THE STORYTELLER'S BIBLE
Act III - Wisdom Literature, Scene 6
Script by Bob Allen
For four voices

Scene 6

                                    (READER #1 STANDS, READER #2 SITS ON STOOL, READERS #3 AND #4 SIT ON THE FLOOR.)

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VOICE ONE:             Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father.

VOICE TWO:            The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel.

VOICE THREE:        Solomon, the father.

VOICE FOUR:          My son, hear the instruction of thy father.

VOICE ONE:             Rehoboam, son of Solomon, king of Israel.

VOICE TWO:            Rehoboam, the son.

VOICE THREE:        An entire book of wisdom, written as an instruction book for life by a father to his son.

VOICE FOUR:          With devastating results for Rehoboam who refused to hear.

VOICE ONE:             With magnificent results for generations of children down through the ages who have profited greatly from the wisdom of Solomon, the parent.

VOICE TWO:            Dear children, what a thrill it is to watch you at this stage of your development, twenty-somethings, just embarking on a life of independence.  This has been our goal since the first day we held you between our elbow and our hand.  We have raised you to enter the global community and participate in the marketplace of ideas and action.

VOICE THREE:        Yet, as exciting as it is to observe your transition to independence, we have to confess that we still have some fears.  When you were younger we could grab your hand as you crossed the street, but you have long since crossed many streets without us.   Please bear with us, we are not going to say anything new, but we want you to understand the choices that face a person just entering this life of independence.  Learning wisdom will not be easy.  Although your formal education may be complete, training has only begun in regard to attaining wisdom and discipline.

VOICE ONE:             Learning wisdom will involve developing the ability to choose between options on the basis of insight into the truth. 

VOICE FOUR:          Learning wisdom will involve seeing the reasons behind the actions of those around you.

VOICE THREE:        Learning wisdom will involve shrewdness, because not everyone you meet will be as motivated to see you succeed as we hope your mother and I have been.

VOICE TWO:            Wisdom, in essence, involves a grasp of truth taught by God Himself.  But God has always chosen to communicate His truth in a variety of ways.  He loves language because He created it.  He has given us His wisdom in proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.

VOICE ONE:             Listen to His sayings.

VOICE THREE:        Ponder His proverbs.

VOICE FOUR:          Delight in His parables.

VOICE TWO:            Decipher His riddles.

VOICE ONE/TWO:   Gain His insight into the sweet mysteries of life.

VOICE THREE:        During these early days of independence you will be approached by two individuals.  God described them as women because He inspired Solomon to write about them to his son, and the figure of a young, single man being approached by young women was extremely appropriate to the situation being described.  The same two women walk the streets of every town in the world today.  Their names are Miss Folly and Miss Wisdom.  It is the sincere desire of your parents that you will learn to recognize them from God’s description.  Sincerely, your mother and father.

VOICE FOUR:          All ready for the big date?  I know you haven’t asked for any advice in this area, but I’m your father, right?  So I’m going to give you some anyway.  Look for a girl named Sophia,  Miss Wisdom.  She will be more precious to you than rubies and diamonds.

VOICE ONE:             Courting Miss Wisdom will definitely improve your relationship with your parents.  The new union which begins when you say your matrimonial vows will not end your previous relationships.  One of the determining factors in how successful a marriage will be lies in whether or not that marriage improves the relationship of each partner with both sets of parents.

VOICE TWO:            Choosing Miss Wisdom will also improve your relationship with your Heavenly Father, God Himself.   With her at your side you will find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

VOICE THREE:        Courting Miss Wisdom will also improve your relationship with yourself.  Another major factor in the success of any marriage is found in the determination of each individual to seek the best for his or her spouse.  My son, Miss Wisdom will make you happy.  If you gain her heart she will teach you to understand what life is all about.  She will be as creative in your relationship as God was in the origins of the universe.

