CHARACTER NEEDED – BIBLE SKETCHES

Scripts by Robert Allen

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

BUILDING THE WALL

Proverbs 15:2 

Nehemiah 4:1-23

Character trait:  Truthfulness

Cast of Characters

                                    Geshem

                                    Sanballat

                                    Tobiah

                                    Narrator

                                   

GESHEM:                  Hey, Sanballat!

SANBALLAT:           What do you want, Geshem?

GESHEM:                  Let’s get together with Tobiah and decide what we’re going to do about old Nehemiah.

SANBALLAT:           You mean the one who’s building the wall?

GESHEM:                  Right.  The one who came back to Jerusalem and thinks he’s going to fortify the city again.  I’ve never heard such a ridiculous plan in all my life.  Say, there’s Tobiah now.  Come one over here, Tobiah.

TOBIAH:                    What do you want?

SANBALLAT:           We were just talking about Nehemiah.

TOBIAH:                    The silly old wall builder?

GESHEM:                  Right.  The one who thinks his God wants him to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem.  We think we ought to do something about that.

TOBIAH:                    Well, what can we do?

SANBALLAT:           Let’s go fight him.

GESHEM:                  No.  He probably brought some weapons with him from Shushan and they would probably be stupid enough to fight back.  I think there’s an easier way.

TOBIAH:                    We could send a spy in to kill him.

SANBALLAT:           That’s a good idea.

GESHEM:                  Here’s an even better one.  Why not get him out of the city, away from his soldiers, and then kill him.

SANBALLAT:           Sounds good to me.

GESHEM:                  We’ll write him a letter and tell him we’re interested in his building project.  Then we’ll ask him to meet us in the plain of Ono.

NARRATOR:             So that’s what they did.  Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem were the enemies of God’s people.  They didn’t like the idea that Nehemiah and Ezra had led a group of Jews out of captivity and were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.  They were determined to stop them, no matter what it took.  Pretty soon the answer to their letter came back.

GESHEM:                  Hey Tobiah and Sanballat.  I received a letter from Nehemiah.  Let’s see when he plans to meet us for our conference.

SANBALLAT:           Open it, quick.

TOBIAH:                    Boy, will he be surprised at what we’ve planned for him.

GESHEM:                  Here it is.  “Dear Geshem.  I am doing a great work here in Jerusalem and just can’t get away.  Why should the work stop while I come down and have a conference with you?”

TOBIAH:                    Why, that rat.

SANBALLAT:           That wasn’t even nice.

TOBIAH:                    I guess he didn’t like our surprise.

GESHEM:                  He didn’t know about our surprise.

TOBIAH:                    Oh.  That’s right.

SANBALLAT:           Now what can we do?

GESHEM:                  Let’s try again.  We’re important men.  He can’t just ignore our invitation like that.

NARRATOR:             So they sent him another letter, and another, and finally a fourth one.  And every time Nehemiah came back with the same answer.  So the enemies finally came up with another idea.

TOBIAH;                    Let’s tell everyone that Nehemiah plans to make himself king of Jerusalem and rebel against King Artaxerxes.

SANBALLAT:           Is that true?

GESHEM:                  Of course not.  But that doesn’t matter.  People will believe it anyway.  They want to believe bad things about God’s people.

SANBALLAT:           But it’s a lie.

TOBIAH:                    So what.  We heard it from Geshem, and then if anyone questions us we wont’ have to take the blame.

NARRATOR:             So they tried that.  But Nehemiah sent a message back to them again.

GESHEM:                  Here’s a letter from Nehemiah.  Listen:  “The things you are saying are all lies.  And you didn’t hear them from anyone.  You made them up out of your own hearts.”

TOBIAH:                    That rat!

SANBALLAT:           How did he know?

TOBIAH:                    Because he knows the truth, silly.  We’ll have to try something else.

SANBALLAT:           How about scaring him?

GESHEM:                  How can we do that?

SANBALLAT:           Tell him we’re going to kill him, and maybe he’ll run and hide.

TOBIAH:                    Right!  He can’t build the wall while he’s hiding.

GESHEM:                  Good idea!  I know a man who will go to Jerusalem and give him our threat.  Maybe we can even get him to hide in the temple.  He’s not supposed to go in there because he’s not one of the priests.  That is the best idea yet.

NARRATOR:             So they sent a threatening letter, and before long another answer came back.

GESHEM:                  Letter from Nehemiah, fellows.

SANBALLAT:           I bet he’s really scared this time.

GESHSEM:                “Dear enemies.  Should a man like me run away?  And should I run into the temple to hide?  I will not go anywhere to hide from you.”

TOBIAH:                    Why, that rat!

SANBALLAT:           I guess he doesn’t scare very easily.

GESHEM:                  I quit.  Let him build his old wall.

NARRATOR:             Do you know what Nehemiah’s secret was?  Prayer! Every time his enemies cam up with a new plan, he went to God.  God answered Nehemiah’s prayers and kept him safe from his enemies.  They finished the wall in fifty-two days.  Nehemiah had help that his enemies knew nothing about.