Laying Out a Fleece To Learn God’s Will
[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.
C’mon, don’t act like you haven’t done it.
Gideon is not sure of himself. The people of Israel haven’t seen war for 40 years, then for 7 years, they’ve been tormented by the Midianites. If anybody is going to fight, they are going to be bringing back tactics and techniques that they haven’t used for 47 years!
Devotion to Yahweh is at an all-time low. Remember that just a few days ago his whole city wanted to kill him for tearing down his own father’s idols. If he tells them that Yahweh wants to lead them to victory, he’s already starting off on a bad foot.
Finally, Gideon is still getting a grip on who God is. He has heard all of the stories that were passed down, but the sacrifice, temple life, the calendar of holy days, and the kosher lifestyle have all been abandoned in his area. He has heard that God worked wonders to show off who He was in Egypt, so it isn’t that far-fetched for Gideon to ask God to show off who He is with wonders again.
In some ways, Gideon is testing to see if Yahweh is like the false gods of the Canaanites or not. Their gods would send rain or drought, fertility or infertility, but not with such precision. The other part about this that the ancient rabbis point out was that this was in front of all of the men that had come and gathered to help. This was a public display like when Elijah killed the 400 prophets of Baal.
As all of the army of Israel was also wondering who this ‘Yahweh’ was, they needed proof too. Dew was a major supply of water in their arid climate, so for the dew to be heavy in one place but nowhere else and vice-versa was actually a big deal and worthy of awe.
It’s not a sin to try to do stuff like this today as we seek God for discernment. It is a little unnecessary though. Ephesians says we are sealed with God’s Holy Spirit and Philippians 2 says we have the mind of Christ. We can go to the body of believers and close friends to discern decisions and we can trust the Lord to speak to us through scripture.
Remember, God is always true to His own word and His desire is for you to grow more in the knowledge and fellowship of His love and grace. So lay out your wool sweaters this weekend, but stay close to the Church and God’s Word.
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