During the lesson, the information for you to know is written in regular type, and what we suggest speaking or reading aloud to children is in bold. All resources for this lesson, including the Teacher Guide, Student Page, Family Connection Card, and other resources can be downloaded in a ZIP file by clicking on the following link:
In some lessons you will find "resource articles." These are articles written by experts from around the world to help equip you for your work with children and adolescents. Share them with parents or guardians if you consider it appropriate.
“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.” The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”
Judges 6:15–16
Let your children’s families know that this week their children will learn about leading God’s way. Encourage families to ask their children what it means to lead God’s way.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Greet your children with a high five as they arrive. Ask them if they were able to use what they learned about leading during this past week.
Divide the class into 4 groups. Give each group one of the following situations. Each group will choose 3 character qualities a leader would need in their situation.
Give the groups about 5 minutes to discuss their situations. Ask a volunteer from each group to tell the class what 3 character qualities they chose and why.
You all chose good character qualities that leaders need.
Are there other qualities a leader would need to lead in difficult situations?
Good leaders need many character qualities, and you have mentioned many of them. There is an important character quality I want you to know about—trusting God and leading His way.
Today you will hear a story from the Bible about a battle where the leader of the army chose to trust God and lead God’s way.
Today you will hear about Gideon, an unexpected leader who led God’s way. This story begins about 40 years after last week’s story about Deborah. A new enemy, the Midianites, invaded Israel and ruined their crops. The Israelites became poor and hungry and cried out to God for help.
Explain that as you read the story, you will pause in places and ask the children what they think happened next. You will read 4 possible answers. Each child will think about which answer he thinks is correct. You will then read the possible answers a second time, and the children will stand up for the answers they think are correct. You will then tell them what happened.
The angel of the Lord appeared to a man named Gideon. He greeted Gideon, saying, “Mighty warrior, the Lord is with you. You are strong. Go and save Israel from the power of Midian.”
How do you think Gideon responded to what he heard?
Read the 4 possible answers. Then read them again and have children stand when you read the choice they think happened. After the children have guessed, read the correct answer, which is underlined for you. Have the children sit down again.
Many of the Israelites, including Gideon’s father, worshipped a false god named Baal. God told Gideon to tear down his father’s altar to Baal and build an altar to God instead. Gideon knew it was wrong to worship anyone but the One True God. He also knew that people would be very angry if he tore down the altar to the false god.
What do you think Gideon did?
Read the 4 possible answers. Then read them again and have children stand when you read the choice they think happened. After the children have guessed, read the correct answer, which is underlined for you. Have the children sit down again.
The next morning, when the people saw Baal’s altar destroyed, they were angry. When they discovered that Gideon had done it, they wanted to kill him! But his father told them that if Baal were a real god, he would punish Gideon. Because Baal was a false god, nothing happened to Gideon.
Gideon gathered the Israelite army, about 32,000 men, and went to fight against the Midianite army. God said to Gideon, “I want to hand Midian over to you. But you have too many men for Me to do that. Otherwise, Israel might brag that their own strength saved them. Tell all the men who are afraid to fight that they can go home.”
So 22,000 men left and only 10,000 soldiers remained with Gideon. Not many army commanders would want to fight a huge army with only 10,000 men. But Gideon knew that he had to lead the army God’s way, not the human way.
But God was not done yet. He told Gideon that there were still too many men. Gideon wanted to lead God’s way, so he continued to obey God, even when what God said did not make sense. This time God asked Gideon to take his 10,000 soldiers to the water to drink. Most of the men got on their knees to drink the water, but 300 men scooped the water into their hands and lapped it like dogs.
What do you think God told Gideon to do?
Read the 4 possible answers. Then read them again and have children stand when you read the choice they think happened. After the children have guessed, read the correct answer, which is underlined for you. Have the children sit down again.
Optional: If possible, share the images from The Action Bible.
Gideon wanted to lead God’s way, so he obeyed and sent all but 300 of the men home. Gideon separated the 300 soldiers into 3 fighting groups. He gave each man a trumpet and an empty jar with a torch in it. Gideon instructed the 3 groups to go to the edge of the valley where the Midianite army was camped. “Watch me and do what I do,” he told them.
When they reached the edge of the enemy’s camp that night, there were so many in the army that they looked like a swarm of insects. Gideon and his 300 men blew their trumpets. They smashed their jars and held their torches in their hands. Then they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”
What do you think the Midianites did?
Read the 4 possible answers. Then read them again and have children stand when you read the choice they think happened. After the children have guessed, read the correct answer, which is underlined for you. Have the children sit down again.
Gideon and his men were outnumbered by the enemy army. It probably looked impossible. When Gideon and his men blew the 300 trumpets, the Lord confused the enemy soldiers and they started killing each other! Gideon led God’s way, and God won the victory!
Discuss the story with the children:
Throughout the story, Gideon chose to listen to God and lead according to what God told him to do.
What are examples of when Gideon chose to lead God’s way?
Answers might include when Gideon believed when God called him a “mighty warrior” who would help save Israel, when Gideon tore down the altar to Baal, when Gideon sent most of his army home, and how Gideon and his men used the trumpets and jars with torches.
What do you think would have been different if Gideon had led his own way instead of God’s way?
Possible answers: Gideon may not have led the army because he did not believe he could be a mighty warrior. Gideon may not have torn down the altar to Baal because he would have been too afraid. Gideon may have used all 32,000 men instead of trusting God.
Gideon chose to trust God and lead God’s way. It did not make sense to anger his people by tearing down their altar. It did not make sense to fight thousands of soldiers with 300 men. But Gideon trusted God and led God’s way.
Someone else led God’s way, and He is the best example we can follow. It was Jesus. Listen to what He said:
Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. … By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.
John 5:19–20, 30
Jesus always listened to His Father in heaven, and we can too. We can trust God and lead His way.
If you are using the Memory Verse Poster, show it to the students.
Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”
John 5:19
Gideon was the least important person in the least important family in his region! He probably wondered why God would choose him to be a leader.
Why do you think God uses people like Gideon?
Allow 2–3 children to share their thoughts.
You may feel like Gideon sometimes. You may wonder how you could ever be a leader. Listen again to what the Lord said to Gideon. “I will be with you. You will strike down all of the Midianites. No one will be left alive.” God promised to be with Gideon and help him fight the Midianites. God will also be with you when you lead His way!
God calls people who doubt themselves to be leaders. He calls people who are unimportant to be leaders. God asks them to trust Him and lead His way. Think about yourself as a leader.
As you read the following questions, pause after each one to allow the children to think before you read the next one.
Answer the following questions quietly to yourself:
Gideon was an ordinary, unimportant man in Israel. But God called him to be a leader. God works through ordinary people even when a person doubts she can lead or when he does not look like others think a leader should look.
Get back into the groups you had at the beginning of class. Think about the character qualities your group said leaders need. In your group talk about if you think those qualities still apply. Are there others that you think should be added now to the list of qualities?
Allow the groups about 5 minutes to talk about what a leader looks like. The children will then take turns telling each other a leadership quality they see in each person in their group.
After a few minutes, lead the children through the following guided prayer. Pause after each line for them to think or pray.
In Jesus’ name, amen!
Optional: If you are using the Student Pages, there is space for children to draw a situation where they will lead this week.
Close class by speaking the following blessing from Isaiah 41:10 over the children.
Blessing: You are chosen by God to lead in big and little ways. May you know He is with you and that He will strengthen and help you.
Lead the children in singing this quarter’s song, if possible.
Life on Life ©2020 David C Cook. Reproducible for home or classroom use only. All other uses require written permission from David C Cook [email protected]. All rights reserved.
