Unfriendly Neighbors

Have you ever had an unfriendly neighbor? In the Bible we read of a man named Gideon who knew just what that was like. The nation of Israel had very unfriendly neighbors. They were a group of people called the Midianites. They would steal land, animals, and even people's homes! Israel did not know what to do. They were too weak to drive the Midianites away.

We can read in the Bible about how Gideon was led by God to fight for his country against these bad neighbors. Gideon prayed that God would be with him and with the brave soldiers who were ready to fight for their nation. Thirty-two thousand soldiers of Israel set camp on Mount Gilboa. The Midianites camped in the valley below.

The soldiers were ready to fight, but God told Gideon, “The army is too big!” Gideon was confused. “Too big?” he asked. But God knew that with a big army, Israel would not give God the credit for winning the battle. So Gideon obeyed God, and twenty-two thousand men went back home. Then God talked to Gideon again. “The army is still too big!” God told Gideon to take the soldiers to the water and watch closely as the men bent down to take a drink from the stream. The men who lapped up the water to drink would go home. Only the soldiers who drank water they had scooped into their hands would stay. Gideon obeyed God and only three hundred soldiers were left. They did not look like an army anymore, but with God's help, they were enough to defeat the Midianites.

God told Gideon to divide the three hundred men into three groups. The soldiers were given trumpets to blow. Each soldier was also given a pitcher with a burning torch hidden inside. When the Midianites were asleep, the soldiers of Israel snuck down the mountain and surrounded the Midianite camp. When Gideon gave the signal all the soldiers blew their trumpets as hard as they could. Then the soldiers of Israel broke their pitchers, and lights and noise surrounded the enemy camp.

The Midianites woke up and were terribly afraid. They ran away because they did not want to die. Gideon and the Israelites had won the battle! When they returned home, Gideon was treated as a hero, but Gideon gave all the glory to God. Gideon became a judge of Israel and led the people, with the help of God, for many years after that.

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