“SPYBOT”
(Numbers 13:1-14:9)
Cast (in order of appearance):
Moses:
Bev
Joshua:
Jeff
Shaphat:
Michael
Gaddiel:
Graham
Giant 1:
Katherine
Giant 2:
Emily
Terminator:
Dataman
Moses:
(leading kids into room) Hi kids! Welcome to our last night of Bible Story Adventures!
(“Aaawwww!”) Do you know who I am? (wait for kids to say, “No.”) Of course you don’t! I wear the
same robe every night! (Kids laugh. Maybe.) I am Moses, the first lawgiver of Israel. Long ago I was
chosen by God to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt and to bring them into the land that he had
promised to give to us and our children. And our children’s children. And our children’s children’s
children. And our children’s children’s children’s children. You get the idea. Anyway, after many years
of wandering around the wilderness, we’ve finally reached the border of the promised land, the land of
Canaan. It’s been difficult getting the people of Israel to this point. It seems like there’ve been
obstacles at every turn. When we were still in Egypt and I was trying to get Pharaoh to let my people go,
Pharaoh kept refusing to listen, even when God sent one plague after another onto the Egyptians. I was
afraid Pharaoh might even try to kill me! Then after we had left Egypt and had reached the Red Sea,
Pharaoh’s army came chasing after us to destroy us! The people whined and complained, but I told
them to trust in God to protect us. And do you know what God did for us at the Red Sea? (wait for kids’
answers) He parted the waters and allowed us to cross over safely, while he somehow kept Pharaoh’s
army at bay until we had reached the other side. Then just as Pharaoh’s army started to follow after us,
God brought the waters back down into the sea and wiped them out completely! You’d think that after
a miracle like that the people would be convinced of God’s love and protection, but no. To this day
they’ve continued complaining at the slightest problem, worrying about what they were going to eat
and what they were going to wear and how we were ever going to make it to the promised land. It
seems like they’re always wanting to go back to Egypt, as if a life of slavery there is better than freedom
here! But through it all, from our leaving Egypt to our crossing the Red Sea, through our years of
wandering in the wilderness and our arrival here at the promised land, God has always guided and
protected us. It’s almost as if he has provided us with an unseen guardian angel who always watches
over us.
(Moses walks over to Joshua, Shaphat and Gaddiel, who have been standing at attention behind Moses.)
Moses:
Anyway, now we’re here at the entrance to the promised land, and it’s time for our
spies to go into the land to see what dangers we may face before all the people try to go in. I’ve chosen
Joshua, Shaphat and Gaddiel here, our bravest men, to sneak into the land of Canaan, to spy it out for
us, and to report back to us about what kinds of foods grow in the land and what kinds of people live
there. (to Joshua) Joshua, are you ready?
Joshua:
Yes sir, Moses!
Moses:
And you, Shaphat?
Shaphat?
I guess so.
Moses?
And what about you, Gaddiel?
Gaddiel:
Ready as I’ll ever be.
Moses:
Good! Then remember that this is the land that the Lord your God has promised to give
to you and your descendants. I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened
or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Shaphat:
Speaking of that, Moses, how are we supposed to know where to go? We’ve never seen
this land before.
Moses:
Simple! Just… follow the yellow-brick road!
Gaddiel:
Follow the yellow-brick road?
Joshua:
Follow the yellow-brick road!
Moses:
Right! You two just follow Joshua! He’ll get you where you need to go. Now, I’ve got to
go rest my feet back here. It’s been a long day.
(Moses goes offstage)
Joshua:
You heard Moses, men! Let’s go!
Shaphat:
I’m not so sure about this… yellow-brick road business, Joshua. This land is so big and
we’re so small. There’s no telling who… or what… we might run into!
Gaddiel:
Yeah! This mission’s impossible!
Joshua:
Hey! You heard what Moses said! “Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or
dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Shaphat:
Are you sure?
Joshua:
impossible!
Absolutely! After all, even if some things are impossible for men, with God no mission is
(“Mission: Impossible” music starts playing. Joshua, Shaphat and Gaddiel stand back to back in a circle,
slowly spinning around as they peer into the distance in different directions. They do this for a few
seconds until the main beat of the music begins. They then separate and spend the next few minutes
“spying out” the room in various and sundry ways as the music continues. They keep this up until the
music ends, at which time they regroup to report their findings.)
