CHARACTER NEEDED – BIBLE SKETCHES
Character Needed,
by Robert Allen, published by Regular Baptist Press, includes 33 skits
illustrating the truths of each of the verses in Proverbs 15. These Character
Needed – Bible Sketches are designed to accompany those contemporary plays,
illustrating the same character traits by use of a Bible story.
CHARACTER NEEDED
A GIFT TO GOD
Proverbs 15:8
I Samuel 1:1-28
Character Trait: Generosity
Cast of Characters
Narrator
Eli
Hannah
Samuel
NARRATOR: Two ram’s horn trumpets rang out to
call the people in the Tabernacle to the morning sacrifice. Eli, the priest, sat on a bench near the
posts that held the curtains separating the courtyard from the Holy Place
where only the priests could enter. It
was feast day, and people from all over the land had come to Shiloh
to worship. Eli was just about ready to
push himself to his feet and go in to preside at the brazen altar when he
noticed a woman over near one side of the Tabernacle. She looked like she was talking to someone,
but there was no one nearby to talk to.
ELI: My good woman, have
you been drinking wine so early in the day?
Are you drunk? Why are you
talking to someone who isn’t here? It
would be better for you and your family if you would not do this.
HANNAH: But sir, I have not been
drinking anything. I have been praying,
pouring out my spirit before the Lord. I
have a great sorrow which I have been asking Him to meet.
ELI: I do believe you
are telling me the truth. What is this
great sorrow? And why is it that you are
weeping while you pray?
HANNAH: Oh, sir. I am married to a wonderful husband. We have been married for many years, but
still we have no children. He has
another wife who has many children, and she makes fun of me because I have
none. I want to have a child, sir. I want a child more than anything else in the
entire world. And sir, if God will give
me a child, I have promised Him that I will give that child back to Him. I will give him to the Lord to serve Him all
of his life. And that is why I have been
crying and praying. Do you think God
will give me a child?
ELI: I believe He will,
good woman. In fact, I will join with
you in prayer and ask God that He might give you this request, this child that
you have been praying for.
NARRATOR: Eli kept his promise. Many times as he went about his business in
the Tabernacle, he remembered the woman whose name was Hannah. And he prayed that God would answer her
prayer and give her a son. In fact, he
was so sure that God would answer her prayer that he looked for Hannah the next
year during the feast. He expected her
to come back with a little baby in her arms and show him God’s answer. But Hannah didn’t come back the next year.
Two more
years went by, and Eli almost forgot about Hannah and her prayer. There were so many people who came to the
Tabernacle and so many requests. But God
had not forgotten Hannah. One day, as
Eli was sitting on his bench, he looked up into the face of a woman who looked
strangely familiar. Standing next to her
was a small lad about three years old.
HANNAH: Greetings, sir. Do you remember me?
ELI: I know I
should. You have been here to the
Tabernacle before.
HANNAH: Yes, I have. I’m the woman who stood right over there and
prayed. Don’t you remember? You told me that you would pray with me, and
God answered our prayer. This is the
child I prayed for, and God has given him to me.
ELI: That’s
wonderful! I’m so happy for you. And I’m so happy that you have brought the
boy to meet me. I had wondered about you
when I didn’t see you for so long.
HANNAH: I suppose you did. I could have come sooner, perhaps. But I wanted to wait until the lad was old
enough to come and stay here with you.
ELI: To what? Did you say something about the boy staying
here with us?
HANNAH: Certainly. Don’t you remember? I promised the Lord that if He would give me
a child, I would give him back to the Lord for a lifetime of service. Isn’t the Tabernacle the place to serve God?
ELI: Well, yes… but…
HANNAH: Then it’s settled. I’ll come back to see him every year, and
I’ll bring new clothes for him as he’s sure to grow every year…and a new
coat. But he will be my gift to the
Lord. As long as he lives, he is given
to the Lord.
NARRATOR: Eli couldn’t believe his ears! He remembered now the promise Hannah had
made, but he hadn’t thought she would bring the boy here. What was he going to do with a three-year-old
boy in the Tabernacle? But it was too
late to ask Hannah that.
Confident
that she had done the right thing, Hannah was already on her way home, happy
that she had given her most precious possession to God. Slowly, Eli lowered his gaze to the small lad
standing in front of him.
ELI: Can you talk, my
child?
SAMUEL: Yes, sir.
ELI: And what is your
name?
SAMUEL: Samuel, sir.
ELI: Samuel. Well, it’s an appropriate name. “Asked of God.” I guess when God gives you a gift, you just
find some way to use it. What can you
do, my child?
SAMUEL: I can pray, sir.
SAMUEL: And pray you shall. I’ll tell my wife to find a place for
you. My boys are all grown now. You can come here to the Tabernacle every day
with me and pray. Who knows what God
might do with a lad who prays every day from the times he’s three.
NARRATOR: Eli settled back on the bench and
watched the people move by with their sacrifices. Samuel stood by him and watched, too. The lines of people with sheep and doves and
bullocks seemed never to end. Everyone
was bringing their gift to God.
As they
looked, the old man and the young boy together, Eli reached out a rough hand
and tousled the boy’s hair.
ELI: You’re just like
one of those sheep, my lad. A sacrifice,
a gift to God. But then again, you’re
even better. Those sheep will die later
today. But you will live to serve God
for many a year. I think that God must
be happy to have you as His living sacrifice.
SAMUEL: I think so, too.
