Signs and Wonders

“If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.”

Judges 6:17

If God promises, it is so—isn’t that correct ladies? Seems Gideon was having a hard time believing that: “But Lord…how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Mannasseh, and I am the weakest in my family” (Judges 6:15). But Gideon, “I will be with you!” (6:16), said God back. What more could Gideon ask for? Well, lots as it turned out. How about a sign or two or three, God? 

First of all, Gideon wanted to make certain he was hearing from God: “that it is really you talking to me.” He prepared a goat, baked unleavened bread, and returned to the stranger under the oak. If this was merely a man, he’d have been hospitable as custom in the far East required. If it was an angel—well, let’s see what happened: Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread (6:21). “Ah Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!” (6:22). 

So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there (6:24). Next he was instructed to tear down the family altar to Baal, rousing the ire of the enemy. Not to be daunted, he rallied the troops. And then he literally put out not one fleece but two, to confirm that God was indeed going to “save Israel by (his) hand as (He had) promised” (Judges 6:36-40).

Is it wrong to “put out a fleece” ladies? It’s not that Gideon didn’t know what God’s will was—to save Israel. It’s the by my hand part that scared him. He had not quite grasped the mighty warrior (6:12) concept, it seems. And so God, knowing Gideon needed reassurance, was gracious to both wet the fleece and leave the ground dry on the first evening, and to wet the ground and leave the fleece dry the second—as McGee says, the more supernatural of the two: Online “Thru the Bible”. 

I shudder to think of how many fleeces I have set out. Is it really me that you want Lord? She can do that much better than I. But God knows my motives and the state of my heart. Lord, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief’ (Mark 9:24). 

Nancy P

All Scripture quotations are from the NIV 1973,1978,1984, unless otherwise noted.