Judges 6:27-4027Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the Lord had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night. 28And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. 29And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing. 30Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it. 31And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar. 32Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar. 33Then 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. 34But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him. 35And 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. 36And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, 37Behold, 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. 38And 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. 39And 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. 40And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground. (Judges 6:27‑40).
Gideon threw down his father’s altar with fear and trembling, for he could have lost his life for daring to do such a thing. But Gideon knew that God was able to deliver him and he must obey God. It was his father’s household he feared most of all too, but to the surprise of everyone, when the morning came, and the men of the city were going to kill Gideon for what he had done, his father spoke up and protected him. How often the difficulties we fear the most in the path of devotedness to Christ, completely disappear when we act in confidence in the Lord. May we have more of that “virtue” (moral courage) in our faith, in these difficult days. (2 Peter 1:55And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; (2 Peter 1:5).)
Now that the altar to Baal had been thrown down, and an altar to the Lord erected in its place, the enemy began to get busy. It is most necessary that the hindrances to blessing should be removed in our lives, but at the same time the enemy is sure to be stirred up if we try to give up anything for the Lord. Satan hates to see loyalty to Christ, and will do all he can to make things difficult for us. But then we read, “The joy of the Lord is your strength,” (Nehemiah 8:1010Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)), and when we have the sense of His love in our hearts it gives strength, and we do not fear the enemy.
And so here, Gideon blew a trumpet and many gathered together. He then sent messengers among the people of God telling them to come out against the enemy, and God moved their hearts to respond. There is a beautiful order here. First the call of God to Gideon, which was followed by his own exercise and a realization of the definite leading of the Lord. Now his brethren recognize it and are willing to go forth to battle with him. The call of God to the individual comes first. It is not majority choice and human appointment. It is God who calls, and then He causes others to recognize His leading.
Gideon asked for further assurance for his path. God wants us to be real before Him, and not to pretend to be what we are not. And so here Gideon wanted to be sure that the Lord was calling him, and that it was not any self-confidence on his part. It was not unbelief here, or the Lord would have had to rebuke Gideon, but his faith was weak and he wanted assurance from the Lord. It is a blessed thing to remember that the Lord knows all about us and every motive of our hearts. Others may misjudge at times, but the Lord never makes any mistakes.
Gideon therefore asked the Lord that if he put out a fleece of wool the Lord would make the dew fall upon the fleece only, and not upon the ground at all. This would be a miracle, as we all know, and Gideon would accept it, he said, as a sign that the Lord would deliver Israel through him. The Lord did as Gideon requested, and when he arose in the morning the fleece was so wet that he was able to wring out a bowlful of water from it, and yet the ground was absolutely dry all around.
Gideon then asked that the order be reversed the next night. He asked that this time the fleece would be dry and all the ground wet with dew. The Lord fulfilled this request of Gideon also, thus giving him (if such were needed) further assurance that He would use Gideon for the deliverance of His people.
ML 09/20/1953