THE STORYTELLER'S BIBLE
Act II - Conquest and Kings, Scene 3
Script by Bob Allen
For four voices

Scene 3

                                    (READERS #1, 3 AND 4 BRING STOOLS DOWN STAGE AND SIT IN 

                                    FRONT OF # 2 WHO REMAINS STANDING.)

2

1  3  4

VOICE THREE:        During the same period of history,

VOICE FOUR:          at the end of the time of the judges,

VOICE ONE:             there was another mother in Israel who despaired of ever 

                                   having a child,

VOICE FOUR:          much less a son.

VOICE TWO:           Hannah!

VOICE ONE:             The barren wife of a man who loved her dearly.

VOICE THREE:        The only woman in the Bible who prayed so fervently that Eli the 

                                  priest thought she was drunk.

VOICE FOUR:          The mother who literally gave her son to the God who had given                                    him to her.

VOICE TWO:            Hannah came yearly to the Tabernacle with a new coat to replace  

                                   the one she knew Samuel had outgrown since she had been there 

                                   last.

VOICE THREE:        She listened with tears of joy as he told her how God called him in                                   the middle of the night and he answered, “Here am I.”

VOICE FOUR:          She thrilled to hear the unsolicited testimonies of her neighbors  

                                  and friends from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south who                                   recognized that Samuel was growing into a prophet of God and  

                                 that God was letting none of his words fall to the ground.

VOICE ONE:           (STAND AND STEP BEHIND OTHERS AS # 2 SITS ON THE  

                                 STOOL VACATED BY # 1).  Samuel—the last of the judges and                                  the first of the prophets.

1

2  3  4

VOICE TWO:          Samuel—the king maker.  Anointing Saul against his better  

                                 judgment with the knowledge that the people were rejecting God’s                                  theocratic rule.  And mourning when his worst fears about the  

                                 people choosing a king were fulfilled in the fickle King Saul.

VOICE THREE:        Anointing David with the understanding that the Lord “seeth not as                                   man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the  

                                  LORD looketh on the heart.”

VOICE FOUR:          What did God see in the heart of David?

VOICE ONE:            Even as a young man those around him recognized in David a  

                                  burgeoning musical ability.  Many shepherd boys carried harps or                                   flutes to while away the lonely hours, but David mastered the art of                                   inducing refreshment through the skillful plucking of the  

                                  harp strings.  His musical prowess even brought emotional stability                                   back to the king when he was in the midst of one of his bouts with  

                                  spiritual depression.

VOICE TWO:          What did God see in David?  Not just a latent musical talent, but  

                                 the ability to use that talent for the praise of God.  By the end of  

                                 his life David was known as the sweet psalmist of Israel.  Even   

                                 greater than his accomplishments as warrior, builder, inventor and  

                                 administrator was his composition of the Psalms.  When every  

                                 other work of David has passed away, the Psalms continue to daily  

                                 comfort and bless the hearts of those who read them.

VOICE THREE:        As a young man, David was known for his courage.  Many boys  

                                  were responsible for the family flock of sheep and goats, but few                                   defended them the way David did.  No lion or bear who tried to                                   take a lamb from David’s flock was safe.  He would pursue them,                                   rescue the lamb, and single-handedly slaughter the marauder.

VOICE ONE:            What did God see in David?  Not just courage, for by the end of 

                                  his life David was known for his dependence upon God rather than

                                  his self-confidence.  He had success in battle, but ended up  

                                  fighting his own son.  He longed to build the temple, but was

                                 denied that privilege because of the blood on his hands.  He came                                     to recognize his weaknesses, and in the private musings of his own  

                                 struggle with doubt and sin he demonstrated an unfailing trust in  

                                 God that would down through the centuries impart strength to 

                                 others as well.

VOICE FOUR:         As a youth, David was known as a man of war, an athletic hero  

                                 figure best known for his defeat of the giant Goliath.  Every                                 

                                 shepherd boy carried a sling, but few could match the feat of a   

                                 single stone dead center in the only square inch of flesh not  

                                 covered by Goliath’s armor.  The popular songs of the day  

                                 celebrated him as the “slayer of ten thousands.”

VOICE TWO:          But by the end of his life the man who was once acclaimed for his  

                                strength and lack of fear was known for his fear of God.  His last  

                                words to the nation reminded them that every king must rule “in

                                the fear of God.”  David did not live a perfect life, but he came to 

                                recognize the devastation wrought by sin as well as the fact that    

                                reverence for an Awesome God would make him face the truth                                                              about himself.  For David the fear of God was indeed the  

                               beginning of wisdom.

VOICE THREE:     When he was just a boy David gained a reputation for wisdom. 

                               Though Samuel had promised him he would be the next king he  

                               did not seek to overthrow King Saul.  He remained respectful in  

                               how he spoke of the king even when Saul was pursuing him  

                               through the wilderness.  He did not boast of his own  

                               accomplishments, but “let another man praise him and not his own  

                               lips.”

VOICE FOUR:      What did God see in David?  A man who could learn that God’s                                                          wisdom was even greater than his own.  Where David had been  

                              known for his prudence in matters as a youth, he became known  

                              for his knowledge of God’s Word.  His communion with God and   

                              knowledge of God’s character and purpose for mankind remained  

                             unparalleled by any of his contemporaries.   He wrote “he shall                                                 redeem their soul” years before Christ was even born.  Long before 

                             the cross, the Spirit inspired him to say “they pierced my hands  

                             and my feet.”  Much earlier than the age of grace he discerned the  

                             mind of God and pleaded “have mercy according to Thy   

                             lovingkindness.”  Truly God’s Word was on David’s tongue.

VOICE ONE:      David, as a teen, was known as a “good-looker.”   Smaller than his                                                      brothers and ruddy in complexion, he was still described as                                 

                            comely.  He also had that spark of personality that caused people             

                            to like him the first time they met.  He was a natural-born leader.                 

                           Jonathan became his best friend in spite of the fact that he knew       

                           David would take away his inherited right to the throne.

VOICE TWO:    What did God see in David?  By the end of the king’s life he was                                                     known, not for his beautiful outward graces, but for his inner  

                          character.  “A king,” said the last words of David, “must be just.”      

                          God had changed his heart.  The quest for righteousness through                                   

                          his experience with God permeated his life from the inside out.    

                          His prayer had changed from, “They like me, they really like me,”                                         to “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit  

                          within me.”

VOICE THREE:        David had become—

ALL:                           A man after God’s own heart.