Judges/Gideon
JUDGES/GIDEON
Objectives:
- Students should be able to tell the story of Gideon – the meat offering, the fleece, the choosing of the men, and the battle.
- Students should understand the need to trust in God in all things.
Possible Lesson Plan:
- Open with prayer.
- Scripture Reference: Judges 6-7. When the Israelites entered the Promised Land, they were not ruled by a king but by judges appointed by God. God had commanded Moses to build the Ark of the Covenant (remember what was in it?) and the Tabernacle – a huge tent, greatly decorated, holding the precious Ark. During the years of wandering, the Levites carried this huge tent and all of its furnishings, to be set up at each new camping place. In the Promised Land, the Tabernacle was set up at a place named Shiloh. The people came to Shiloh to pray and to give offerings to God. On the Day of Atonement each year, the high priest would sacrifice a goat as an offering to the Lord and send another goat out into the wilderness to show that the people’s sins were sent far away. On this holy day, celebrated from the days of Moses until today, the Jewish people fasted and prayed.
- Learning Game: Charades. Write the major events of the story on slips of paper (same as for the story-spinner below). Have the students pick out a slip and act out the event while the others guess what’s happening.
- Discussion: Gideon was one of the judges called by God. How did God call Gideon? How does He speak to you? What was the purpose of the fleece? How did Gideon choose his men? Why? How did he win the battle? Was Gideon stupid to go into battle with such odds against him? Why or why not? Have you ever faced seemingly impossible odds? Are there any conclusions we can draw from Gideon’s life about God’s work in our own lives?
- Find each of the tribes of Israel on the map. Where was Gideon? Other judges?
- Make a coil pot with a candle:
Take self-hardening clay (not flammable). Flatten a ball of clay into a base. Make long snakes of clay and coil into a pot. Using a needle or paperclip, poke two small holes near the top for later insertion of a hanger. Put a tea-lite candle inside and let it dry.
- Close with prayer. Pray for strength against any “impossible odds” the students earlier listed.