Judges 6:39–7:2 (ESV) —
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.
7:1 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him
rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was
north of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
2 The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to
give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own
hand has saved me.’
NOTE: Gideon tests
God with a fleece twice, using opposite conditions to avoid the possibility of
happenstance. And God tests Gideon by taking his 32,000 soldiers and reducing
them down to 300. If Gideon was nervous enough when he used a fleece to test God
twice, he must have been really nervous when the force was reduced to 300.
Sometimes we can outsmart ourselves. Would God have needed to reduce the force
if Gideon hadn't tested him? God could use one man to defeat another army every
single time if he wanted. At Jericho, he does the miraculous, but most of the
other battles in Joshua were normal battles with a rare mixture of supernatural
support at times (like hail that only fell on the enemy). God is not under any
strictures or rules in how he goes about saving his people. Although, in the
book of Judges, he always uses people. He never just eliminates a threat
without involving a person or persons. There is one instance in Kings where he
eliminates 185 thousand soldiers without any person's help, but that situation
is rare indeed. God's preferred approach is to use people. And his solution
usually revolves around needs of the person he is working through. Where does
God find Gideon? He was hiding in a wine bath threshing wheat. Gideon is a
fearful man. Even his one act of rebellion against the idols was done at night,
in secret. God is building courage in Gideon by forcing him to face his fears,
and to begin to trust in him. God is patient with the fleece episode, although
it violates scripture, but God is determined to deal with the issues in
Gideon's life. Gideon fights with 300, probably not because he tested God
(although that was a symptom of his real problem), but because he was a fearful
man who needed to finally, completely trust God.
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