night 2 of Moses

Night 2 – up to the return to Egypt.

Scene 1.
Narrarator: now it came about in those days that Moses grew up. He would sometimes go walking about, observing the Hebrews in their hard labor. But on this day, something happened that would alter the direction of Moses’ life forever.
Narrator exits.
Curtain opens.
Hebrew 1: I can’t carry this another step! I’ve got to set it down and rest!
Hebrew 2: NO! we will be beaten savagely if we do not keep up with the others. These bricks have to be placed down in a certain order and if we are late, that will slow down all the work and the taskmasters will be angry!
Hebrew1: There is no more strength in my arms. I must put it down.
Moses off to the side, listening…
Taskmaster: “YOU THERE!!!” to the Hebrews.
Hebrew 2: “oh no! I told you no good would come of this…”
Hebrew 1: (now lying on the ground) “Can’t go on…”
Taksmaster: (makes his way over to the Hebrews. “on your feet! Back to work!” cracks whip.
Hebrew1: screams in pain from the whip.
Hebrew 2: “Please!”
Taskmaster: “Pick up that brick or die where you lay!”
Hebrew 2 helps 1 up and gets beat himself in the process, but finally both get the brick, picked back up and go on their way.
Taskmaster: “double fast to catch up! I’ll be watching you!”
Moses on the side of the stage… looks to the left and looks to the right and once he is convinced that there is no one around… sneaks up behind the Egyptian and hits him.
The Egyptian falls over and Moses drags him out of the way a little and covers him with sand. *we will use a piece of dropcloth for this*
Then sneaks away after killing the Egyptian.
Close curtain.

Open curtain.
Same setting but now only Hebrews are present. Moses is again watching from off to the side, unnoticed.
Hebrew 1: I just need a minute to catch my breath!
Hebrew2: “In that minute, I got beat too! I’m always picking up your slack.
Hebrew1: “What are you talking about? I pull more than my weight around here! If anyone needs to pick up the pace, its you!
Hebrew 2: “Me! You have got to be kidding. The whole reason we got beaten yesterday is because you didn’t pull your weight!”
Hebrew 1: “beaten? You mean like this?” Hits #2.
Hebrew 2: “No more like this!” Hits #1.
Moses runs out. "Why are you striking your companion?"
The two Hebrews stop their fighting and look at him.
Hebrew 1: "Who made you a prince or a judge over us? Are you intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?"
Moses takes a step back and runs off stage.
The two Hebrews exit off the stage still jarring with each other.
After a moment Moses comes back and slowly, cautiously makes his way onto the stage and says: "Surely the matter has become known."
Off stage a voice: “Have you seen the one called MOSES? He is wanted for the death of an Egyptian worker. No? Check in this side of the street… someone get to the next road over and check there! (YES SIR- someone answers).
Moses runs off stage and out the back of the room. Close curtain. End scene.
Scene 2== Midian.
A well is situated off to the side of the stage and Moses runs up to it, exhausted…. Sits down by it.
Enter several daughters with buckets to get water in. preparing to get water from the well…
Enter several shepherds.
Shepherd1: “Git on outta here! Go on!”
Shepherd2: “go back home now! Be gone!”
Daughters look shocked and freeze.
Moses stands up and walks over to the bru-ha-ha and speaks “do not hinder them from getting the water for their flocks.” Turns to one of the daughters and takes the bucket from her hand. Fills the bucket and then another… “Come with me and I’ll help you water your flocks.”
The daughters watch him water the flocks and then run off. Moses shrugs his shoulders and continues.

(_____OFFSTAGE the sisters yell: FATHER! FATHER!!
JETHRO: WHAT ARE YOU DOING BACK SO SOON?? WHAT HAPPENED??____)

The daughters bring Jethro on stage and point to moses.
Daughter1: “Father, there is the Egyptian who delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and what is more, he even drew the water for us and watered the flock."
Jethro: “Why did you leave him behind? Invite him to have something to eat."
Jethro walks back off stage and the daughters go and bring moses to follow off stage.
Close curtain.



Scene 3
Narrarator: So it came to pass that Moses dwelt in the home of Jethro, the priest of Midian. And Jethro gave him one of his daughters. Her name was Zipporah. And Zipporah gave birth to Moses’ son and he named him Gershom.
And during these many days, back in Egypt, Pharaoh died. The sons of Israel cried out for help because of their bondage.
Behind the curtain(backlit)…. A Child of Israel walks to center stage and prays to God.
“Oh Almighty God hear our cries for mercy! Deliver us from this slavery and bondage! Look upon us and remember us in our time of need! Please help us!”
Everyone raise up from bowing position and start saying: “Please help us!” (repeat 3 times…) lights go down…
Narrator: So God heard their groaning and remembered his covenant with Abraham, Issac and Jacob. God saw the sons of Israel and He took notice of them.

