Gideon

Gideon was a farmer whom God called to rescue Israel during the time of the judges, around 1200 BCE. A judge was not mainly a person in a courtroom. In those days, judges were leaders raised up to guide and defend God’s people. Israel was suffering because Midianite raiders kept stealing crops and animals. Gideon was so afraid that he hid in a winepress while threshing wheat. When the angel of the Lord called him a mighty warrior, Gideon felt weak and unimportant. He asked many questions and wanted signs that God was truly with him. Even so, Gideon slowly learned to trust and obey.

Gideon’s story is found in Judges 6 through 8. God first told him to tear down his father’s altar to Baal. Gideon obeyed at night because he was frightened. He later asked for signs involving a wool fleece, and God patiently answered him. Gideon gathered an army near the spring of Harod, but God said the army was too large. After many men went home, only 300 remained. God wanted Israel to know that victory came from him, not from the size of its army. Gideon divided the men into groups. Each man carried a trumpet and a torch hidden inside a clay jar. At night they surrounded the Midianite camp. They blew the trumpets, smashed the jars, lifted the torches, and raised a battle cry. The startled Midianites fell into confusion and fled. Gideon and the Israelites pursued them and defeated their leaders.

Gideon’s story reminds children that courage does not mean never feeling afraid. Courage can mean obeying God while we are still nervous and unsure. It also teaches that God can work through people who feel small, and that strength and success should not make us proud. The spring of Harod is commonly identified with Ein Harod, near Mount Gilboa in northern Israel. After Gideon’s victory, the land had peace for forty years, as told in Judges 8. Yet Gideon later made an ephod that became a spiritual trap for Israel. His whole story warns us to keep trusting God after a victory, not only when we need help.