Act II - Conquest and Kings, Scene 5
Script by Bob Allen
For four voices
1 2
3 4
VOICE TWO: Ahab
and Jezebel had been in power in Samaria for four years already
when Jehoshaphat succeeded Asa as king in Jerusalem.
VOICE THREE: Jehoshaphat
inherited a strong military from his father and as a
result
enjoyed a twenty-five year reign of relatively peaceful
conditions.
VOICE FOUR: At
least, that is what his father would have said.
VOICE ONE: Jehoshaphat
walked in all the ways of his father David and did not worship
the Baalim, and as a result enjoyed a twenty-five year
reign of relative peaceful
conditions.
VOICE TWO: That
is what Jehoshaphat would have said.
VOICE THREE: His
heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord.
VOICE FOUR: He
organized a large band of traveling professors--teaching
Levites who went from city to city
holding seminars on the law of God. They actually carried a copy of the scrolls
with them and
many
of the people of the land heard directly from God’s Word for the first
time in their lives.
VOICE ONE: The
fear of the Lord protected the nation from attack.
VOICE TWO: Even
the Philistines and the Arabians brought the king tribute
money.
VOICE THREE: The
economy prospered under the blessing of God.
2
4
1 3
VOICE TWO: (TAKING
ARM OF READER # 4) The highlight of the
social
season involved a wedding between Jehoram, the crown prince of
Judah and
Princess Athaliah of Israel. For the
first time in more
than
one hundred years it looked as if the united kingdom of David and Solomon might
once again become a reality.
VOICE FOUR: The
wedding sealed a political alliance between King Jehoshaphat
and King
Ahab. Jehoshaphat was all for that—
VOICE THREE: in
spite of the fact that whenever they went into battle together
Ahab insisted that King Jehosphaphat
wear his crown and purple robe
while Ahab disguised himself as a common soldier.
VOICE ONE: The
wedding brought Prince Jehoram a beautiful bride and he was all for
that—
VOICE TWO: in spite of the fact that it gave him Jezebel for a mother-in-law.
VOICE THREE: The
wedding gave Athaliah a chance to display her ravishing
beauty
as she came down the aisle all in white with a train so long
it had to
be carried by six of her friends from Sidon, the land of her
mother’s birth.
VOICE TWO: The
wedding was performed by two high priests: one who led the
worship of the golden calf in the
temple at Bethel and one who led the
worship of Jehovah in the temple in Jerusalem.
It was the first time
the two had ever shared the same platform, and people from both
nations were very proud of the ecumenical unity on display.
VOICE FOUR: So
everyone was happy.
(WEDDING
SCENE ENDS AND READERS MOVE TO NEW
POSITIONS.)
1 2 4 3
VOICE ONE: Except
for Jehu, the son of the prophet Hanani who had been put in
prison by Jehoshaphat’s father.
VOICE THREE: Should
you help the ungodly and love the people who hate the
Lord? Why do you bring the wrath of God upon you?
VOICE TWO: But
Jehoshaphat wasn’t worried. He got along
fine with his in-
laws and even with their son
Ahaziah. Prince Jehoram was happy with his
wife Athaliah and when Jezebel came to visit Jerusalem
she was the perfect picture of
political propriety.
VOICE FOUR: No
one questioned the fact that King Jehoshaphat worshipped the
Lord personally.
He was the best king they had known since the
days of Solomon.
VOICE TWO: When
questions arose about his family, people just shrugged.
VOICE ONE: That’s
the way it is in politics and business.
You have to make
compromises to get along.
VOICE FOUR: Don’t
worry. Everything will be just fine.
VOICE THREE: The
first sign of trouble in their marriage came when Jehoram and
Athaliah tried to choose a name for
one of their sons.
VOICE FOUR: Abijah! I want to name him after my great-grandfather
Abijah.
VOICE TWO: Oooooooooh! You wouldn’t do that, would you? Ahaziah!
That’s what we need to call
him. Please, Jehoram, just for little ol’me?
VOICE FOUR: But
there’s no one in our family named Ahaziah.
VOICE TWO: Yes
there is—my little brother! Don’t you
remember? He was our
ring-bearer in the wedding.
VOICE FOUR: What
will people think if we name our son after your brother?