Open Curtain ---back in Midian. Wilderness of Horeb.
Enter Moses with staff and flocks (how we gonna do that?) (staff turns to serpent later)
Moses walks to one side of the stage and the burning bush fires up on the other side of the stage.
Moses (amazed): “I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.”
Moses draws closer, slowly, to the bush.
God: “MOSES. MOSES!”
Moses: “Here I am!”
God: “Do not come near here; remover your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
Moses takes off sandals.
God: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
Moses hides his face! Terrified.
God: “I have seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt and have heard their cries because of the taskmasters. I am aware of their sufferings. I have come down to deliever them from the power of the Egyptians and from that land and deliever them into a good and spacious land that is flowing with milk and honey. A place of the cannanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the perizzite and the Hivite and the jebusite.
Their cries have come to me and I have seen their oppression.
I will send YOU to Pharaoh so that you may bring my people, the sons of Israel , out of Egypt.”
Moses: “Who am I that I should go before Pharaoh and who am I that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”
God: “I will be with you.”
Moses: “So IF I do this and they ask me who it is that has sent me, what do I say?”
God: “I AM WHO I AM. So you say to the sons of Israel that ‘I AM has sent me to you’. Then tell them that the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me to you.
“This is my name forever.
“Tell them that I am concerned about them and I see what is being done to them in Egypt. Tell them I will bring them out of this affliction into the land of the cannanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the perizzite and the Hivite and the jebusite, into a land that is flowing with milk and honey.
“They will listen to you. You all will go before Pharaoh and tell him to let you all go and worship Me, but he will not want to without making demands of his own. So I will stretch out my hand and send Miracles to Egypt and they will know that I am the Lord. They will let you go. You will plunder the Egyptians.”
Moses: “But what if they do not believe me or listen to me? They might say that the Lord as not appeared to me.”
God: “ What is that in your hand?”
Moses: “A staff.”
God: “Throw it to the ground.”
Moses throws it to the ground and it becomes a serpent. Moses runs from it, “Serpent!” he screams.
God: “Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail.”
Moses reaches down gingerly and grabs it. Becomes a staff again.
God : “ Now put your hand into your bosom.”
Moses does so. When he pulls out his hand… white and leprous. EYES get big.
God: “Now put your hand back into your bosom again.”
Moses does so. When he pulls it out… restored.
God: “if they will not believe these two signs then take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. It will be blood on the dry ground.
Moses: “Please Lord, I have never been good at speaking. I am slow in speech and slow of tongue.”
God: “who was it that made your mouth? Or who makes a person mute or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? I will be with the words you say from your mouth. I will teach you what you are to say.”
Moses: “Please Lord, now send the message by whoever you will.”
God: “There is your brother, Aaron the levite. He speaks fluently. He is coming to meet you. You will speak to him and put words into his mouth. I will be with the words that you both speak. He shall speak to the people. He will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him. Take your staff in your hand. You will perform signs with it.”

Scene 4
Open Curtain. Scene with Moses and Jethro. They’ve been talking…
Moses: “So I must return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see if they are still alive.”
Jethro hugs moses… “Go in peace”.
Jethro exits and Moses starts to walk off slowly. As he is walking off slowly, God speaks to him .
God: “Go back to Egypt for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.”
Moses exits.

Lights go down…
Lights come back up and Moses and Aaron meet each other in the wilderness.
They hug and aaron kisses moses. (on the cheek)…
Narrator: So Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which He had sent him, and all the signs that He had commanded him to do.
{{{{{ Have moses act some of the stuff that happened. Burning bush and the staff to a snake… then hand turns leprous… taking sandals off… }}}}}
They exit.
Curtain closes.

Scene 5
In Egypt now…
Curtain opens.
Moses and Aaron before the elders of the sons of Israel.
Aaron acts out all the stuff that happened to Moses… Moses just nods during this.
Aaron acts out the burning bush and taking off sandals, and staff to snake, and hand leprous… really throws the staff down and everyone jumps.
Moses: God has seen your affliction and is concerned about you.”
Everyone gets down and bows to God.
End night 2