Joshua:
This land is incredibly rich with food! Look! I found some grapes! (holds up grapes)
Shaphat:
I found some tomatoes! (holds up tomatoes)
Gaddiel:
I found some figs! (holds up a box of Fig Newtons)
Joshua:
This certainly is a land flowing with milk and honey. The Lord is indeed good to have
given such a fruitful land to us for our inheritance!
Shaphat:
This land is perfect!
Gaddiel:
I like this land! It’s safe and free!
(Sudden growls emanate from behind a partition. Shaphat and Gaddiel move toward Joshua and hug
him fearfully.)
Gaddiel:
I don’t like this land! It’s wild and strange!
Joshua:
I don’t know, but I think it’ll get wilder even as it gets stranger!
Shaphat:
Do – do you suppose we’ll meet any… weird creatures?
Joshua:
We might.
Gaddiel:
Creatures that eat… people?
Joshua:
Some… but mostly giants and dragons and bears.
Shaphat:
Giants?
Gaddiel:
And dragons?
Joshua:
And bears.
Shaphat:
Oh my!
All three:
(locking arms and slowly spinning around) Giants and dragons and bears!
Gaddiel:
Oh my!
All three:
(spinning faster) Giants and dragons and bears!
Shaphat:
Oh my!
All three:
(spinning faster) Giants and dragons and bears!
Gaddiel:
Oh my!
(Two giants suddenly rise up above partition as Joshua, Gaddiel and Shaphat are still spinning around
with their arms locked together.)
Giants:
Arrgh!
Gaddiel:
Oh no! Giants!
Giants:
Arrgh!
Shaphat:
They’re so big!
Giants:
Arrgh!
Gaddiel:
They’re so scary!
Giants:
Arrgh!
Shaphat:
They’re so ugly!
Giants:
Arr… huh?
Joshua:
Stand fast, men! They’re probably just defending their home. I’ll bet they’re more
afraid of you than you are of them. Under different circumstances you might even find them to be…
friendly giants. (Giants continue growling quietly and gutterally.)
Shaphat:
They don’t seem very jolly!
Gaddiel:
And they sure aren’t green!
Joshua:
(rolling his eyes) Oh… Shaphat, Gaddiel, go try to communicate with them.
Shaphat:
Why us?
Gaddiel:
Yeah! Why not you?
Joshua:
supervise.
Because I’m your… supervisor. Yeah. You go try to communicate with them and I’ll…
(Gaddiel and Shaphat warily approach the giants with their swords drawn.)
Shaphat:
Um… hello?
Giants:
Arrgh!
(Shaphat and Gaddiel cower, their swords shaking, as the giants continue growling for a few seconds.
Then the giants finally speak.)
Giant 1:
(Holding out fists) Put ‘em up, put ‘em up.
Giant 2:
Which one of you first?
Giant 1:
I’ll fight you both together if you want!
Giant 2:
I’ll fight you with one hand tied behind my back! (puts hand behind back)
Giant 1:
I’ll fight you standing on one foot! (stands on one foot)
Giant 2:
I’ll fight you with my eyes closed! (closes eyes)
Giant 1:
Oh… sneakin’ up on us, eh?
Giant 2:
Pullin’ a sword on us, eh?
Gaddiel:
(frightened) Go away and leave us alone!
Giant 1:
Oh, scared, huh?
Giant 2:
Afraid, huh?
Giant 1:
nose?
(to Shaphat, who wears glasses) How long you been wearing those Coke bottles on your
Shaphat:
(cowering) Now that’s getting personal, Giant.
Gaddiel:
(to Shaphat) Yes – get up and teach him a lesson.
Shaphat:
Well… what’s… wrong with you teaching him?
Gaddiel:
Well… well… I hardly know him!
Joshua:
Be brave, men! Remember what Moses told us when he sent us into the land of Canaan
to spy it out: “This is the land that the Lord your God has promised to give to you and your descendants.
Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you
wherever you go.”
Gaddiel:
I’ve got a better idea, Joshua! Why don’t you take care of being strong and courageous,
and we’ll… um…
Shaphat:
We’ll take care of reporting back to Moses!
Gaddiel:
Yeah!
(Gaddiel and Shaphat turn and run offstage, only to bounce back onstage and fall on their bottoms as
they stare at what they ran into.)
