Cast: Gideon, Narrator, Lieutenants 1, 2 and 3, Angel, Gideon's servant Purah (could be one of the lieutenants), at least two Midianites

Props: Sword for Gideon, face camouflage for Lieutenant #2, weapons for each Lieutenant, a trumpet, a torch, a clay pot, a fleece, a pitcher of water, a hair dryer and a large bowl. Might also use a roll of blue fabric or something like that to simulate a stream (or just the edge of the stage).

Narrator: “As you may remember from last week, God sent an Angel to a man named Gideon. “Greetings, mighty warrior,” the Angel said to Gideon, while he was hiding in a wine press, trying to keep some grain from the Midianite raiders. With the Angel’s encouragement, Gideon obeyed God and pulled down the idol of Ba’al in his village, standing up for God in spite of his fear of his neighbors.

Some time later, the Midianites gathered for a big raid against Israel.”

Midianite Leader: “OK lads, it is time to raid the land of Israel again. As you know, there are rumors that some of ‘em are getting uppity, thinking they might be able to resist us, or hold back their crops. It’s time to show them who are the sheep, and who are the wolves.”

[Midianites agree, amidst much cheering and growling.]

Narrator: “And so the Midianites gathered together a huge horde of camel-riding raiders, so many that they couldn’t be counted. They figured that no one could resist them, and they could take whatever they wanted. But about this time, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon.”

Gideon [comes on stage, kneels down, begins to pray]: “Oh Lord, God of Israel, the Midianites are gathering to raid us again – this time I think they plan to take everything, and leave us to starve. Won’t you help your people?”

[Gideon slowly stands up, straightens his shoulders, and then walks over to the table and picks up his sword.]

“That’s strange – suddenly I feel … courageous! I feel a sense of God’s purpose, and that He is with me! I think God wants me to lead the fight against the Midianites! Where’s my trumpet?”

Narrator: “And so Gideon sent word to all the country around, for the people to gather to fight against the Midianites.

Gideon: “I wonder if the people will gather? Does God really want me to lead them? I think I will pray about it. [Kneels down to pray.] “Oh, Jehovah God, I know you love your people and you have chosen them to be your special possession. Please grant me a sign – Lord, I’ll put this sheepskin outside my tent tonight, and in the morning, if it is wet and the ground is dry, then I’ll know you are with me.” [Stands up.] “All that trumpet blowing has tired me out, I need to sleep, but first I’ll lay out this dry fleece. “ [Lays down on edge of stage, lays out fleece.]

Narrator: “God loved Gideon, and He had indeed chosen Gideon to lead Israel against the Midianites, so he granted Gideon’s request.” [Angel comes out with pitcher of water and carefully pours it on the fleece only.] “In the morning, Gideon came out to check to see if God had granted him the sign he asked for.”

Gideon: [Stretching] “Ah, that was a good night’s sleep! I wonder if God answered my request for a sign?” [Feels the ground.] “Well, the ground is dry.” [Picks up fleece, dripping with water.] “The fleece is sopping wet!” [Grabs a bowl and wrings out fleece.]

Narrator: “Gideon was delighted, but he still had a few doubts. What if fleeces just naturally attracted dew? Did God really want him to attack the Midianites? There were so many of them!”

Gideon: [Kneels to pray again.] “Dear God, thank you for sending me the sign I asked for. Please don’t be angry with me, but please give me one more sign. This time, please make the ground wet and the fleece dry.” [Gideon lays out the fleece, and goes to lay down.]

Narrator: “God answered Gideon’s second request for a sign as well.” [Angel comes out, sprinkles water all around fleece, and uses a hair dryer to dry the fleece itself.] “In the morning, Gideon woke up and immediately went to check on the fleece.”

Gideon: [Standing, stretching] “Ah, what a great sleep. I wonder if God answered my request for a sign?” [Takes a step out of his tent.] “Aaaghhh, the ground is sopping wet! Now I have a sock-soaker! Those are the worst!” [Walks over to the fleece, picks it up.] “But the fleece is totally dry, and even a bit warm! Amazing! God must really be planning to save Israel through me!”

Narrator: “God blessed the Israelites with courage, so that 32,000 of them gathered from various tribes.”

Lieutenant #1: “Gideon, sir, the people have gathered as you requested. There are 32,000 of us, armed and ready for battle!”

Narrator: “But then God did a strange thing. He wanted to save the people of Israel Himself, so they would know that it was He who did it, and that He loved them. Remember, He was trying to get them not to put their trust in idols, but to love Him as the one and only true God. So He gave Gideon some very strange instructions … “

Gideon: “OK, men, I need to address the army. Can you get them all gathered for me, in a place where they can all hear me?”