VOICE FOUR:          Protect your investment in her.   She is your life.  Being seen with her will impress more people than if your neck was hung with an Olympic gold medal.  You will never need to fear the surprises that come to those couples who are devious and try to hide foolish decisions from each other until they have grown so large they bring disaster and ruin.

VOICE ONE:             Courting Miss Wisdom will improve your relationship with others.  This ought to be high on your list of how you choose a spouse—watch to see how she gets along with other people besides you.   She may put on a good front for you, but how does she treat her brothers and sisters?  Godly marriages will be characterized by the friendly relationships a couple enjoys with others.

VOICE TWO:            Miss Wisdom will teach you to have a concern for others.  She will teach you to practice generosity, not withholding good from those who deserve it when you have the means to help them.  She will genuinely respond to people in need and use personal resources to meet that need.

VOICE THREE:        Miss Wisdom will teach you to respect others so that you will not become a violent person and strive with men without a cause.  Her wisdom will be invaluable in the light of the litigious society in which you live.

VOICE ONE:             Miss Wisdom will help you adopt God’s standards for who you make into your role models.   She will teach you not to envy the oppressor.  Blessed are the peacemakers, said God, not blessed are the Terminators.

VOICE FOUR:          Ready for the big date?  What did you say was her name?

                                    (READER #1 SITS ON A STOOL NEXT TO #2.  READERS #3 AND #4 MOVE TO NEW POSITIONS AND WATCH THE TWO AT CENTER STAGE.)

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VOICE TWO:            They met the first day of the fall semester, his second year in college.  It was a crowded classroom.  She had to squeeze between his desk and hers to take her seat, and her arm brushed the sleeve of his shirt as she settled into place.

VOICE THREE:        He had just been to the post office and was trying to finish reading a letter from his father before World Lit class began.  It was the usual stuff—encouraging him to read his Bible and remember what his mom and dad had taught him, and pursue what his Dad called the Wisdom of God—whatever that was.  Normally he would have read it all, but today he found himself stuffing the pages into his lit book before she could glance over and see that Dad had written.

VOICE ONE:             She was not his type at all.  For one thing, she was loud.  Their World Lit instructor was a Graduate Assistant, obviously new at the job, and from the very first she took it upon herself to torment him.  Her favorite tool was sexual innuendo.

VOICE TWO:            He quickly convinced himself, however, that she was a different person outside of class.  She never put down his ideas like she did those of the G.A.  She would compliment him and marvel at how closely he agreed with what she had been thinking.  She would giggle appreciatively when he used words with double meanings and often their conversations would become contests to see how far they could go with the double ententre.

VOICE THREE:        Her name was Eveleth—Miss Folly.  The young woman his father had warned him about, calling her the strange woman.  He had no idea that he was entering a race at dusk where the path he was trying to run would become darker and darker all the time.  He had no idea that the end of the path would be as sharp as a two-edged sword.  Following her would be following feet that go down to death and steps that take hold on hell.

VOICE ONE:             She would steal the best years of his life as he yielded his years unto the cruel.

VOICE FOUR:          She would rob him of the profit from hours and years of hard work as strangers were filled with his wealth.

VOICE TWO:            She would destroy his health and he would mourn at the last when his flesh and body were consumed away.

VOICE THREE:        Miss Folly would embezzle his emotional stability.  Eventually he would be riddled with guilt over the fact that he hated discipline and scorned correction instead of profiting from what his parents had taught him.

VOICE TWO:            She would raid his family relationships, driving a wedge between him and his parents until years would go by when he never once visited or talked with them.

VOICE ONE:             She would destroy his good reputation bringing him to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the assembly and congregation.

VOICE THREE:        Why, my son, will you let your heart by ravished by the strange woman?   Her words drop as honeycomb and her mouth is smoother than oil.

VOICE FOUR:          Ready for the big date?  What did you say was her name?

                                    (READERS #1 AND # 2 SWITCH STOOLS, THE OTHERS REMAIN IN PLACE.)

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VOICE TWO:            They met the first day of the fall semester his second year in college.  It was a crowded classroom, but there were other seats she could have taken besides the one next to him.

