Tahsas 16 — December 25

Gideon, the Judge God Chose

Long, long ago, before there were kings in the land of Israel, God chose special leaders called judges. A judge here means a wise leader who guided the people and kept them safe. Today we remember one of them, a good man named Gideon.

One day an angel of the Lord came to Gideon. The angel cheered him and made him strong, and told him that God had chosen him to lead God's people. God asked Gideon to take down the statues that people had been praying to instead of God, and to build a special place to worship the one true God. Gideon listened and did everything God asked.

Gideon wanted to be very sure that God was really with him. So he asked God for a sign. At night he laid a soft piece of wool out on the grass.

In the morning, the wool was wet with dew, but the grass all around it was dry! The next night Gideon asked for the opposite. This time the grass was wet, but the wool stayed dry. Now Gideon knew for certain that God was with him.

Then God gave Gideon a special job. Some people called the Midianites were being unkind to God's people. God told Gideon that he did not need a huge army. With only three hundred men, God helped Gideon keep his people safe. He wanted everyone to remember that it was God who saved them, not big numbers or strong soldiers.

After this, the people loved Gideon so much that they begged him to be their king. But Gideon answered humbly that God should be their true King. He led God's people kindly for forty years, and God was with him in everything he did. At last, when he was old, he died in peace.

Long after Gideon lived, holy people still remembered the sign of the wet wool and the dry grass. It points us to something greater still: the birth of Jesus, born of Mary. That is why we remember Gideon on this special day.

If the wool is wet with dew but the grass stays dry, then I will know that You are with me.— Gideon's prayer

I should not be your king, and neither should my children. It is God who shall rule over you as King.— Gideon