Hey Gideon!

by Jane And Mark Lewis

Background
Rating
Characters
Staging
Script

Background

This sketch was written for a series on Gideon. It is based on Judges 6.

Rating

Characters

Gideon - A wimp.
Angel - an angel of the Lord (not a wimp).

Staging

Gideon is relating what happened to him earlier as he's getting his servants to help build an altar. We see the episode in flashback. Gideon is at the bottom of a wine press threshing corn. He's muttering to himself and coughing alot due to threshing in an enclosed space. An Angel has been sitting observing him below a tree. Obviously the reason for the awkward flashback is lack of a special effects budget!!

Script

Gideon: [Addressing his servants (i.e the audience)] Um okay lads um thanks for coming. I expect you're all wondering why I gathered you here well....um...we're going to build an altar to the Lord - no not any old lord - the LORD, y'know. Yea alright alright I'll tell you why! Listen you're not going to believe this - well I'm still having trouble believing it actually I was threshing corn - well in a winepress if you must know! Anyway there I was........

[FLASHBACK]

Gideon: [Coughing and muttering to himself] This is ridiculous. What a nightmare. Try and do anything and the Midianites are down on you like a swarm of locusts. Taking everything sheep, cattle, crops - all gone. Well they're not getting my corn - even if I have to thresh in a winepress.
Angel: The Lord is with you mighty warrior!
Gideon: AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!   What was that??????!!!!!??
Angel: The Lord is with you mighty warrior!
Gideon: Huh?   Don't do that! Sssssshh!!! Do you want the Midianites to hear you?
Angel: The LORD is with you mighty warrior!!
Gideon: Oh hah hah there's been a mistake. You've got the wrong bloke.
[Climbs out of winepress]
Angel: But the Lord is with you mighty warrior.
Gideon: Earth to Angel. Earth to Angel. You've got the wrong bloke. You're probably thinking of Big Benjamin - he's the closest thing we've got to a warrior - if you go down there and turn right....
Angel: YOU ARE Gideon son of Joash.
Gideon: y-y-yes??
Angel: Then The LORD
Both: ..is with you mighty warrior.
Gideon: Yes you said.   Okay, okay. If the Lord is with us why has he abandoned us to the Midianites, hmmm? What about all the great deeds he did bringing us out of Egypt - where are the great deeds now?
Angel: That's where you come in. The LORD says: "Go with your great strength and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I myself am sending you."
Gideon: Hah! But how can I rescue the people of Isreal My family is the weakest of the clan which is the weakest of the tribe of Manasseh and I am the ww- least important member of my family.
Angel: The LORD says: "You can do it because I am with you. You will crush the Midianites as if they were only one man".
Gideon: But how do I know that you're who you say you are? Prove that you are from God.
Angel: What do you want me to do?
Gideon: Um...burning bush - no been done before, burning letters in the sky - no the Midianites might see, fire from heaven...ah ha...
Angel: [to himself] Tch! a pyromaniac!?
Gideon: Wait there until I get back - don't move a muscle.
Angel: As you wish. I'll wait here until you return.
[Gideon leaves]

[END OF FLASHBACK]

Gideon: [returning] So I took him some food, some meat and bread and some soup. And he said, "Put it down there". So I did and then suddenly there's this flash of light and fire - the food goes up in smoke and he disappears. I fell to the ground and said, "...AAHHH! I've really seen a real angel face-to-face!!!". And then I heard a voice saying....
Voice: Do not be afraid. You will not die. The Lord is with you mighty warrior.