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

ACT II, SCENE 6

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VOICE THREE:        Good King Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all   

                                  the days of Jehoida the high priest--        

VOICE FOUR:          who lived to a ripe old age of 130.

VOICE  ONE:          When Jehoida was gone, Joash listened to other counselors.

VOICE TWO:          He left the house of the Lord God of his fathers.

VOICE THREE:        He served groves and idols.

VOICE FOUR:         When God sent him a prophet—

VOICE ONE:            Zechariah?

VOICE FOUR:         Yes, Joash.  Zechariah, the son of Jehoida, your best friend.  Why                                   do you transgress the commandments of the Lord?

VOICE ONE:             Stone him!

VOICE THREE:        Within a year, two of the king’s own servants conspired against  

                                  him and assassinated him in his own bed for the blood he had shed                                   in condoning the death of Zechariah, the man of God.  The man  

                                 who, even to the end, remained his best friend because he called                               

                                 him back to God.

VOICE TWO:          Amaziah, the son of King Joash, had learned well from the ways of  

                                 his father.  He also did what was right in the sight of the Lord, but                                  not with a perfect heart.

VOICE FOUR:          Edom had been the enemy of Judah for as long as anyone could  

                                  remember.  Amaziah simply inherited that enmity from the kings  

                                  who had gone before, but he determined to seek revenge for the                                   many attacks the Edomites had made on his land.

VOICE ONE:             The battle took place in the valley of the Salt Sea amid the wadis                                    and stark, angular cliffs of the wilderness.  Ten thousand Edomites                                    were killed in battle.  Another ten thousand were taken to the top                                    of one of the sheer canyon walls and pushed over to fall to their                                     deaths on the rocks below.

VOICE TWO:            Another story of atrocity had been added to the collection of those

                                   who in years to come would seek their own vengeance for the                                   

                                   king’s callousness.

VOICE THREE:        And then, with his victory over the Edomites and their false gods                                   still fresh in their memories, Amaziah brought the gods of the                                       

                                  Edomites back to Jerusalem, bowed down before them and burned                                   incense to them as well as to Jehovah. 

VOICE FOUR:          So God sent a prophet to the king.

VOICE ONE:             (STAND AND MOVE DOWN LEFT)  What foolishness is this?                                    You are praying to the very gods who were impotent to deliver                                    their worshippers out of your hands?

VOICE THREE:        That’s enough.  No more preaching unless you want to die.

VOICE ONE:            Should I fear you?  I know that God has determined to destroy you,                                  or perhaps simply let you destroy yourself by your own                                          

                                 foolishness.

VOICE THREE:       Flush with victory, King Amaziah sent a message to the king of the 

                                 northern tribes, their other traditional enemy.  But this battle did                                  

                                 not have the same outcome as the one against the Edomites.  The                                  army of Judah fled before the Israelites.  They captured Amaziah at                                  Beth-shemesh and then marched right into the city of Jerusalem.                                     There they plundered the temple and the palace and broke down                                 

                                the wall of the city all the way from the gate of Ephraim to the                                       

                                corner gate.

VOICE TWO:           And the gods of the Edomites did nothing to protect Judah from                                                             attack.

VOICE FOUR:         Like his father before him, Amaziah died at the hand of an                                                                       assassin.  He had served God as king for twenty-nine years, but not                                  with a perfect heart.

VOICE ONE:            (RETURN TO STOOL AND SIT)  With Amaziah gone, the  

                                   people saw in his son Uzziah the qualities they wanted in a leader                                   and they made him the next king at the age of sixteen.

VOICE TWO:           For the next fifty-two years the nation of Judah enjoyed a time of  

                                  peace and prosperity unequalled during the reign of any other king                                  during the days of the divided monarchy. 

VOICE THREE:        Uzziah subdued the formidable Philistines and as a result 

                                 long-time enemies Ammon and Moab sued for peace.

VOICE FOUR:          He fortified Jerusalem, rebuilding the walls that had been 

                                  destroyed, and invented huge military engines for the                                                  

                                  purpose of both defense and attack.

VOICE ONE:             King Uzziah organized a crack troop of soldiers similar to David’s

                                   band of mighty men.  Only he had 2600 special forces instead of  

                                   the 400 who served King David.

VOICE TWO:           The secret of Uzziah’s success was really very simple.  He learned 

                                  from history, and from a personal study of the Word of God, what                                   so many other kings failed to learn.  As long as he sought the Lord, 

                                  God made him to prosper.

VOICE THREE:        As long as he sought the Lord—

VOICE FOUR:          There’s something ominous about that phrase, especially when you  

                                  combine it with the later comment concerning the king that “his 

                                  heart was lifted up.”   Prosperity leads to pride.  Pride goes before

                                  destruction.  Trial follows victory.

VOICE ONE:             (STAND AND STEP FORWARD)  He rose up that particular 

                                   morning, left the palace and made his way up the white pavement                                    to the great southern wall of the temple on Mt. Moriah.

VOICE THREE:        (STAND AND STEP FORWARD)  He walked briskly through the 

                                  triple gates, accompanied by the welcoming blare of trumpets.  The                                   king was coming to worship.

VOICE FOUR:          (STAND AND STEP FORWARD)  His entourage paraded 

                                  through the subterranean passage and into the great courtyard of                                   Solomon’s porch.  Across the courtyard he marched.  Past the  

                                  court of the women.  Into the court of the men where priests were                                   offering sacrifices.

VOICE TWO:           (STAND AND STEP FORWARD)  This was normally as far as  

                                  any man who was not a priest ever went.  But the king was not just                                   any man.  He had decided it was time to show just how great he                                   was. 

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VOICE ONE:             Grabbing a burning censor from one of the priests, he climbed the 

                                    steps between the twin pillars and boldly entered the holy place.

VOICE FOUR:          Azariah and eighty other priests rushed in behind him to stop him.                                   But Uzziah could not be stopped.

VOICE ONE:             How did the king justify his attempt to offer incense in the temple

                                   itself?  Maybe he thought he had earned the right by his many  

                                   years of service to God.

VOICE THREE:        Maybe he convinced himself that his great passion for God 

                                  exempted him from following the specific commands God had  

                                  given for worship.

VOICE TWO:           Perhaps he decided the priests had too much authority and thought

                                  that he needed to put them in their place.

VOICE FOUR:          The human mind can invent seemingly endless excuses to justify 

                                  the selfish desire to sin.

VOICE ONE:             But God had said to be certain that your sin would find you out.

VOICE TWO:             Uzziah’s sin found him out in his very flesh.  As he sought to offer

                                    his incense before God in direct opposition to the command of his                                    God and the priests of the temple, leprosy rose up in his forehead                                     and he remained a leper until the day of his death.

VOICE THREE:        (TURN UPSTAGE AFTER LINE)  Never again could he enter the

                                  courts of the Lord.

VOICE FOUR:          (TURN UPSTAGE AFTER LINE)  Never again could he come                                        in to his own palace.

VOICE ONE:             (TURN UPSTAGE AFTER LINE)  He would live in a house apart  

                                   until he died with his son Jotham carrying on the day by day duties                                    of the kingdom as co-regent.

VOICE TWO:            (TURN UPSTAGE AFTER LINE)  Sin always leaves a mark.

                                    (RETURN TO STOOLS AND SIT WITH BACKS TO                                                       AUDIENCE). 

THE STORYTELLER'S BIBLE
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.

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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.)

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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.

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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).

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                                                                                                      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)