Judges 6:36-40
The Sign of the Fleece
36 Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, 37 behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” 38 And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” 40 And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.
As we study the Book of Judges, we are again reminded that this was a dark and dismal period in the life and times of Israel. The concluding verse in Judges 21:25 summarizes these dreadful days by saying, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Gideon was called by God to deliver the Israelites from the Midianites’ and Amaleikites’ persecution. He was humble and obediently followed through when God gave him a command. Additionally, Gideon was clothed by the Spirit of the Lord. Our passage today in Judges 6:36-40 is a familiar story. The passage by way of structural analysis does not provide us any clues on what the main point or focus should be. Simply put, the story’s outline or sequence of events is: Gideon asks for a sign of the Lord if He is with Him and if Israel will be victorious. The Lord did. The next event is equal and parallel to the first, except this time Gideon apologizes to the Lord and begs that His anger not burn. Gideon asks the Lord for a second sign. And again, the Lord did.
So now we dig deeper into the Scripture to see what lessons the Lord would have us learn. Today, when we are confronted with making a decision that is important to our lives and to our families, the first thing we do is pray. Our Lord Jesus taught and commanded us to pray. James 4:2-3 says, “we have not because we ask not.” We are to pray consistently, fervently, and with belief. Many people, Christian people, will pray that God sends them a sign to show which choice they should make. In fact, they will use this Scripture as a proof text in their prayers by metaphorically saying, ‘They are going to present to the Lord a fleece!” But as a point of caution, Gideon was really not in a situation to make a choice. For example, Gideon’s request for a sign was not to determine if he should go to war or not. Gideon’s request for a sign was to trust God or not! God commanded Gideon to gather the Israelites and prepare for battle. God was going to deliver the Midianites and the Amalekites into his hand. Instead of trusting God, Gideon wanted a miraculous sign as evidence that God was with him. This situation is very similar to God’s call on Barak to defeat the Canaanites. Deborah, God’s prophetess, gives Barak God’s command for him to go gather the Israelites and fight Sisera and Jabin, the king of the Canaanites. Barak in his weak faith told Deborah he will do this but only if she will go with him. Instead of believing in the presence of God as promised, Barak did not have that faith; he wanted to depend on Deborah, a prophetess of God, to be with him. In the same way, instead of believing in the words and promises of God, Gideon needed to trust in a miraculous sign from heaven. Both leaders lacked faith in their trust in God.
Nevertheless, even though men of God like Gideon and Barak, are not fully mature in their faith, yet, they still have faith. But what about their lack of faith? Faith is faith in the presence of God. Faith the size of a mustard seed can remove mountains, as Jesus Christ said in Matthew 13:32. Hebrews 11:6 says, “without faith, it is impossible to please God.” So any faith, great or small, is commended by this great chapter of Hebrews 11. In this chapter, the author gives examples of faith from great men in the historical narrative of the Bible. First, there was Able, the son of Adam, who by faith presented a more worthy sacrifice. Then there was Enock, a man who walked with God and did not face death, for the Lord took him. Abraham was also a great man of great faith. God asked him to leave his father’s house and go to a land he has never seen. Abraham obeyed by faith. God asked Abraham to offer his son, the son he truly loved, as a sacrifice to the Lord. By faith, Abraham believed in and trusted God. Moses’s parents are described as people of faith. When they saw Moses at his birth, they hid and trusted God by faith to preserve his life. And Moses, when he was grown and after being raised in the house of Pharoah, by faith chose to forsake the pleasures of Egypt and be with God’s people. No doubt, these are mighty men and women of great faith, and we need to imitate their life of faith in our walk with God. But what is extremely important in the Book of Hebrews, the Holy Spirit by its author, also commends those of small faith or those who lack faith. For example, even Gideon and Barak are mentioned for their faith and obedience to God. Hebrews 11:32-24 says,
“And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.”
We also know according to Scripture, faith is a gift from God. That is why a life of faith pleases Him. God does not want us to depend on our own might, but by faith, we are to depend on Him. Therefore, faith does not originate within our own internal belief system that we can turn on and off like a switch, nor is faith something that we as creatures of God can muster up. Faith is from God and the evidence of our faith is believing and trusting. Romans 12:3 says, “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” From this essential passage, our measure of faith comes from God and does not permit us to boast about our gifts or faith that come from Him. Not only do gifts and faith come from God, but the amount or proportion of our faith is also from Him. Thus God can rightfully say, without faith, we cannot please God.
In application, we do not come to God in prayer and ask for a sign. Instead, we are to pray to God and believe by faith that God will lead and direct us through Scripture in what we need to do for Him in our daily lives. Our believing and trusting is our evidence of faith. And with faith, all things are possible.
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Sweet and precious Jesus, You call me and lead me in Your paths of righteousness. I worship and praise You, my savior and redeemer. With gratitude, I bless You for Your perfect gifts of faith. By Your grace by this faith, I come to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow You. Lead me to serve You in righteousness. Help to love and serve Your people and to proclaim your gospel to those who are lost. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen!
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Footprints of Jesus, by Mary B. Slade in 1871:
