Friday, January 22, 2016

In our last visit we saw that as Israel faced an imminent attack by enemy forces, “Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon.” Two times the angel of the Lord told him that God would be present with him. Now that promise materialized with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Gideon’s immediate response to this experience was to blow a trumpet to summon men from a number of the tribes of Israel to follow him and form an army. Gideon had come a long way in a short time, but now that an army was standing around him, with a far greater army waiting nearby, ready to attack them, he felt a need for further assurance. “Gideon said to God, ‘If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised’” …then show me in a tangible way that is simple for me to understand. How? I’ll put a fleece on the threshing floor. If tomorrow morning the fleece is wet and the threshing floor is dry, then I will know. God acquiesced. Then Gideon pleads with God to do it again, only in reverse – have the ground get wet with dew and the fleece stay dry. God again does what Gideon requested. We might wonder, is this a legitimate way to determine if God will keep His promise to work out His will in and through us? Only once in the Bible does God encourage us to test Him, Malachi 3:10, and that was related to tithing and His blessing. God knows our hearts. If we genuinely want to follow Him but have a concern or a need for assurance, He often will clarify or confirm His promise in unique ways. But there are many times when He just wants us to trust Him and obey. Period.