Gideon's Little Army

Long ago, God’s people were having a very hard time. Big armies called the Midianites kept coming and taking all their food. So the people hid, and they were scared, and they called out to God for help.

There was a young man named Gideon. He was hiding too, squashing wheat down in a deep, low place so the bad guys wouldn’t see him. Then an angel from God came and said something surprising: “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!”

Gideon could hardly believe it. “Me?” he said. “My family is the smallest, and I am the littlest of all. How could God use me?” But God smiled and said, “I will be with you. You can do this with My help.”

Gideon wanted to be really, really sure. So he asked God for a sign. He put a fluffy bit of wool on the ground. “If the wool is wet but the grass is dry, I’ll know You chose me.” And in the morning — the wool was soaking wet! The next night God did it the other way too, just so Gideon would know for sure.

Then God said something funny. Gideon had lots of soldiers, but God said, “That’s TOO many! If you win with a big army, you’ll think you did it all by yourselves. We need a tiny army, so everyone will know I did it.” So God sent most of them home, until only 300 were left.

That night each soldier carried a trumpet and a torch hidden inside a clay jar. All together they smashed the jars, the light shined out bright, and they blew their trumpets and shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” The enemy got so confused and scared that they ran away. God won the whole battle — with one little army that trusted Him.