judges 6 : putting out a fleece

4. (36-40) God assures Gideon's doubts

a. Gideon asks God to do another miracle to confirm His word; then he asks God to a third miracle to confirm it again!

i. Sometimes Christians talk about putting out a "fleece" before the Lord; what is meant by that is asking God to confirm something through some kind of sign

b. Gideon shows that he has a weak, imperfect faith. We can understand (and encourage) his asking for one sign; but to ask for a second and a third shows that his faith is weak

i. The test was wrong because it was essentially a trick, and it had nothing to do with fighting the Midianites. Gideon didn't realize that he was actually dictating his terms to God.

ii. In Luke 1:18, when Zechariah, John the Baptist's father, asked for a confirming sign, the Lord made him mute until the birth of his son.

iii. Gideon also did not keep his word. God fulfilled the sign once, and Gideon said that would be enough for him. But he went back on his word after God fulfilled the first sign. But the Lord was still merciful and gracious to Gideon

iv. Yet, before we are too hard on Gideon, we should consider the challenge that is ahead of him. How many of us would dismiss such a calling out of hand, without even considering allowing God to confirm it? No wonder Gideon is included in the "hall of faith" (Hebrews 11:32)

c. We must also appreciate the difficulty of seeking God's will through circumstantial confirmation. We have a habit of trusting in the confirming circumstances we want to, and of ignoring the circumstances which would argue against God's guidance