Character Needed - Bible Sketches 5

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

THE TWO SONS

Proverbs 15:5

Matthew 21:28-32

Character Trait:  Obedience

Cast of Characters

                        Mrs. Clark (Narrator)

                        Wendy Clark

                        Father

                        First Son

                        Second Son

MRS. CLARK:                       Wendy, why isn’t your bed made yet?  And your room is a mess.  I thought I asked you to clean it up?      

WENDY:                                I said I would, Mother.  I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.

MRS. CLARK:                       I know you promised to do it.  But just making a promise isn’t enough.  You haven’t really obeyed until the job is done.  That is what Jesus was trying to teach us when he told the story about the man who had two sons who were supposed to work for him.

WENDY:                                Did they refuse to make their beds?

MRS. CLARK:                       No, I don’t suppose they even had beds in those days.  They probably just slept on a mat thrown on the floor.

WENDY:                                That would be neat.  Then I wouldn’t have to make my bed every morning.

MRS. CLARK:                       And they probably shared the floor with the sheep and goats and mice.

WENDY:                                Ugh!  I’ll take my bed, even if I do have to make it.

MRS. CLARK:                       Anyway, the father of these two boys came to both of them one day and told them exactly what he wanted them to do.

FATHER:                               Sons, there’s some work that needs to be done out in the vineyard today.  The grapes are ripe and the harvest is upon us.  We need everyone to help harvest the crop before the weather changes, and before the birds carry away all our profit.  I want you to go work in the vineyard today.

FIRST SON:                           But Father, school has started, remember?  I have studies to do and there’s a game over at the park this afternoon.  I shouldn’t have to work in the vineyard after I’ve been cooped up in the classroom all week.  I’m not going!  You can just find someone else.

FATHER:                               But Son, we need everyone to help.

FIRST SON:                           Not me.  Sorry.  I’m busy.

FATHER:                               How about you, Son?  The grapes are ripe and we need help in the vineyard.  Will you go and work today?

SECOND SON:                     Sure, Dad.  I’ll go.  Be right there.

MRS. CLARK:                       That’s what they said.  So what do you think of the two boys now?

WENDY:                                I think that if I talked to Dad the way the first boy did, I’d probably get punished.

MRS. CLARK:                       You probably would.  But which of the two boys would you say was obedient to the father?

WENDY:                                Why, the second one, of course.  He agreed right away to go and do the work.

MRS. CLARK:                       You’re right there.  He agreed to do, and that was good.  But the story didn’t end there.  Right after his father left him, the first son got to thinking about what he had said.

FIRST SON:                           Wow!  That wasn’t a very smart thing to do.  Here my father asks me to work in the vineyard and I give him a smart answer like that.  I should be ashamed of myself.  In fact, I am ashamed of myself.  I’m going to get my work clothes on and head out there to the vineyard and get to work.  Maybe father will forgive me for the way I talked to him if he sees that I’m working hard at what he asked me to do.

MRS. CLARK:                       So the first son headed out to the vineyard expecting to see  his brother already at work, harvesting grapes.  But his brother wasn’t there.

FATHER:                               Hello, Son.  I thought you were too busy to come and help us today.

FIRST SON:                           Please forgive me, Father.  I shouldn’t have spoken to you the way I did.  I’ve come out to work just like you asked me to.  But where is my brother?  I thought I heard him say he would be right out?

FATHER:                               You did.  But I haven’t seen him yet.  Something must have detained him.  I certainly am glad to see you here, and I certainly will forgive you.  I know you’ve spent all week in school and this is your only day off, but we really need the help.  Thank you for coming.

MRS. CLARK:                       The father and son worked side by side all through the day and by night fall the work was done.  But the other brother never did show up.  Now what do you think about the two boys?

WENDY:                                I see what you mean.  It’s one thing to say you’re going to do something, and it’s something else to go and do it immediately.  I guess the first son was the best one after all.

MRS. CLARK:                       There’s another important lesson Jesus wanted to teach us with that story also.  When He finished the story he asked those who were listening which son had done the will of the father and their answer was the same as yours.  Then He said that sinners would go into the kingdom of God before some religious people because they believed in Him, but the others even when they had seen Him, did not repent and believe.

WENDY:                                Does that men that those winners were like the first son?

MRS. CLARK;                       Yes, they did terrible things, but they repented of there sin and He forgave them.  It was the religious people who were like the second son.  They claimed to be obeying God, but actually they were refusing to believe in Christ who God had sent.  They were saying good things, but they were disobedient in their actions.

