Lesson Learned: God chooses Gideon to lead the Israelites.
Materials Needed: washcloth, bowl of water
Bible Verse:
Judges 6:11-18, 36-40
11 The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.”
13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
14 The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
15 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
16 The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”
17 Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. 18 Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.”
And the LORD said, “I will wait until you return.”
36 Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised— 37 look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” 38 And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.
39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” 40 That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.
Talking Points: God has a special plan for every single person. He has a special plan for you and he has a special plan for your mommy and daddy and your brother/sister. In the Bible, we can learn about a special plan that God had for a brave man named Gideon. People living during Gideon’s time ignored God and God was not happy about this. God sent an angel to Gideon to tell Gideon that he had been chosen to lead God’s chosen people, the Israelites, to safety and to return to God’s ways. Gideon did not believe that God would chose him, of all people, to lead anyone so he asked God to give him a sign that it really was God telling him to do this. Gideon put a piece of wool and the ground and asked God to make it wet. God did. Gideon wrung the fleece out into a fleece full of water. Then, God sent Gideon one more sign to convince him too. The next day, everything on the ground was wet, but the fleece was dry. Gideon knew then that God had really chosen him to lead the people.
Questions: Who did God choose to lead the Israelites? What did Gideon ask God to do to prove that he was really speaking to God? How would you feel if God came and spoke to you?
Activity: Fill a bowl with water. Dip the washcloth in it and demonstrate to the child how to wring out the water. Let the child have fun doing it themselves.
Prayer: Dear God, we are so thankful that You choose even the smallest person to do Your special work. Please help us to do Your work today. Amen!