Pulling Down Strongholds (Part 2)
by Sophia Prinsloo
with Barbara Wilmerton Haas
Text Version | Afrikaans | Arabic | Italian
A Bible Story About Gideon
“Ouch!” Chester yelled. “Leave me alone!”
Elton pulled his brother's hair while Chester was playing a video game. “It is my turn now! Give it to me!” Elton demanded.
“No, it is mine!” Chester insisted as he shoved Elton away forcefully, causing him to hit his head against the wall.
Before Elton could get back at his brother, their mother appeared in the doorway. “What is this racket all about?” she asked.
Both boys began talking at the same time, but Mom silenced them. “I know what this is all about. It is about that idol!”
The boys frowned. “What idol, Mom? We don't have any idols.”
“Of course, you have. Look, Chester is holding it in his hand at this very moment.”
They both looked at the video game in Chester's hand while Mom explained, “You love that video game more than you love each other, and it is making you treat each other badly. It is causing you to sin against God. What are you two going to do about it?”
Gideon had an eventful day…
…threshing wheat in a grape press,
…having an encounter with the Angel of the Lord,
…witnessing the miracle of the consuming fire,
…and then building the Altar of Peace with the Lord.
That same night, while worshipping and praying to the Lord, Gideon asked the Lord to give him wisdom to know how to save Israel from their enemies. But, first, the Lord wanted to test Gideon to see how serious he was about obeying and trusting Him instead of his family's idols, so He spoke to him and gave him four things to do.
God told Gideon, “FIRST, take the best bull of your father Joaz. It is the second bull that is seven years old. Go up to the stronghold on the hill where the people worship their idols, hitch the bull to your family's altar of Baal and pull it down.
“SECOND, cut down the wooden idol of Asherah that is standing next to the altar of Baal.
“THIRD, build an altar to Me, the Lord, on top of that stronghold using uncut stones, but be sure to lay them down carefully in the proper order.
“FOURTH, sacrifice the ox as a burnt offering to Me, the Lord, using the wood from the chopped down, wooden idol to build the fire.”
Gideon knew in his heart he had to get rid of all the idols in his family if the Lord was to save them from their enemies, so he immediately obeyed. He rounded up ten of their family's servants and told them what they were going to do.
“But, sir,” one of the servants complained, “are you sure that is what we must do? You know there could be serious consequences if we touch the altar of Baal and the idol Asherah. The members of your family and the people of the city may try to stop us. They may even attack and kill us for trying to destroy these abominations!”
“I am sure that is what the Lord told me to do!” Gideon said firmly. “I know the risks we are facing, but we must obey God. That is why we are going to do it tonight while everyone is sleeping. Go, find that ox and its yoke! Get the rope and don't forget the axe! Let us go!”
As quietly as they could, Gideon and the servants took the ox with its yoke, the rope and the axe, and went up the hill. Reaching the top of the hill, they tied the rope tightly to the altar of Baal, hitching the other end of the rope to the yoke on the ox.
“PULL…. PULL!” Gideon commanded.
Slowly the altar of Baal began toppling over and then, suddenly, it came crashing down to the ground, shattering into bits and pieces. Praise the Lord, task number one was complete!
“Bring me the axe!” Gideon ordered. Gideon chopped down the wooden idol of Asherah until it came crashing down too. Then the servants took turns chopping it into smaller pieces to build the fire for the Lord's sacrifice. Praise the Lord, task number two was complete!
“Now we must build an altar for the Lord!” Gideon told his servants. “Take care to use only uncut stones according to God's law and build it in the proper order.” They took the best and the biggest uncut stones they could find and, stone by stone, they built the altar to the Lord on top of the stronghold. Praise the Lord, task number three was complete!
Then in the early hours of the morning, just before dawn — while it was still dark — Gideon and his servants sacrificed the bull on the altar they had built to the Lord. Praise the Lord, task number four was complete!
The light of the fire from the sacrifice could be seen for miles around, and the sweet smell of smoke filled the air, but not one person from Gideon's family or from the city noticed what was going on, because they were all still sleeping.