WENDY:                                And Jesus loved the sinners best?

MRS. CLARK:                       He loved both of them, just like the father in the story loved both of his sons.  But he rewarded the one who learned the lesson of obedience.  Say, where are you going?

WENDY:                                To my room.  I have some work to do—in the vineyard.

                       

Character Needed - Bible Sketches 4

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

THE TRUTHFUL PROPHET

Proverbs 15:4

II Chronicles 18:4-34

Character Trait:  Kindness

Cast of Characters

                        Narrator

                        King Ahab

                        First Prophet

                        Second Prophet

                        Michaiah

                       

NARRATOR:                         In the days when Ahab was the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat was the king of Judah, a strange thing happened.  Usually these two nations had nothing to do with each other, because Judah still worshipped God and Israel worshipped Baal.  But on this particular occasion they decided to work together against their common enemy the king of Syria.  King Ahab was very glad for the help, and in honor of the occasion he gathered four hundred of his false prophets together to tell them how wonderful the victory would be.

KING AHAB:                        Don’t all speak at once.  Shall we go up to Ramoth-Gilead to fight the king of Syria, or shall we not go up?

FIRST PROPHET:                 Go up!  For God will deliver them into your hand.

NARRATOR:                         Well, that satisfied King Ahab, because that was what he wanted to hear.  But King Jehoshaphat asked if there wasn’t a prophet of God who could be consulted along with all the prophets of Baal.

KING AHAB:                        There is one, a man by the name of Micaiah.  But I hate him.  He never prophesies anything good about me.  He always prophesies evil.  I can’t stand him.  But if you insist, I will send for him.  You’ll see.  He never says anything good.

NARRATOR:                         When Micaiah came, all of the four hundred prophets were standing around the throne prophesying.

FIRST PROPHET:                 Go up!  For the Lord will deliver them into your hand.

NARRATOR:                         When the group gathered around the throne saw Micaiah coming, one of them decided to give him a warning.

SECOND PROPHET:            All of the other prophets have been saying good things to King Ahab.  They have been telling him to go up to Ramoth-Gilead because the Lord is going to deliver them into his hand.  You had better say good things too if you know what is good for you.

MICHAIAH:                          I will say whatever God tells me to say.

NARRATOR:                         When the prophet Micaiah came up to the throne, King Ahab asked him the same question  he had asked all the other prophets.

KING AHAB:                        Shall we to up to Ramoth-Gilead to fight with the people of Syria, or shall we stay here?

MICHAIAH:                          (Sarcastically)  Oh, by all means go up.  For they will be delivered into your hand.

NARRATOR:                         Now, that was what the king wanted to hear.  But the answer made him mad.  He knew that Micaiah was just mocking the four hundred men who had already prophesied.

KING AHAB:                        How many times have I told you that you should speak nothing but the truth to me in the name of the Lord.

MICHAIAH:                          All right!  I see all of the men of Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep not having a shepherd.  And I hear the Lord saying, “These men have no master, let them return every man to his house in peace.”

KING AHAB:                        See what I told you, Jehoshaphat?  Didn’t I tell you that he would prophesy evil to me and not good?

NARRATOR:                         But the prophet of God was not yet finished.  He went right on with his prophecy.

MICHAIAH:                          Therefore hear the word of the Lord.  I saw the Lord sitting on His throne and one came before him and said, “I will entice the king of Israel into battle.  I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of his prophets.”  And the Lord sent him forth to cause thy prophets to speak evil against thee.  You will not prosper, but will die in battle.

NARRATOR:                         Well, that didn’t make the king or his prophets very happy.  But they weren’t about to listen to a prophet of God, so they went out into battle anyway.  But before the king went, he suggested a plan of action to King Jehoshaphat.

KING AHAB:                        When we go into battle, I’ll disguise myself as a common soldier.  But you wear your kingly robes.  Then they won’t know that I’m the king and Micaiah’s prophecy can’t come true.

NARRATOR:                         That was real brave, wasn’t it?  But that’s what they did.  In the meantime, God caused the king of Syria to give instructions to his army to kill only one person, the king of Israel.  And of course they couldn’t find him.  So finally, one of the Syrian soldiers just let an arrow fly into the air, and God directed that arrow right to the place where Ahab was trying to hide.  He was hit.

KING AHAB:                        Turn this chariot around.  I’ve been wounded.  Take me back to my castle.

NARRATOR:                         But before they could get back to his castle, King Ahab was dead.  The words of the truthful prophet Micaiah were indeed from God.  But King Ahab chose to ignore them and it cost him his life.