The Children's Chapel Award-winning site, featuring Bible stories from a variety of authors, excellent Christian resources for children, and over 140 links to other Christian and family-friendly sites for kids. ~ A Ministry of The Missing Link, Inc. ~ Trusting God, Not Yourself by Sophia Prinsloo and Barbara Wilmerton Haas A Bible story about Gideon - Part 3 Text Version | Afrikaans | Arabic | Italian [picture of scared girl lying in bed peeking out from under the covers] (Continued from Part 2) Joni always needed to go to sleep with a light on because she was afraid of the dark. She constantly feared some scary-looking, furry or slimy monster might be hiding in a dark corner of her room, just waiting to jump out and grab her with its big claws. Buried under her soft covers, she sometimes even imagined she heard a growl. Every now and then Joni would wonder what a monster smelled like. If she couldn't see it in the dark, maybe she could smell it. Anyway, she certainly didn't want to get close enough to feel its fur or disgustingly cold, slimy and stinky skin! Then one evening she read Psalm 139:12 in the Bible. It said that nighttime and darkness were the same as daytime and light to the Lord, because the night shines as bright as the day for Him. He can see just as well in the dark as He can in the light - one is the same as the other for God. "Mom! Mom!" Joni yelled at the top of her lungs as she quickly ran downstairs, her feet barely touching the steps. Her startled mother almost dropped the glass mixing bowl from her hands as she swirled around to see what was the matter. There stood Joni with a Bible in her hand and a look of astonishment spread across her face. "What's wrong, Joni? Tell me what happened!" Mom exclaimed with an anxious look on her face. Completely out of breath, Joni blurted out, "Mom! I know what I must do, not to be afraid of the dark anymore!" Mom was quite amazed. "What, my darling?" she asked expectantly. "It is written here in the Bible. It says right here in Psalms that the Lord can see what I cannot see. I just have to trust Him to protect me from things I cannot see but, Mom, He can see even in the dark!" That night Joni was not one bit afraid of turning off the lights when she went to bed because she knew the Lord was with her, watching over her the whole night. [picture of grassy graphics divider with butterflies] The report of Gideon's bravery rapidly spread throughout the whole country of Israel. The people were excited hearing about his valor, his zeal for the Lord and his utmost disregard for heathen idols. They were sure he could be the one God would use to save them from their enemies. [picture of a messenger on horseback spreading the word about Gideon] Just as quickly, through word of mouth, the news of Gideon also spread to the heathen nations living around Israel. These heathen nations were not at all happy with Gideon. They began sending messages to one another about what was happening. The Midianites' angry message of warning to the other heathen nations sounded an alarm: "We've got problems! How dare this lowly Hebrew destroy the altar of Baal, chop down Asherah and use her wood to sacrifice to their God! We must avenge our idols!" The Amalekites replied, "We had better act rapidly. We need to destroy Gideon and his people before they come and try to destroy all of us and put an end to our way of life!" And the children of the East urgently let others know: "Let us join forces! We must fight against the children of Israel and wipe them from the face of the earth!" Soon an army of sweaty Midianites, Amalekites and the children of the East waded across the Jordan River to prepare for battle against Gideon and Israel. As their wet clothes were drying out from the river crossing, they began pounding spikes into the ground, setting up their tents throughout the valley of Jezreel, the famous valley where many great battles had taken place before. There were so many men, they were bumping into one another in their haste to get bedded down for the night. [picture of Gideon looking down from the mountaintop] When he looked down from the mountain, Gideon witnessed a frightening sight and heard the noise of a tumult coming from below. From high above, the valley looked as if it were swarming with locusts but, taking a closer look, Gideon saw hundreds of men and camels from surrounding heathen nations. How do you think that made Gideon feel? In himself, lowly Gideon probably would have been trembling in his sandals but the Bible tells us, "The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet." God empowered him to blow that trumpet so loudly that its sound traveled across the hills, sending a warning signal to the men of Abiezer to come, follow him. Then Gideon sent messengers throughout the tribes of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulon and Naphtali, summoning their fighting forces to come up to meet them. [picture of grassy graphics divider with butterflies] That night, as all the men were preparing to come to battle, humble Gideon lifted up his voice and earnestly sought the Lord in prayer. He wanted to make sure that God's presence and power would go with him. He was well aware that only in God's might could they defeat these massive armies. Gideon said to God, "Lord, I really need to know if You are actually going to use me to rescue Israel. I will sheer one of my sheep and place its fresh, woolen fleece on the threshing floor tonight. When I come back in the morning, if I find wet dew only on the fleece with dry ground around it, then I'll know that You are surely going to rescue Israel through me, as You have said." [two picturse of Gideon first wringing water from the fleece and then finding the fleece dry] And that's exactly how it happened! It was amazing! God actually listened and honored Gideon's special request. When he got up early the next morning and squeezed the dew out of the fleece, he was able to wring out enough water to fill a whole bowl right up to the brim; yet the ground was completely dry! Gideon was encouraged but not yet persuaded, so he talked to God again: "Lord, please do not be angry with me so I may speak with You once more. Please let me do one more test with the fleece. This time, let the woolen fleece be dry and the ground wet." Early the next morning, Gideon woke up to the sound of bleating sheep. He pulled on his robe, paused at the door to take in a breath of fresh air, then eagerly rushed to the threshing floor to see if the