Or were they???
Happy they had done what the Lord commanded, Gideon and his servants quietly slipped back into their homes, thinking no one knew what they had secretly done in the dark. Gideon was a bit anxious, because he wondered what would happen when everything they had done was discovered, but he trusted the Lord to take care of everything.
As Gideon reached his house, he found his father waiting at the door for him.
“Son, where have you been and what has happened to my prize ox?” he asked with a note of anger in his voice.
Gideon knew it was now time to confess what he had done. He told his dad everything, starting with the Angel of the Lord commanding him to save Israel, then the fire miracle and the altar of Peace with the Lord and, last of all, he told him all about destroying the altar of Baal and the idol of Asherah. Then, wondering what his dad would say, Gideon also told him about the altar he had built to the Lord their God and how he had sacrificed his dad's prize ox on it.
Joaz was shocked, to say the least, but after a few moments of thought, he said, “Son, I was going to scold you for putting our family's lives at risk and for killing my prize ox, but this is from the Lord. It is all his doing! I am overjoyed that the Lord, the Almighty, the God of Israel, is finally going to save us from the Midianites and, of all people, He has chosen my son as his vessel. I am on your side, my son. Do not fear. Be brave for the Lord is with you!”
As dawn was breaking and the embers from the fire of Gideon's sacrifice were still smoldering, someone discovered that the altar of Baal had been knocked down and broken in pieces. Not only that but the idol beside it was missing, with a new altar built in its place that had the remains of the sacrifice still on it.
The one who made the discovery ran towards the city, alarming all the people, yelling at the top of his lungs, “Help! Someone has attacked our way of life! Our altar of Baal lies SHATTERED! Our idol of Asherah is GONE! Someone built an altar for the Lord on top of the stronghold and sacrificed a bull! We must avenge Baal and Asherah before they become angry with us and destroy us!”
Everyone was upset and demanded, “Who did this? Who is the culprit?”
Spies went out and enquired everywhere until eventually the truth came out. “It was Gideon, the son of Joaz!”
By this time, an angry crowd had gathered at Gideon's father's house. “Bring out your son!” they shouted to Joaz. “He must die for insulting the altar of Baal and for cutting down the Asherah idol!”
Encouraged by his son's bravery, Joaz shouted back to them, “Does Baal really need your help? Do you really want to fight for him? Those who want to fight for him will be killed this very morning! If Baal is really a god, then let him take care of himself and destroy the one who tore down his idol!”
The anger of the people subsided as they pondered Joaz's answer, realizing he was speaking the truth. One by one, they went back to their own homes, having second thoughts about the power of Baal.
The news of Gideon's deed spread throughout the whole land of Israel and, from then on, Gideon was called “Jerubbaal,” a nickname meaning, “Let Baal fight for himself” because he had pulled down his altar!
REMEMBER!
Anything we put our trust in and love more than
God is an idol and causes us to sin against God.
THINK!
1. Who was Gideon's father?
2. What did Gideon use the ox for?
3. What did Gideon use the axe for?
4. How many servants helped him?
5. Why did Gideon do it at night?
6. Who stood up for Gideon against the people?
7. What nickname was given to Gideon?
8. What did Gideon build after he destroyed the idol?
A VERSE TO LEARN
“…we ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
ALTERNATIVE VERSES TO LEARN
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
Amen” (1 John 5:21).
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the
devil, and he will flee from you”
(James 4:7).
“Nay, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him that loved us”
(Romans 8:37).
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
What is an idol? Do you have a toy, a video game,
a sport or a friend you just can't live without?
Have they become more important to you than God?
How could that be harmful? Who needs to be number
one in your life?
[After discussion:] An idol is anything or anyone
that is more important to you than God - anything
or anyone that comes between you and God. That
thing or that person may seem great to you at
first, but if it takes you away from God, it's
bad for you.
While the others were sleeping, Gideon and his men
used his father's young bull to pull down his
father’s idol of Baal. Then he and his men built
an altar on top of a rock so they could worship
the one true God instead of Baal.