What if he becomes king in Israel
and our son becomes king in
Judah? Won’t that be confusing?
VOICE TWO: You
don’t love me!
VOICE ONE: The
son’s name became Ahaziah.
VOICE THREE: The
first trouble that directly affected the entire kingdom came at
the time
of Jehoram’s coronation. The king and
queen were lying on
couches at the head of the lavishly furnished table when
Athaliah
happened to glance around the room and see the king’s six brothers who were
reclining on their own couches.
VOICE TWO: I
don’t like this. I don’t like this at all.
VOICE FOUR: What
is there not to like? I’m the king. You’re the queen!
VOICE TWO: But
what will happen to me if something happens to you?
VOICE FOUR: What
do you mean, if something happens to me?
VOICE TWO: I
just want to be sure little Ahaziah is safe.
He’s only 13. Look at
all these brothers of yours who would just love to get
their grimy little
fingers on your throne. Do you think
they would let Ahaziah be
king? Think of us, Jehoram. Think of me.
What would happen
to me?
VOICE ONE: The
very next day the king’s own bodyguards killed all six of the
younger brothers of the new king.
VOICE THREE: The
king and queen didn’t even argue about where to worship.
Athaliah went to the Baal temple
which was being built in
Jerusalem
under the direction of Mattan the priest, and Jehoram
... went with her.
VOICE FOUR: For
some reason the king, the queen and Ahaziah weren’t home
when the Philistines from the west
and the Arabians from the east
attacked
Jerusalem simultaneously. They ransacked
the palace and killed
all the other princes and their wives.
VOICE TWO: Two
long years of battling an incurable disease of the intestines
incapacitated King Jehoram even
further, and it was during those years
that the queen got a real taste of the power that came with running
the day to day affairs of the kingdom.
VOICE ONE: There
were no tears shed when he finally died. She
simply arranged for
Ahaziah to assume the title as king
while she continued to wield
the
real power behind the throne.
VOICE THREE: Even
those who were shocked by what the queen had already done
couldn’t believe what happened next.
VOICE FOUR: (STAND
AND MOVE LEFT) Just one year into his
reign as king,
Ahaziah found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
1 2 4 3
VOICE ONE: While
visiting his counter-part in the northern kingdom, King
Ahaziah
got caught in a coup led by a wild charioteer named Jehu.
Athaliah’s
brother, the king of Israel was deposed and killed and
Ahaziah died in the
cross-fire. Her mother Jezebel was
thrown to
her
death from a window and eaten by the dogs.
VOICE THREE: Once
again there was no time for mourning on the part of Queen
Athaliah. She had work to do.
VOICE TWO: So
Jehu thinks he has overthrown the house of Ahab, does he? He
hasn’t even met the
house of Ahab. He’ll never get this
kingdom
away
from me. Guards! Go immediately to the royal nursery.
Don’t even
stop for your swords. Use your hands if
you must. I want all of them
killed. Every one of them. All my grand-
children. Don’t let even one of the little brats
survive.
VOICE FOUR: For
the next six years Queen Athaliah reigned on David’s throne in
the city of
Jerusalem, blissfully ignorant of one very important
fact.
VOICE ONE: One
child had survived her murderous plot.
VOICE TWO: One
child to carry on the divine covenant promise given to the house of
David.
VOICE THREE: One
child through whom the promised Messiah could be born.
VOICE FOUR: The
temple was a wonderful, exciting place for two little boys like
Josiah and his best friend, Zechariah, the son of the
high priest.
They would spend hours
playing hide and seek among the sheep and
the lambs.
VOICE ONE: (CROSS LEFT TO JOIN # 3 AND 4. ALL THREE SIT ON
FLOOR) When they were five they joined a small group of boys
on the
steps of Solomon’s porch to study the Word of God under
the instruction of their teacher, Iddo. It was after their second year
of
school began that they started asking questions of Zechariah’s
mother,
Jehoshebeath.
(READER
# 2 BRINGS STOOL AND SITS BEHIND THE
OTHERS).
2
1
3 4
VOICE THREE: Mother,
if Jehu is king in Samaria, who is our king here in
Jerusalem? We
asked Iddo, but he wouldn’t tell us.
VOICE TWO: We
don’t have a king right now. Our last
king was name Ahaziah,
and he had a lovely wife
by the name of Zibiah whom he loved
very
much.