VOICE THREE:        He had just received a letter from his father—the usual stuff about reading his Bible and pursuing Wisdom.  When she piled her books on the floor between them and he spotted a Bible, his first thought was that his father had sent her along.  But that was ridiculous, there was no way his father could have put them together in World Lit class.

VOICE ONE:             She was not really his type at all.  For one thing, she enjoyed literature.  She actually read the stories, and what was even more amazing, she read the poems.   When she led class discussions toward the fact that many of the authors were men and women of faith it was fun to sit back and watch the way her mind worked.

VOICE FOUR:          When a group of students continued their discussions of God over cappuchino she wasn’t afraid to challenge their thinking and belief systems.  Her favorite tactic with him was to hand him her Bible and say, “Prove it.”  Granted, his first purpose was to find out why she was so excited about this book that had simply been part of the window dressing of his life.  But he soon discovered a quest that completely transformed him.  A quest for the knowledge of God.

VOICE TWO:            They talked constantly about their families.  He would share letters from his father and she would read him paragraphs from her correspondence.  They laughed about how much the letters sounded alike, even though their parents had never met.

VOICE THREE:        When their parents finally did meet each other at the wedding, they got along as if they had known each other all their lives.  They were thrilled with the choices their children had made.  Both sets of parents were convinced that their son and daughter had met and courted Mr. Wisdom, and Miss Wisdom.

VOICE TWO:            The new bride had complete trust in her beloved and intimacy became a natural result of that trust.  She knew that he would never betray her trust and allow his fountains to be dispersed abroad.  He had already proved faithful through their courtship and had taken a vow before God by accepting willingly the potential title of father as well as husband.

VOICE ONE:             The new groom discovered in marriage the fulfillment and satisfaction of every dream he had ever known.  The metaphor of “a loving doe, a graceful deer” became a description of the magic which shone in his eyes upon every glimpse of her.  The sight of her standing in front of their mirror combing her hair was enough to make his knees feel weak.  Her kisses made him light-headed.  Her embrace became his greatest pleasure in life.  She intoxicated him with her love, and with that intoxication he lost the desire to ever turn to any other woman for intoxication.   Her name was Sophia, Miss Wisdom.

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VOICE THREE:        The two invitations, when they arrived, were almost identical.  Both were enclosed in gilt-edged, personally embossed envelopes.  Both were addressed to the same recipient.  Both were invitations to a banquet, a feast with an all-you-can-eat-menu.  The only difference lay in the return address and the location where each banquet would be held.

VOICE FOUR:          The first reaction upon receiving the two invitations was simple—we’ll just make plans to go to both.  Then we noticed that both feasts were scheduled for the same evening, at the same time.  A choice had to be made.

VOICE ONE:             Ever since she was created by God Himself in the beginning of time, Miss Wisdom has been preparing a banquet hall for her great feast.   She has been working diligently to prepare a large and richly adorned space, the work of a lifetime.  The room is a setting suitable for Miss Wisdom, a place where God is reverenced and worshipped.

VOICE TWO:            Not only has Miss Wisdom labored to build her house, she has personally prepared the food for her banquet.  To eat her meat and drink her wine is to feast upon the endless wealth and variety of information wisdom offers.  Her table overflows with knowledge from every realm of study: the barbecued spare ribs of archaeology, the filet mignon of geology, the Cajun style swordfish of geometry, the sushi of physics, and the chocholate delights of music composition.  All truth is God’s truth and all Wisdom comes from God.

VOICE THREE:        Those who serve in the house of Miss Wisdom gladly carry her invitation to all those who will listen.   They travel through the streets, echoing the call from the highest point of the city, “Let all who are simple, not yet experienced in the ways of the world, come in here!”

VOICE FOUR:          Miss Wisdom’s invitation is to a feast where life and health are celebrated.  All the wisdom spread out on her banquet table teaches us the power and majesty and glory of God.  This is the food that nourishes the mind and strengthens the will and produces spiritual life—the knowledge of God. 