God shows us in this Bible story how He wants us
to worship only Him. The more we read God's Word
and pray, the easier it will be to put Him first
and please Him.
LET'S PRAY
****************************************************
Heavenly Father, please forgive us for loving people
and things more than You. Help us to love others,
but to love You even more. Teach us to trust You
and be obedient to your Word. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
****************************************************
CAN YOU FIND THIS STORY IN THE BIBLE?
Judges 6:25-32
Gideon Tearing Down the Idol coloring page
Bible Heroes: Gideon Coloring Book
Color by number (online)
Draw the Scene (online)
Gideon coloring page (online)
Action Bible Coloring Book
Coloring Through the Bible (online)
Beginner's Bible Super-Duper Mighty Jumbo Coloring Book
Bible Stories Kids Love Coloring Book (ages 2 to 4)
Big Book of Bible Story Coloring Pages for Elementary Kids
God Loves You Coloring Book:
A Read-aloud Coloring Book About God's Plan for Salvation
Jesus Loves Me, This I Know, Coloring Book
My Bible Coloring Book
My Gospel Story by Colors--Activity Book
The Awesome Coloring Book of Bible Comics
The Super-Sized Book of Bible Coloring & Art
The Super-Sized Book of Bible Verse Coloring Pages
Children's Bible Coloring Books
Jigsaw Puzzle (online)
Crossword puzzle
Cryptogram
Double puzzle
Fill In the Blanks
Maze
Word Search
Fear in a Hat game (online)
Gideon Activities Ages 3-5 (online)
Gideon Activities Grades 1-3 (online)
Gideon Activities Grades 4-6 (online)
Gideon Take Home Paper (online)
God Sends Gideon Fear Factor Game (online)
Matching Game (online)
Memory Verse Activity (online)
Sense how you feel: Imagine you are Gideon (online)
The Calling of Gideon (online)
What Did Gideon Do? Decoder Puzzle (online)
Word Scramble (online)
Worksheet (online)
Best Book of Bible Activities
Bible Puzzles: Word Search
Big Book Of Bible Puzzles
Big Book Of Bible Story Activity Pages V1
Bingo (online)
Children's Activity Books
Children's Puzzles
Christian and educational toys
Crossword Books
Encyclopedia Of Bible Games For Children's Ministry
Games
Jumbo Bible Activity Book 4
Memory Verse Games for Kids
Sticker Books
The Super Sized Book of Bible Puzzles Sticker Books
Angel Crafts (online)
Angel Pen or Coin Holder (online)
Cube Craft (online)
Gideon Craft Ideas (online)
Gideon Toilet Paper Roll Craft (online)
(Adapt by changing trumpet to a rope. He needed torch to see at night.
Or you could tape a birthday candle to one hand and a piece of string to the other.) (online)
God Helped Gideon Craft (online)
Mighty Man of Valour Craft (online)
Scissors Skill Torch Craft (online)
Bible Crafts
Bible Craft Videos (online)
Crafting the Word of God (online)
Easy-to-Make Bible Crafts PDF for Kids
& Digital Album Download [PDF Download]
Encyclopedia Of Bible Crafts For Preschoolers
Hot Crafts for Cool Kids pdf download
Maker-ific WOWS! (ages 8-12): 54 Surprising Bible Crafts
Puppet Crafts For Kids (online)
The Big Picture Bible Crafts:
101 Simple and Amazing Crafts to Help Teach Children the Bible
Giddy-Up, Gideon - Split Track [Music Download]
Gideon Had the Lord (online)
God Is With Us (online - scroll way down)
He Is the Way (watch online)
I Can Be Your Friend, VeggieTales Sing-Alongs DVD
I Have Decided to Follow Jesus (watch online)
Let Your Light Shine (online)
The Perfect Ten (online)
There's Only One Way (watch online)
What a Mighty God We Serve (watch online)
100 Bible Stories 100 Bible Songs
Action Bible Songs
Bible Songs on CD
Bible Songs on DVD
150 All-Time Favorite Veggietunes
100 Singalong Bible Songs For Kids