VOICE FOUR: Zibiah? I think I’ve heard that name before.
VOICE TWO: Zibiah
and Ahaziah had a little son who they hoped would one day
be king. But when
Ahaziah died, his mother sent the palace guards to kill everyone related to her
son.
VOICE THREE: Even
her own grandchildren?
VOICE TWO: Even
her grandchildren. One of the guards
told me what was
going to happen, so I went right to
Zibiah’s room and with her
permission
took her little boy and brought him here to the temple.
For the last five years we have raised him as
one of our own sons.
VOICE FOUR: Mother? Was that little boy’s name Joash?
VOICE TWO: Yes,
Joash. Some day, if God is willing, you
will be the new king
of Judah.
VOICE THREE: Wow! Wait till we tell this to the other fellows.
VOICE TWO: No! That you must not do. If Queen Athaliah discovers that Joash
still lives, she will surely try to kill him again. You must promise
never to tell this secret to
anyone.
VOICE ONE: The
boys promised solemnly. Jehoida, the
high priest, had known
that
he would need to make his move against the queen before too many
years had passed. With each day she
reigned as queen her stranglehold
on the kingdom strengthened.
(READERS
# 1, 3 AND 4 STAND IN A GROUP. READER #2
CROSS STAGE RIGHT AND SIT ON
STOOL).
VOICE THREE: As
darkness settled over the city of Jerusalem one night, Levites
began to gather in the temple. Silently, by twos and threes they
assembled
until the entire courtyard filled with hushed whispers of anticipation.
VOICE FOUR: Finally,
Jehoida arose to speak. You have been
called here tonight by
five brave men, men you trust completely.
I have shared with
them
a secret which now you all must know.
Seven years ago, one
child
escaped the wrath of wicked Queen Athaliah.
And now, “the king’s
son shall reign, as the Lord hath said of the sons of David.”
VOICE ONE: The
next day, at precisely twelve noon, twelve trumpeters
appeared on the steps overlooking the temple courtyard. Placing
their
shofars to their lips they played a triumphant fanfare.
VOICE THREE: Out
of the holy place came a procession of Levites, armed with
swords, shields and spears. Following them walked Jehoida in all his high
priestly splendor, followed by a small and scared-looking boy in a
purple robe.
VOICE FOUR: The
people gathered in the temple that day watched in amazement
as the
priest positioned a crown on the small boy’s head, reverently
placed a copy of the
scroll of God into the child’s arms and
solemnly
poured the anointing oil over his bowed head.
Behold
your
king! Joash the son of David, the son of
Ahaziah. God save the
king!
VOICE ONE: The
happy cries of “God save the king” echoed off the marble of
the
temple walls and out into the streets of the city. Rather than diminishing
with distance they grew even louder as they
approached
the walls of the palace just below the temple mount.
VOICE TWO: Queen
Athaliah sat on her balcony eating a late breakfast as the
cries grew stronger and
stronger. As soon as she could
distinguish
what
the crowd was shouting she called for the soldier on duty to follow
and raced up the stone pavement that led from the palace to the
temple.
VOICE THREE: Bursting
into the courtyard she perceived at a glance what was
taking
place. Fully expecting her bodyguard to
follow her, she plunged
into the crowd, desperately trying to get her hands on the neck of
the young boy in the big crown.
VOICE TWO: (STAND) “Treason,” she yelled. “Treason!”
VOICE THREE: When
she came to the first row of guards she was within ten feet of
the king. Joash wanted to run and hide, but he was the
king now.
Instead
of running away, he took a small step forward, held up his hand
and called, “Stop her!”
VOICE ONE: To
his amazement the guards obeyed him.
They grabbed the
queen and turned to him for further
directions. Speechless, he looked
to Jehoida for help.
VOICE FOUR: Let
her not be killed in the house of the Lord.
On the archery
range put her to death for all the
trouble she brought upon Judah.
VOICE ONE: King
Joash waved his little hand in agreement and the guards
hoisted
the queen onto their shoulders like a big bag of flour and
set off
across the courtyard. All the way
through the crowd she spit
at people and every few feet she threw back her head and yelled—
VOICE TWO: Treason! Treason! (TURN BACK TO AUDIENCE)
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