VOICE ONE:             So why is it that so many people in the city seem to eat and drink at the springs of science and literature and music without ever coming to know there is a God who deserves to be worshipped?  The answer is really very simple.   There is another invitation.

                                    (ALL STAND, CIRCLE BEHIND THE STOOLS AND THEN SIT DOWN IN THE OPPOSITE ARRANGMENT, BUT THIS TIME SIMPLY LEAN CASUALLY AGAINST THE STOOLS.)

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VOICE TWO:            Hey there, buddy! Have you read my invitation yet?  Don’t let that hussy Wisdom convince you she’s the only game in town.  Her banquet is the epitome of Dullsville.  Come on over here—we’ll have a riot!

VOICE THREE:        The first thing God tells us about the invitation to Miss Folly’s banquet is that the woman herself is loud.  While Eveleth tries to mimic and rival the setting of her counterpoint, she succeeds only in creating a scene of disorder, mayhem and anti-social behavior.  Her guests are just like her, loud, obnoxious and ignorant.  They talk loudly of many of the same subjects discussed at Wisdom’s table, but lacking the insight of a godly world-view, the discussion never rises above the level of their hostess—they simply pool their ignorance.

VOICE FOUR:          Miss Folly has also prepared a banquet hall, but the dominant architectural feature of her house is a door.  Those who hear her call from her seat outside the door find it impossible to look beyond and see what lies in store for them at her table.  It’s dark inside, a stark contrast to the gaudy, garish and brilliant lights outside the door.

VOICE TWO:            Her invitation is identical to that of Miss Wisdom.  “Let all who are simple, not yet experienced in the ways of the world, come in here!”

VOICE ONE:             Both call from the high places, both offer the same invitation, both have banquet rooms and a prepared feast.  But we can’t see behind the door so God tells us what goes on at Miss Folly’s Feast.

VOICE THREE:        Miss Folly’s own description of her banquet is in terms of “stolen waters” and “food eaten in secret.”  When the father warned his son against promiscuity he used the metaphor of drinking water from his own fountain.  Miss Folly claims that it is only forbidden sex, only stolen waters, which are sweet.

VOICE FOUR:          Behind the door of this house sits a banquet table featuring the bare bleached bones of pornography, the rotting left-over scaps of adultery, the bloated, maggot-infested remains of discarded wedding cakes.  Stolen waters are sweet?

VOICE TWO:            “Food eaten in secret” evokes images of the young man enticed to a life of thievery and plunder.   Miss Folly claims that only possessions we obtain illegally are delicious.

VOICE ONE:             Behind her door sits a banquet table featuring the needle and razor laden apples of shop lifting; the arsenic laced Kool-aid of juggling the books at work; the bottom-less, empty, glass of compulsive gambling; and the blood-sucking leeches of thievery to feed a drug addiction.  Food eaten in secret is delicious?

VOICE FOUR:          The only advantage of Miss Folly’s banquet over Wisdom’s is the heightened emotional rush that comes from knowing it is forbidden.  But there’s one more glimpse we need to take into the darkness behind the door of Miss Folly’s house.  Those who choose her feast and sit at her table are not alone.  “The dead are there.  Her guests are in the depths of the grave.”

VOICE THREE:        Sitting at Miss Folly’s table you will reach out to embrace the beautiful woman seated next to you, only to scream in terror as your hand passes through her skin and touches a skeleton.  The man across the table from you will withdraw his arm and leave his rotting hand in your grasp when he reaches out to welcome you to the feast.  You will take a seat in the darkness only to discover that you are sitting on the decomposing remains of those who were served before you.

VOICE TWO:            Her guests are ghosts.  And that is why it is dark behind her door.

VOICE FOUR:          (STAND)  Wisdom or Folly!

VOICE ONE:             (STAND)  Life or death!

VOICE THREE:        (STAND)  God or Self!

VOICE TWO:            (STAND)  The choice is yours, my son!