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Stories for the Ages

According to the Bible, we can serve God regardless of our age. Paul told Timothy, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers" (1 Tim. 4:12). Similarly, God has no mandatory retirement age. Joshua conquered the Promised Land when he "was well-advanced in years" (Josh. 13:1). Can you guess the ages of the following people when God used them?

1. How old was Moses when he led the Israelites out of Egypt? (Extra points if you know how old he was when his mother placed him in the Nile.)

A. 40 years

B. 60 years

C. 80 years

D. 120 years

2. What was the approximate age difference between Jesus and John the Baptist?

A. 6 months

B. 9 months

C. 12 months

D. 2 years

3. Methuselah, the oldest person in the Bible, died when he was how old?

A. 123 years

B. 635 years

C. 872 years

D. 969 years

4. Israel's youngest king, Joash, inherited the throne when he was how old?

A. 5 years

B. 7 years

C. 10 years

D. 12 years

5. How old was Noah when he entered the ark?

A. 120 years

B. 250 years

C. 600 years

D. 750 years

6. At what age did Caleb conquer the giants in the Promised Land?

A. 85 years old

B. 65 years old

C. 90 years old

D. 110 years old

7. How old was Jesus when Simeon and Anna prophesied that He was the promised Messiah?

A. 40 days

B. 12 years

C. 8 days

D. 7 years

1. C. 80 years (Ex. 7:7). Moses was chosen for God's purposes at 3 months of age when he was placed in the Nile (Ex. 2:2). He fled from Egypt when he was 40, returned when he was 80, and led the Israelites for 40 more years. He died at the age of 120, "yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone" (Deut. 34:7).

2. A. 6 months (Luke 1:36). When the angel told Mary the news that she would have a son, he also said that "Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child ? and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month."

3. D. 969 years (Gen. 5:27). According to the genealogies in Genesis 5, Methuselah would have been five years old when his ancestor Adam died. Methuselah was Noah's grandfather and he died the year of the flood.

4. B. 7 years (2 Chron. 24:1). In a sordid story of murder and political intrigue, Joash's grandmother Athaliah (a daughter of Ahab and Jezebel) plotted to slaughter the entire royal family. Only the infant Joash was rescued and hidden. The priests staged a coup when Joash was seven, executing Athaliah and restoring David's line to the throne.

5. C. 600 years (Gen. 7:6). Noah had lived only two-thirds of his life span by the age of 600. He lived 350 more years after the flood. Compared to today's average life span of 70 years, Noah would have entered the ark when he was approximately 44 years old.

6. A. 85 years (Josh. 14:10). Caleb and Joshua, the two faithful spies, were the only men of their generation to enter the Promised Land. At age 85 Caleb said, "I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out ? " (v. 11).

7. A. 40 days (Luke 2:22). According to the Law of Moses, women offered a sacrifice of purification at the Temple 40 days after the birth of a son (Lev. 12). If he was her firstborn son, he would be consecrated to the Lord (Ex. 13:2). Mary and Joseph were fulfilling these laws when they met Simeon and Anna.

A Christian Reader original article.

Read more articles that highlight writing by Christian women at ChristianityToday.com/Women