Light in the WaitingGideon and the 300
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Have you ever felt too small or too scared for something God asked of you?
The illustrated story
Listen to the story
Read aloud with a generated voice, so little ones can follow along.
Read the story
God’s people were in trouble. Every year at harvest time, the Midianites came riding in on their camels, so many that nobody could count them. They took the wheat, they took the sheep, they took everything. So God’s people hid in caves in the hills, and they were afraid.
Gideon was afraid too. One day he was threshing wheat, not out in the open field where wheat is usually threshed, but hidden down in a winepress, so the Midianites would not see him. And right there, an angel of the Lord sat down under the oak tree and spoke to him.
“Yahweh is with you, you mighty man of valor!”
Judges 6:12
Gideon looked around. Mighty? Him? “My family is the weakest in our tribe,” he said, “and I am the smallest in my family.” But God answered, “I will be with you.”
Gideon still wanted to be sure. So he laid a woolly fleece on the ground and prayed, “If the fleece is wet in the morning and the ground is dry, I will know You are sending me.” In the morning he squeezed a whole bowl of water out of the fleece, while the ground all around was dry. The next night he asked for the opposite, and in the morning the fleece was dry and the ground was wet with dew. God was patient with Gideon.
Thirty two thousand men came to fight with Gideon. Then God said something surprising: “You have too many. If you win, the people will say they did it by themselves.” So everyone who was afraid went home, and ten thousand were left. “Still too many,” said God. Gideon took the men down to the water to drink. Most knelt down and put their faces in the water, but three hundred scooped up the water in their hands and stayed watchful. “With these three hundred,” said God, “I will save you.”
That night, each of the three hundred carried a trumpet and an empty clay jar with a burning torch hidden inside. Quietly they spread out all around the enemy camp. Then Gideon gave the signal. They blew their trumpets, smashed their jars, held up their blazing torches and shouted, “For the Lord and for Gideon!”
The Midianites woke up to trumpets and fire and shouting all around them. They were so confused that they ran away into the night. Not one of the three hundred had to fight. God had given His people the victory, and everyone knew it had not come from their own strength. It had come from the Lord.
God did not choose the biggest army or the bravest man. He chose a small group and a man who felt small, so that everyone could see how great He is.
What we learn
God can use ordinary people who feel small, and His power is greater than any army.
Family prayer
Dear God, thank You for being with us, even when we feel small or afraid. Help us to trust You and to be brave, because You can do great things through us. Amen.
A verse to remember
Yahweh is with you, you mighty man of valor!
Judges 6:12
Say it together a few times, then see who can say it alone.
Talk about it together
- Where was Gideon hiding when the angel came to him?
- Why do you think God wanted only 300 men?
- When do you feel small, and how can you trust God then?
Read it in the Bible: Judges 7:2–8 and 7:16–22.
Questions or a message for us?
If you have a question about this story, or you would like to share how your family used it, write to [email protected]. We love hearing from readers.
