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BUSH2    6'1m0f Monologue: Moses and the burning bush

(enters backward wearing tunic, headdress and sandals, carrying
shepherd's crook, notices audience)

Did you see that?!

(points to exit, scans audience)

Oh, please tell me you saw that! It was right there, not two or
three hundred yards from here! (points) There was a bush on
fire! Did you hear what I said? There was a bush on fire!

(paces)

Oh, of course, you Midianites see bushes catch on fire all the
time. You think I'm making a big deal out of nothing. But this
bush was different. This bush was on fire, but it was not
burning up. The fire was not consuming the bush!

(stops)

I can only conclude it was a miracle! A miracle!

(paces)

It had to be a miracle. There's no other explanation for it. I 
can see by your faces that you don't believe me. Listen, I'm not 
a Midianite like you. But I'm no stranger among you. My name is 
Moses. I've been living among you for forty years. I married the 
daughter of one of your priests.

(stops)

I wouldn't lie to you!

(paces)

Well, I suppose that if you don't believe the part about the
fire, you're probably not going to believe the part about the
voice either.

(stops)

I swear to you! The voice of God himself came from the burning
bush! People of Midian, I swear to you it's true. The creator of
the universe spoke to me from a burning bush.

(paces)

Now, I suppose you're wondering why I'm bothering YOU with this.
You Midianites don't even believe in our God, the God of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

(stops, points to audience)

But I think the message he gave me is for one of YOU. It HAS to
be for you. It CAN'T be for ME. I mean the burning bush was on
Midianite property. (motions broadly) I mean, none of this land
belongs to the people of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. All those
people, MY people, are being held captive in Egypt. So, you see,
the message I got from the burning bush was probably meant for
one of YOU.

Let me tell you what he said. Then, you can decide which one of
YOU should respond to it.

First of all, He wants one of you to go to Egypt and tell the
King to let my people go.

(scans audience, paces)

Well, I can see from your faces that there's not a lot of 
enthusiasm among you to confront Pharaoh, King of Egypt. And I 
can't blame you. He's a very powerful man. But one of you HAS to 
do it. God said so.

(stops)

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, why don't (points
to self) "I" go, since I speak Egyptian and none of you do?
Well, see, I'm actually the last person who should go. I'm a
wanted man in Egypt. See, about forty years ago, I murdered an 
Egyptian man. And there is no statute of limitations on murder. 
So, it's got to be one of you. Come now. Let's have a show of 
hands.

(holds up hand, scans audience, sighs, paces)

Come on, people! The Lord doesn't talk from a burning bush every
day! This is important! If God wants the Hebrews released from
captivity, one of you has to step forward. There's no way I'm
the one who should go. Even if the King of Egypt has forgotten
that I'm a murderer, there's no way I'm the right man to
approach him.

(stops)

You see, the man who approaches Pharaoh has to be well schooled,
he needs to be able to speak well. He has to be learned and
wise, in case Pharaoh asks questions. I mean, I'm the LAST guy
who should volunteer for this, since I'm just a lowly shepherd.
Pharaoh would never listen to a shepherd.

(scans audience, sighs, paces)

Alright, I'll admit it. Some of you know that I was adopted by 
Pharaoh's daughter and I was raised in the household of Pharaoh 
and that I went to the world-famous royal school. I suppose I 
could answer the questions of the king. But I'm still the wrong 
guy for the job. See, the reason I murdered that Egyptian 40 
years ago was to show my fellow Hebrews that I no longer wanted 
to be associated with the Egyptians, that I wanted to be 
associated with the Hebrews, my native people. But as soon as I 
killed that Egyptian, the Hebrews, my own people rejected me. 
And, of course, after I killed an Egyptian, I was an outcast 
from the Egyptians too. That's why I ended up here in Midian.

(stops)

So, you see, I have a proven track record that the Hebrews won't
follow me. So, by the process of elimination, it's got to be one
of YOU.

(scans audience, sighs, paces)

I think I see the reason for your hesitation. You're thinking
"Even if Pharaoh releases the Hebrews, why would the Hebrews
follow a midianite out of Egypt?" Right? Well, the voice from
the burning bush gave you a sign that you can give to Pharaoh
and to the Hebrews.

(stops, offers shepherds crook)

And here it is. The God of the burning bush told me to throw
this staff onto the ground...

(gestures with crook)

And when I threw it down, God transformed this ordinary stick
into a deadly snake. So, if you just take my stick with you to
Egypt, God will repeat the demonstration for the Hebrews. So,
you see, with supernatural proof that God is involved, the
Hebrews will follow you out of Egypt.

Okay, so, with that in mind. Raise your hand if you want to...
if you want to... risk getting killed by the king of Egypt and
rejected by the Hebrews...

(paces)

I can't do this! I can't send one of YOU. God commanded ME to
confront Pharaoh. Why would any of YOU want to get involved?
These are MY people. I'm the one who went to school. I'm the one
who speaks their language. I'm the one who can answer his
questions. Who is better qualified to confront a member of the
royal family than a member of the royal family? And I'm the one
God chose to do this. I tried to pass it off onto you because I
was afraid.

(stops)

The burning bush and the poisonous snake were not just signs
from God for the Hebrews and the Egyptians, they were signs for
ME. If God can speak to me through a burning bush and change an
ordinary stick into a snake, he can protect me from harm. He can
change the hearts of the Hebrews to follow me.

(stops, sighs)

God wants me to go. So, I'll go.

(exiting)

On second thought, maybe I'll get my brother to go.

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