| Characters:
Narrator
King Jehoshaphat
Captain of the Guard - With a bit of surfer attitude
Jahaziel - Messenger from God
|
Props:
None
|
Narrator: Today we have an exciting story from the 20th
Chapter of the book of 2nd Chronicles. It is about a king of the
southern kingdom of the Holy Land. This land was called Judah and this
king was named Jehoshaphat (We'll call him 'King J'. Now King J always
listened to what the Lord said. He prayed all the time, asking God for
wisdom. He didn't make any decisions without first talking to God. One
day something happened that tested King J's faith. Let's watch the
action! (exits)
King J: Ah, what a beautiful day! What a great day God has
given us to live here in City of Jerusalem in the Kingdom of Judah! Why,
I don't know of anything that could ruin a day like this! Well...
perhaps if I were to find out that someone were going to attack my
kingdom. Now that just might be troublesome.
Captain of the Guard: (enters out of breath from running)
Oh, King! Your Lordship! You won't believe what I just saw. There were
men marching this way, hundreds... nay, thousands! Nay, even hundreds of
thousands! Well, that's probably an exaggeration... but king! There are
a whole bunch of dudes headed this way!
King J: (Unruffled) Oh, well are they coming for a
visit? Perhaps to form an alliance with us or maybe join us for a nice
game of badminton?
Captain of the Guard: Um... how can I put this? Like, get a
clue your Majesty! They are coming with swords, bows and arrows and
they've got their game faces on if you catch my drift. They are going to
attack us! We are so totally outnumbered it is like light years from
funny!
King J: Oh. Well there goes my beautiful day. Well there's
only one thing we can do now.
Captain of the Guard: Send in the F-16's? Air strikes! Good
thinking sire! We'll scare them off with a little air superiority! We'll
show them how to fly the friendly skies...
King J: Captain?
Captain of the Guard: Yes, your Regalness?
King J: That's not what I had in mind. Besides, airplanes
haven't been invented yet.
Captain of the Guard: Oh. Well, what did you have in mind?
King J: We need to gather all my people together, every man,
woman and child in Judah and we must fast and pray until we hear from
the Lord about what to do. You can help me by going and gathering the
people. Then you can get their attention and tell them to listen to me
while I share the plan with them.
Captain of the Guard: Well, that's another approach, sure. Sit
tight King, I'll go get the people. (exits)
Narrator: So the King waited as his people gathered below.
Once they were all present, he addressed them.
King J: Good people of Judah. I guess you are all wondering
why I've called you here today. Well, I have good news and I have bad
news. First, the bad news. We are going to be under attack from some of
our enemy kingdoms within a few days. Their army is far larger and more
powerful than we are. We have no chance of defeating them on our own.
Now for the good news. We are not on our own. We serve the one and only
God and we must fast and pray until He speaks to us. I will begin by
praying now!
(prays)O LORD, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who
is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are
powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you! We cry out to you to
save us, and we know you will hear us and rescue us. We are powerless
against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what
to do, but we are looking to you for help. AMEN!
Narrator: Just then, something wonderful happened. The Spirit
of God came down upon one of the men standing there and he came forward.
Jahaziel: Oh, King. My name is Jahaziel. The Lord just spoke
to me! Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the
LORD says: Do not be afraid! Don't be discouraged by this mighty army,
for the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow, march out against
them. You will not even need to fight them! Take your positions; then
stand still and watch the LORD's victory. Do not be afraid or
discouraged. God is with you! Now go get 'em!
King J: Praise God! Thank you, Lord!
Narrator: The next day, King J and his people went out to meet
the enemy. But instead of people with bows and arrows or swords at the
front of the group. King Jehoshaphat wanted something unusual.
King J: Singers! Bring me singers! Anyone who can carry a tune
get up front and sing a song of praise like this:
Praise Ye the Lord! His mercy endures forever and ever!
Praise ye the Lord! His mercy endures forever and ever!
Praise ye the Lord! His mercy endures forever and ever!
Praise ye the Lord Our God! His mercy will never end!
(If desired, make up a tune for this and get the children to
sing a couple choruses with King J.) Excellent job, singers!!
That's it! Now you are getting it!
Narrator As soon as all the people started to sing, God
Himself confused the enemy armies. They started attacking each other
instead of King J and his people! Soon all the bad guys who were
coming to get King J and his people were dead. The bad guys had so
many riches, clothes and equipment that it took King Jehoshaphat and
his people 3 days to carry it all back home to Jerusalem!
When the surrounding kingdoms heard that the LORD himself had
fought against the enemies of Israel, the fear of God came over them.
So Jehoshaphat's kingdom was at peace, all because Jehoshaphat and his
people trusted the Lord instead of their own power.
The end!