Leader Guide
Soldier Game
- Whiteboard and marker, or chalkboard and chalk to keep score
- Bed sheet or two large towels, preferably blue or green
- Crayons or washable markers
- 30 sheets of paper—can be scrap paper
- Scissors for the teacher
- Medium-size box or container
Cut each sheet of paper in half horizontally to make 60 sheets.
Place or tape a mark near one end of the room as a starting line.
Place the bed sheet or towels on the floor and stretch across the width of the game area, approximately 12 feet from the mark. See illustration.
Roll or fold the sheet vertically so about a 3 foot length remains as a “stream” to jump across.
Write “Home” in large letters on the front of the box.
Place the box on the floor approximately 6 feet from the sheet (stream).
Gideon gathered an army of 32,000 men. Let’s read what happened next.
Read Judges 7:2–8a:
The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to Me that they saved themselves by their own strength. Therefore, tell the people, ‘Whoever is timid or afraid may leave this mountain and go home.’” So 22,000 of them went home, leaving only 10,000 who were willing to fight. But the Lord told Gideon, “There are still too many! Bring them down to the spring, and I will test them to determine who will go with you and who will not.” When Gideon took his warriors down to the water, the Lord told him, “Divide the men into two groups. In one group put all those who cup water in their hands and lap it up with their tongues like dogs. In the other group put all those who kneel down and drink with their mouths in the stream.” Only 300 of the men drank from their hands. All the others got down on their knees and drank with their mouths in the stream. The Lord told Gideon, “With these 300 men I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites. Send all the others home.” So Gideon collected the provisions and rams’ horns of the other warriors and sent them home. But he kept the 300 men with him.
This is what our game is about—to send soldiers home and reduce Gideon’s army to the number that God wanted—300!
Divide the children into two teams; they do not need to be exactly even. Give each team 10 sheets of paper plus crayons or markers. Have each team draw a small soldier on all ten pieces of paper. They should then fold each sheet in half to hide the soldier, then crumple the pages into paper balls.
Next, give 20 sheets of paper to each team; they should fold the blank sheets in half, then crumple them into balls. Have each team mix up all 30 of their paper balls and place them on the other side of the stream, opposite the starting mark. Each team must have a separate pile!
Each paper that you drew a soldier on represents 30 soldiers; 30 x 10 = 300. The 20 blank balls represent the soldiers that Gideon sent home after the men took God’s test at the stream. You must find all of the soldiers who didn’t pass God’s test and send them home as quickly as possible!
Have the teams stand behind the starting mark. Both teams play at the same time. The first player from each team walks quickly to the stream and jumps over it to get to their team’s soldiers. Each player will then open the balls one by one until finding a blank one. Important: each ball with a soldier on it must be crumpled up again and placed back in the pile before the player may open another ball.
Once a blank ball is found, the player throws it into the “Home” box—or walks to the box and drops it in. The player then jumps back over the stream to return to their team, and the next player repeats the process. The first team to send 20 “soldiers” home and have only 10 left wins!
Notes:
- To make the game go faster, players may set aside each solider they find so other players will not open them.
- For children with special needs, you may walk them through the stream instead of jumping over—simply say that the stream is very shallow at that point! Adjust all distances to fit your classroom size and to accommodate the children’s ages and abilities.
Conclusion: Congratulations on reducing Gideon’s army to the correct number! God wanted the Israelites to know beyond any doubt that their victory was by His strength, not their own! God was the reason they could do great things! God wants us to know that He is our source of strength to accomplish great things! Let’s shout our SuperVerse. Philippians 4:13:
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.