Judges
6:17-24 (NIV) Gideon replied, "If now I have found favor in your eyes,
give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. 18 Please do not go away
until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you."
And the
Lord said, "I will wait until you return."
19
Gideon went in, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread
without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought
them out and offered them to him under the oak.
20 The
angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place
them on this rock, and pour out the broth." And Gideon did so. 21 With the
tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the Lord touched the meat
and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the
bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared. 22 When Gideon realized that it
was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, "Ah, Sovereign Lord! I have seen
the angel of the Lord face to face!"
23 But
the Lord said to him, "Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to
die."
24 So
Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord is Peace. To
this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
NOTE: This is one of
several signs that Gideon, the man who asked where are all the wonders that our
forefathers told us about, sees. It seems strange that after this encounter
with the angel of the Lord that Gideon will require two more signs (the fleece).
This particular sign precedes the destruction of foreign worship sites and
almost results in Gideon's death. But this sign is forgotten as Gideon gets
close to battle, and he requires the additional signs before going into battle.
But the point of signs is that seldom do they last very long. They are quickly
forgotten, even by the person who experienced the sign. One day, a person is
extolling God for how good he is and then a few weeks later that same person is
struggling just to meet with God in a devotional time. Signs, wonders, and
emotional experiences have a short term effect on our faith. Long term growth
in faith is based on a deep and personal walk with God. Rather than looking for
signs, we are better off getting up early and meeting with God in his word
regularly. Those are the things that will change our life forever.
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