Gideon gathered together an army of 32,000 men. This wasn’t nearly as many as the Midianites, who had 135,000 men. And yet the Lord told him that it was too many men. The Lord didn’t want the people of Israel to think that they had won the battle because of their great numbers. The Lord wants to show them that he is the One who is going to give the victory. This battle is about something much more important than a physical war. God is showing them that he is the One who can save them, also from their sins.

Gideon had to tell the people that whoever wanted to could go home. This left 10,000 men. But that was still too many men. So Gideon took them to the water, and they all had a drink. The Lord made sure only 300 men drank the water a certain way because God was going to use just these 300 men in the battle. God told Gideon that with these 300 men, he would deliver the Midianites into the Israelites’ hands.

Just 300 men. That’s not many at all against 135,000 men. And yet the Lord led the battle in such a way that when the enemies heard all the trumpets and shouting, and when they saw the torches, they responded by attacking and killing each other. This story isn’t about how clever or brave these 300 men were, but about the Lord and how he won the battle. All Gideon had to do was trust and obey the Lord, and God gave the victory.

And that is what we need to do in our lives too. We need to trust the Lord. Even when things look too hard for us or when temptations look too great, we must trust the Lord. He has already promised us that we will win the battles as well. We know that Christ has already won over Satan. We have been promised forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Now we have to believe these promises and in faith obey the Lord.

Reflection with your child:

What can we learn from this story?

Source: Sermon by Rev. H. Alkema