Script

Maxwell Roeske, Dare Ogunbowale, Alejandro Rodriguez Amos Script Narrator: Amos finds himself once again confronted by God. He has a vision in which he sees God standing by a wall with a plummet in his hand. The Lord God asked Amos what he saw, and Amos responded “I see a plummet.” He asks what this means. (//Amos kneels down with hands folded and eyes closed. Lights are turned off.//) God: See I will lay the plummet in the midst of my people of Israel. I will forgive them no longer. The holy places of the Patriarchs and of the leaders of the Israelites shall be laid to waste, and the sanctuaries across the land of Israel shall be made desolate. I will attack the house of Jeroboam with a sword. (//Lights are turned back on//) Narrator: Amos preached Gods word in the land of Bethel, 16 miles north of the land of Jerusalem. But soon the priest in Bethel, named Amaziah, heard word of what Amos was saying, and approached King Jeroboam. He wrote down what was said by Amos on a scroll and sent his messengers south to Jerusalem. (//Amaziah scribbles on scroll furiously while sitting down, narrator draws on the map//) Amaziah: My king, the prophet Amos has conspired against you here within your lands, Israel. The country cannot endure his words, for he has done evil. He considers himself a prophet, but he is not like the others. For he has said: “Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be exiled from the land.” He also says that Israel will become desolate and be laid to waste. What will the people think if they hear this man? What if they start to believe his evil words? What should I do with this Amos prophet? I am too afraid to act because he might be correct, God might be angry with us. I will not do anything unless you tell me to. (//Narrator draws on map again, Amaziah rolls up scroll//) Narrator: The king relied to Amaziah through his messengers. When the messengers returned back to Bethel, they eagerly told Amaziah of what the king wrote. Now, Amaziah, with the kings support, approached Amos in the fields, where Amos was taking care of his sheep. Amaziah: Is that you Amos, praying to God? Amos: Oh yes, I was just offering thanks to God. What is it you want? Amaziah: Amos, you must leave this land. The people cannot continue to hear your wicked words. They are becoming convinced that bad things are coming to Israel, and they are packing their belongings and leaving to Judah in fear. Amos: No, you cannot force me from these lands with no reason. I only say the word of God, and nothing else. I do not distort or change anything. I say only what I am told by God. Amaziah: Off with you Amos! Flee to Judah! The king himself has ordered it! There earn your bread by prophesying! But never again prophesize in the lands of Bethel, or all of Israel. Bethel is the kings sanctuary, and a royal temple. Never again prophesizes in any of Gods holy lands. Bethel has been holy since Jacob visited the place and it has been correlated with the golden ladder itslef. King Jeroboam I was the one who made it the sanctuary it is today. <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Amos: I am no prophet, or do I belong to a group of prophets. You say that I prophesize as a profession, but I rather am a shepherd, and a dresser of sycamores. The Lord took me from my flocks, and told me to spread his word to the people of Israel. I did not ask to become a prophet, and I do not ask for pay. I only ask that others will listen to God’s word as I have. Now hear his word! <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Amos: You say: do not preach against the house of Isaac, but now thus says the Lord: your wife shall be made a harlot in the city, your sons and you daughters shall fall by the sword, your lands shall be divided by a measuring line, and you yourself will die in an unclean land. Israel shall be exiled far from this land. <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Narrator: From that moment on, Amos was exiled from the Northern Kingdom, never to return. Soon after, the Northern Kingdom was conquered by the Assyrians, and Amos’ words became true. God then approached Amos again, holding a basket of ripe fruit. <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">(//Lights go out, Amos goes back to praying//) <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">God: I ask you again Amos, what do you see? <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Amos: A basket of ripe fruit. <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">God: The time is ripe to have done with my people of Israel. I will forgive them no longer. The temple songs shall become wailings on that day says the Lord God. Many shall be the corpses strewn everywhere – silence!