Judges 6:33-40 – The Test

(33) Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
(34) But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him.
(35) And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
(36) And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,
(37) Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.
(38) And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
(39) And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.
(40) And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

Soon, the big moment is coming. Gideon’s battle against the Midianites was starting. Gideon gathered his army together just to realize that the odds were not even close to good! Gideon started to doubt whether God really had meant to save Israel through him. So, Gideon has a plan. He tells God he wants to lay a piece of fleece over night and if there’s dew on the fleece and not on the ground, he would obey what God said. The next morning, just that happened! Gideon, though, wasn’t completely sure so he tried again, this time the other way around. He asked God to make the fleece dry and the ground wet with dew. Sure enough, the next morning, God did just that!

Honestly, Gideon’s example might not be the best to follow, here. It is always better to simply take God at His word. When He promises something, believe it! However, we are humans, and God completely understands that. Sometimes, our faith is weak or we doubt God’s words, but God is not harsh with us! He is loving, and gentle, just like we see here with Gideon. God did not rebuke him, but agreed so that Gideon could have confidence in the Lord’s promise.

The same thing happens with us. Sometimes we begin to doubt what God has told us and we start wondering about how well we can trust Him. The answer is that we can always trust Him at His word, and sometimes, when things are unclear and we start to doubt, he is not going to punish us for that; He will encourage us. When we’re in the darkness, He is still in control and knows exactly what is going on! Trust God’s promises, and remember, He understands when we are unsure.

Life Step: Think about it…

What are some of God’s promises that we need to trust more?

What is the best thing to do when something in life is uncertain?

What are some ways that we test God?