Gideon's Small Army

Gideon gathered an army to fight the Midianites. He had 32,000 soldiers!

But God said, 'Too many! If you win with this big army, you'll think YOU did it. Tell the scared ones to go home.'

22,000 men left! Now Gideon had 10,000.

'Still too many,' God said. 'Take them to the water to drink.'

Most soldiers got down on their knees to drink. But 300 soldiers cupped water in their hands and lapped it like a dog.

God said, 'These 300 are your army. Send everyone else home.'

Wait—300 against THOUSANDS of Midianites? That's not even close to fair!

But God had a plan.

Gideon gave each man three things: a trumpet, a clay jar, and a torch. They put the burning torches INSIDE the jars to hide the light.

In the middle of the night, they snuck around the enemy camp—100 men on each side. Then Gideon gave the signal.

CRASH! They smashed the jars!

The torches blazed in the darkness!

BLAAAAAST! They blew the trumpets!

'FOR THE LORD AND FOR GIDEON!' they shouted!

The Midianites woke up confused and terrified! Lights everywhere! Trumpets blasting! They couldn't tell who was who—they started fighting EACH OTHER! Then they ran away in panic!

Gideon's tiny army won! But really, GOD won. That was the whole point. With 32,000 soldiers, Israel might have said, 'We're so awesome!' With 300, everyone knew: God did this!

When things seem impossible, that's when God shows His power best!