. His body was carried by twelve angels to a secret location in the Promised Land
3. Moses was buried at the foot of Mount Sinai where he had first encountered God
4. Moses's body disappeared on the mountain — no trace was ever found, as if God had taken him

20. How does Deuteronomy 34 conclude its tribute to Moses?

1. 'Joshua led Israel faithfully just as Moses had — the people obeyed Joshua as they had obeyed Moses in all things'
2. 'Moses was a man of God who never turned to the right or the left — his memory will be blessed for all generations'
3. 'Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt'
4. 'The law of Moses remains forever — what he wrote will stand until the coming of the One greater than Moses'