Lieutenant #2: [Shouts in an exaggerated military way] “Yes, SIR – right away, SIR!. [Turns toward audience, pretends they are the army] OK, you lot, gather up in rows, hup, two, three, move lively now! The commander wants to tell you something, although you’re probably all too dumb to understand him. You in the back! You’re moving like pond water! Hut! Hut! Hut!”

Gideon [aside, to the other two Lieutenants]: “What’s with him? What’s he mean, ‘hut-hut-hut’? Are we going to build some kind of army camp out of small huts?”

Lieutenant #3: “I think he’s taking this whole military thing a little too seriously, sir. Ever since we gathered the army, he’s been painting his face in strange colors and making strange noises like ‘Hooah’, and ‘Airborne’. We’ll have the army doctor look at him, don’t you worry.”

Gideon: “Well, OK. He worries me, that man. [Turning to address the army] Men, as you know, we’ve gathered to fight against the Midianites. The Lord, God of Israel, has told me some good news. He says that He is with us, and that He will help us to overcome the enemy. Isn’t that great news!”

[Lieutenants hold up “Cheer loudly” signs, and the audience cheers.]

Gideon: “Great, I knew you’d be pleased. Now here’s some more good news: anyone who is afraid, may go back home."

Narrator: “As it turned out, quite a few of them were afraid, and jumped at the chance to go back home. When the dust cleared, there was less than one third of the Army remaining.”

Lieutenant #2: [Still shouting] “SIR! Reporting on the size of the army, SIR! Twenty-two thousand of the yellow-bellied cowards have deserted, SIR! Remaining troops number at ten thousand, SIR!”

Lieutenant #1: “Um, sir, are you sure about this? There are so many Midianites that we couldn’t get a good count of them, and you are letting more than two-thirds of our soldiers go home? I didn’t go to West Point, but I’m pretty sure that’s not how you win battles. Shall we try to gather some more troops?”

Gideon: “No, God told me clearly what to do, and I did it. But since you’re so worried about it, let’s pray.”

Narrator: “So they prayed to God, and He gave Gideon some further instructions.”

Gideon: [still kneeling, praying] “OK, God, I’ve trusted you this far – I am going to trust that you know what you’re doing!” [Pauses, acts as if he is listening] "Are you sure about that, Lord?" [Listens some more, then slowly stands up with the three lieutenants.] “OK, men, I’ve got another word from God. He wants to make sure we really know that it is He who is saving us from the Midianites, not ourselves. He told me to test the men and to make the Army even smaller. Now here’s what we do … “ [whispers with the three lieutenants.]

Lieutenant #2: [walks over to face the audience 'army', shouting] “OK, you sorry bunch of soldiers! You think you’re brave? You think you’re tough? Let’s see if you know how to drink from a stream! Line up and drink, when Gideon gives the command!”

[Lieutenants pretend to gather the audience along the edge of the stage]

Gideon: “Thank you, men. On the count of three, each of you is to take a drink from this stream. One, two, THREE!”

[Lieutenants 1 and 2 walk along the line, tapping each man who drinks by cupping his hands and pulling them out of the line.]

Lieutenant #2: [still shouting] “You call that drinking? My grandmother can drink better than that! C’mon, drink like you mean it! Put your back into it!”

Lieutenant #1: “You, not you, not you, not you … if I tap you on the shoulder, line up over there!”

Lieutenant #3: [standing by Gideon] “Are you sure about this? Most of the soldiers are drinking like dogs, lapping the water directly out of the stream. I’d say only about three in a hundred are being chosen … “

Gideon: “Thank you, Lieutenant. I’m sure we all appreciate your grandmother and her famous drinking abilities. [Raises voice to be heard by army] All right, thank you, that completes our test. If you were tapped on the shoulder, please remain; the rest of you may return to your homes. Thank you for coming, and thank you for your courage.”

Lieutenant #1: “Good news, sir. As you know, when we started, we had a trumpet for each group of a thousand men. Now each man can have a trumpet for himself!”

Lieutenant #3: “I’m not sure that’s very good news. Let’s see, let me get a count … sir, we have only 300 men left.”

Gideon: “All right. Get the men some food, and we’ll camp here for the night. I need to go pray about this.” [Walks over to edge of stage, alone, while lieutenants and remaining troops gather around the table to eat.] “Oh, God, you know I’ve trusted you this far, but I’m starting to really wonder if you are with me. We have only 300 men – how can we fight the Midianites unless you help us?”

