The story of Gideon laying down a fleece in Judges 6:36-40 is a curious event because Gideon is doing this in order to determine if it is God’s will for him to go up against the Midianites. What makes this story so curious is that God had already clearly told Gideon in 6:14 that he was sending him to deliver Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Yet, back there, Gideon replies by saying, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.” In other words, ‘You’ve got the wrong man!’ ‘I can’t possibly do this!’ Then God says to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” Still Gideon wrestles with doubt and a lack of faith in God’s word. Then Gideon lays out a fleece not once but twice in order to be absolutely sure this is what God wanted him to do. As if God were not clear enough when he said to Gideon, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?" Yet, how often do we do the same? How often do we question the word of God, not believing that turning the other cheek when we are insulted or sinned against is really the best approach (Matt 5:38-42), not believing that submitting to one’s husband in “all things” really means that (Eph 5:24), not faithfully tithing because we are not entirely sure that “God will supply all your needs according to his riches and grace” (Phil 4:19). The word of God contained within Holy Scripture is just as clear and authoritative as God speaking directly to Gideon. “All scripture is God-breathed”—the very breath of God (2 Tim 3:16). Scripture is not simply a record of what God has spoken--scripture is God speaking.
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April 2022
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