Lord had done as he had asked. And to his amazement, yes! The fleece was dry but the ground was wet. Finally, Gideon was convinced that the Lord would go with them and use him to save Israel from the heathen nations, as He had promised. [picture of men with spears gathering to fight the Midianites and other heathens] In the meantime, a mighty force of 32,000 men responded from many directions and came together to fight in Gideon's army. Gideon and his men got an early start. When they reached their camping place, there was quite a commotion with the sound of pounding hammers driving spikes deep into the ground, so they could set up their tents and unpack their gear and provisions. Above them stood the peaks of Mount Gilead, and right beside them a spring named Harod bubbled as it gently flowed along the rocks. The Midianites were camping just north of them in the valley of Jezreel, at the bottom of a hill called Moreh. While the soldiers of Israel discussed the war ahead of them and practiced their fighting skills with each other, Gideon went into his tent to pray and ask the Lord for wisdom for the battle. To his astonishment, the Lord told him, "You have too many men!" "What?" Gideon scratched his ear and screwed up his face in absolute disbelief. "Too many men? Does the Lord really see how many heathens are down there?" But the Lord continued, "I can't let all of you fight the Midianites because then I'll hear the people of Israel boasting that they saved themselves by their own strength. The men who are afraid may leave and go back home." So Gideon called the men together for his incredible announcement: "God wants anyone who is afraid to leave now and go back home." The men stood there in astonishment. One turned to another beside him and questioned, "Did Gideon really say what I thought I heard him say?" Gideon could hardly believe what he just said. Did he really hear God right? He watched as 22,000 of the men packed up and left the camp. There were 10,000 men who remained. But God wasn't finished yet with Gideon's army. Again, the Lord said to Gideon, "They are still too many men!" Then the Lord told Gideon, "Take the men down to the spring and I will test them there for you. If I say, 'This man will go with you,' then he will go, but if I say, 'That one will not go with you,' he will not go." So off they went, down to the water, Gideon and his 10,000 men. "What's going on?" "Why are we going to the spring?" the men questioned one another. Then the Lord said to Gideon, "Divide the men into two groups. The first group will be the ones who choose to cup the water in their hands and lick it like a dog, without kneeling down. The second group will be the ones who choose to kneel down and drink the water directly from the stream, without using their hands." [picture of men getting a drink from the stream] Well, only 300 men drank from their hands, showing they were alert and on their guard at all times. All the others drank face down with their mouths to the stream. Drinking like that, the enemy could easily sneak up behind them and attack them by surprise. The Lord told Gideon, "I will rescue you with the 300 men who lapped the water from their hands, without kneeling down, and will hand over the Midianites to you. Let all the others go HOME!" In the end, the second group of 9,700 men who left were happy to give the remaining men their jars of food and the trumpets they had brought. Gideon turned and looked over his remaining 300 men that God had chosen and then stared down at the noisy, heathen armies and their camels scattered across the valley of Jezreel. They were so many in number, just like the sand on the seashore - too many to count. He knew for sure that ONLY God could give Israel victory with just 300 brave men fighting against those thousands of heathens. NOW the battle would truly be the Lord's and, in this way, the whole country of Israel would learn to TRUST God for victory and not themselves or their own strength. (Continued in Part 4) [picture of grassy graphics divider with butterflies] REMEMBER! The biggest sign God ever gave us was his Son, Jesus Christ! We must always put our trust in Him and his Word, not in ourselves. THINK! 1. Why did Gideon ask the Lord for a sign? 2. What happened to the fleece during the first night? And the second night? 3. How many men came to join Gideon to fight against the heathen nations? 4. How many were chosen to be in the first group who stayed to fight? 5. Why did God send the others home? 6. What items did the men of the second group leave behind? 7. Do you think Gideon trusted God? Will you? A VERSE TO LEARN: "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts" (Zechariah 4:6). AN ALTERNATIVE VERSES TO LEARN "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5). "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" (James 1:5). "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen" (Ephesians 3:20-21). "Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee" (Psalm 143:8). PRACTICAL APPLICATION What do you think Gideon was afraid of? What things are you afraid of? The dark, spiders, ghosts, imaginary monsters or something else? What things scare your parents or grandparents, brothers or sisters, or friends the most? Do you know anyone who's afraid of what may happen tomorrow? What helped Gideon get over his fear? How can you overcome fear? How can you help others get over fear? [After discussion:] Gideon feared God more than he feared the enemy. He was willing to trust and obey God at all costs. That's why God showed Himself to Gideon in such a mighty way and was able to use him to help his people. The more you learn to do what God says and go where He sends you, the less you will fear what others think and the more you will learn to quickly trust and obey God. That's the only way to be happy in Jesus. The more you understand how much He loves and cares for you, the quicker you will be to trust and obey Him. Pray that God will help you become an example so others can follow in your footsteps. LET'S PRAY: [picture of little boy kneeling and praying beside his bed with his big dog earnestly praying beside him] Heavenly Father, help us not to become proud or arrogant. Teach us not to depend on our own, limited strength or our own, limited intelligence. Help us seek greater wisdom from above, found in your Word, and give us grace to trust You fully. In Jesus' Name. Amen. CAN YOU FIND THIS STORY IN THE BIBLE? 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