Platinum Bible Collection of Classic Christian Songs on DVD
Sunday School Song Medley (online)
The Bible in a Minute (online)
25 Favorite Sunday School Songs
Children's Music
God Provides Victory through Gideon
Heroes of Faith: Gideon (online)
Kingstone: Judges 2 Comic Book
Moody Bible Stories: Gideon (read online)
Walls, Brawls, and the Great Rebellion - eBook
365 Read-Aloud Bedtime Bible Stories
365 Activities For Kids:
A Bible Story And Activity For Each Day Of The Year
100 Bible Stories 100 Bible Songs w/2 CD
Beginner's Bible
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Bible in Pictures For Toddlers
Bible stories
Early Reader's Bible
Little Pilgrim's Progress
The Comic Book Bible
The Preschooler's Bible
Toddler's Bible
Children's Books
Spanish Children's Books
The Picture Bible (also in Spanish)
Adventures in Odyssey® 461: B-TV: Obedience [Download]
Bible Comes Alive: Your Story Hour Vol. 2 Audiobook on CD
Bible on the Go Vol. 13: The Stories of Gideon and Samson
(Judges 6-8, 13, 16) - Unabridged Audiobook [Download]
Bugtime Adventures: Scare Tactics (Gideon) (watch online)
Gideon brings a meal to the angel (watch online)
Gideon: God's Unlikely Choice (watch online)
Gideon hiding from the Midianites (watch online)
Gideon: Tuba Warrior, VeggieTales DVD
Gideon Video Story Signed for the Deaf
God Loves You Very Much, DVD
Holy Tales: The Call of Gideon Animated (watch online)
Moody Bible Stories: Gideon (watch online)
Mr. Phil Show with Phil Vischer: Season 2 Premiere (watch online)
Read and Share DVD Bible Volume #4
Samson and Gideon DVD
Superbook: Gideon, DVD
The Lord is with you (watch online)
The Outrageous Bravery of Gideon as Told by Kids (watch online)
All the Shows, Volume 1: 1993-1999
Do You Wonder Why? (online)
God's Story from Creation to Eternity (online)
Read and Share Toddler Bible with DVD
The Jesus Storybook Bible Curriculum Kit
Bible story DVDs
Children's DVDs
Resources for Parents and Teachers
Jesus Was the Angel of the Lord
Tearing Down the Altar of Baal by David Wilkerson
The Calling of Gideon (online)
The Story of Gideon Leader's Guide Grades K-1 (online)
The Story of Gideon Leader's Guide Grades 2-3 (online)
The Story of Gideon Leader's Guide Grades 4-5 (online)
The Story of Gideon and his 300 Sodiers (online)
The Sword of Gideon (online)
Who Was Gideon? (online)
Free Bible story images (online)
801 Questions Kids Ask About God
Absentee Postcards
African American Resources
Almost Every Answer for Practically Any Teacher
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Help! I'm a Sunday School Teacher
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How to Make Bible Characters from Milk Cartons (online)
KidMin ToolBox: Boxed Book Set
King James Version Gift & Award Bibles
Leading Little Ones to God:
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Lord Teach Me To Pray For Kids
Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours
Memory Verse Activities (online)
Memory Verse Resources
Object Talks
Opening Prayer (online)
Parenting Resources
Puppet Scripts
Review Activities for Bible Lessons (online)
Seven Laws of the Learner
Spanish Resources
Sunday school resources
Sunday School Songs: Lyrics and Tunes (online)
Talking to God
Teachers' Reproducible Classroom Pages
Teaching Children Memory Verses Ages 4-5
Teaching Children To Pray Ages 4-5
Teaching to Change Lives
The Beginner's Bible Curriculum Kit
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The Humongous Book of Bible Skits
for Children's Ministry
Vacation Bible School
What Every Sunday School Teacher Should Know
Children's resources (online)
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