Narrator: "That night God spoke to Gideon and told him that He would surely be with Gideon, and that He would give them the ability to defeat the Midianites. But God also told him that if he was still afraid, he should take his servant with him and sneak down into the enemy camp, and listen."

Gideon: "OK, well, I am definitely still scared. Where's my servant? " [Calls offstage.] "Purah? Purah!"

Purah: [appears from offstage] "You bellowed, sir?"

Gideon: "I've been praying to God again, and He told me to take you with me and to sneak down to the Midianite camp, and listen."

Purah: "Are you sure God didn't mean some other servant?"

Gideon: "Don't be such a whiner. Come on." [The two of them sneak off one edge of the stage and cross in front of the stage, sneaking all the way, while the narrator is speaking.]

Narrator: "And so, Gideon and his servant snuck down to the enemy camp. As they went, they were amazed at how many of the Midianites were in the camp -- they were like the sand of the seashore! Soon, Gideon and Purah were just behind one of the enemy tents."

Midianite #1: "What a strange dream, I just had."

Midianite #2: "I've told you before, you need to stop eating all those peppers."

Midianite #1: "No, seriously, it was a really weird dream. I dreamed there was this big cake of barley, and it rolled down the hill and into our camp, and knocked our tent flat."

Midianite #2: "That's a big cake of barley. But it seems to me that your dream has a meaning. I'll bet that the cake of barley stands for that Israelite leader, Gideon. I think it means that Gideon is going to defeat us in battle!"

Narrator: "Gideon could hardly believe his ears, but he could see immediately that God was showing him in advance that He would fight against the Midianites for Israel, and defeat them."

Purah: "Did you hear that, sir? It sounds like even the Midianites know that God is against them."

Gideon: "Yes, I heard it. God is amazing! Let's get out of here, and go tell the army!"

Narrator: "So Gideon and his servant, Purah, snuck back to their own camp, and they gathered the men."

[Gideon wakes his three lieutenants, who pretend to gather the army.]

Lieutenant #2: [still shouting] “Wakey-wakey, troops! 1 a.m and all is well! Up and at ‘em, men!”

Lieutenant #1: "Come on, troops!"

Lieutenant #3: [Turns to Gideon] "What's this all about, sir? We don't usually get up in the middle of the night, for battle, do we, sir?"

Gideon: "All right, quiet, everyone."

Lieutenant #2 "Hut-hut-hut ... [trails off, realizing he is alone in making noise.]

Gideon: "If you're QUITE finished, Lieutenant?" [Waits a moment.] "Very well, men, I've been to the Midianite camp, and God has shown me that He will fight against the enemy for us. Have you all got your torches and your clay pots, and your trumpets?"

Lieutenant #1: "Yes, sir. Each of our soldiers has a torch, a clay pot, and a trumpet."

Gideon: "Good. Follow me to the camp, and wait for my signal. When you hear me blow my trumpet, smash your pots on the ground, reveal your torches, and blow your trumpets."

Lieutenant #3: "Um, do you have any other instructions, sir?"

Lieutenant #2: "Yes, sir -- when do we tell them to drop the trumpets and get their swords out?"

Gideon: "They won't need their swords tonight. God Himself will fight for us. Once your men have smashed their pots, have them just stand there with the torches, and keep blowing their trumpets."

Lieutenant #1: "Whatever you say, sir."

Narrator: "And so, in the middle of the night, the army made their way to the Midianite camp. They divided into three groups of 100 men, and surrounded the enemy camp. Then Gideon gave the signal." [Each Lieutenant goes to a different spot around the audience, Gideon stays with one of them. In the middle of the audience, have the Midianites sleeping.]

Gideon: [Throws down his pot, reveals his torch, blows his trumpet.] "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!"

Lieutenants #1, #2 and #3: "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!"

[Midianites wake up and run around, making frightenend noises for a few seconds.]

Narrator: "Then the Lord did something very strange. He put fear in the hearts of the Midianites, so that they began to attack one another. Soon, a full-fledged battle was raging in the Midianite camp, while the Israelites stood on the hillside and watched."

Gideon: "What a great way to run a war!"

Narrator: "The Midianite army fled back toward their own home, killing one another as they ran. The next day, Gideon called out the rest of the Israelites, and they chased the Midianites all the way to the border of their land. In all, more than 120,000 of the enemy were killed, all because God fought for Israel."

The End