Terminator:
(offstage) I told you… (walks onstage) I’d be back. (“Terminator” music plays)
Gaddiel:
It’s… it’s a man!
Shaphat:
It’s a machine!
Joshua:
It’s the governor of California!
Terminator:
(to Joshua) Bad joke. (to kids) I am a Terminator. I have come to ensure that the job I
did earlier protecting Moses and the Israelites from Pharaoh and his army was not in vain. (looks
toward Shaphat and Gaddiel) If the two of you go back to Moses and the people and report that the
inhabitants of this land are too strong to be defeated, then the people of Israel will lose heart and will
complain to Moses and demand to go back to Egypt. That must not happen.
Gaddiel:
But what about those giants we saw?
Terminator:
They are not giants. (Walks over to “giants,” picks them up, brings them out from their
stronghold and puts them down on the stage) They are just little girls in pretty pink robes performing in
a silly Bible Story Adventure skit on the last night of Vacation Bible School.
Shaphat:
Little girls?! Who’d be afraid of them?
Terminator:
You, apparently.
Joshua:
(to Shaphat and Gaddiel) See, guys? I told you that we have nothing to fear in this
wonderful, bountiful land that the Lord has given to us, that if we just trust God, he’ll protect us and
provide all that we need.
Gaddiel:
Hey Joshua, shouldn’t we be getting back to Moses and the people to let them know
what we found?
Joshua:
Yes, we should, and the girls should come with us.
Shaphat:
(pointing at Terminator) What about him?
Joshua:
Moses?
Well, I don’t know. (to Terminator) Would you like to come with us to report back to
Terminator:
To make sure you stay out of trouble I will accompany you on your return trip to Moses,
but he must not know my identity. Otherwise he might write about me in the Bible and cause undue
exegetical difficulties for future scholars, preachers and Vacation Bible School teachers. You must invent
a cover story to explain my presence.
Gaddiel:
We’ll… we’ll think of something.
(Joshua, Shaphat, Gaddiel, the girls and the Terminator walk back toward Moses, who comes onstage as
they approach.)
Moses:
Joshua! Shaphat! Gaddiel! You’ve returned from spying out the land!
Joshua:
Yes, Moses! We’re here to report that the land is a good land flowing with milk and
honey and that we will be able to move in without any problems.
Moses:
Really? What kinds of foods did you find there?
Joshua:
Fruits! (holds of grapes)
Shaphat:
Vegetables! (holds up tomatoes)
Gaddiel:
Pre-packaged snack food products! (holds up Fig Newtons)
Moses:
Excellent! And what of the people who live there?
Shaphat:
All we found were these two little girls in pretty pink robes.
Gaddiel:
Yeah, Shaphat thought they were giants. (Shaphat gives Gaddiel a look)
Moses:
Hello, little girls. I’m Moses, the leader of the Israelites. Would you like to join the
people of Israel?
Giant 1:
Yes, please.
Giant 2:
Uh-huh.
Moses:
Welcome, then! (looking at Terminator) And, um… what about this big fellow?
Joshua:
Oh… him. We, um… we… found him…
Shaphat:
Out in the wilderness!
Joshua:
Um… yeah. Out in the woods.
Gaddiel:
Near a… grove of… apple trees!
Joshua:
He was… chopping firewood.
Shaphat:
And we asked him… if he’d like to join us!
Gaddiel:
And he said yes!
Joshua:
And so… here he is.
Moses:
name?
(to Terminator) Well, then, any friend of Joshua’s is a friend of mine! What’s your
Terminator:
I am… the Tin Man.
Moses:
Well, then, Mr. Tin Man, welcome to the people of Israel! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve
got to go see what the Israelites have found to complain about now! (goes offstage)
Joshua:
Gosh, Mr. Terminator, I don’t know how we’ll ever thank you for all the help you gave us
in the promised land today.
Terminator:
There is only one way to properly thank a Terminator for the services he has rendered.
Joshua:
And what’s that?
Terminator:
The words… domo arigato, Mr. Roboto…
(Instrumental “Mr. Roboto” begins playing. The Terminator begins dancing a bad version of “The Robot”
as Moses returns onstage and cast members thank kids for coming to this year’s Bible Story
Adventures.)