“Asking for a Sign”

Sunday, February 05, 2023

Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” (Judges 6.36-39)

In the book of Judges, as a general rule, the more text is devoted to telling us a judge’s story, the more we can see his moral shortcomings.  This reflects the condition common to all mankind, that

The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,

        to see if there are any who understand,

        who seek after God.

They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;

        there is none who does good,

        not even one. (Psalm 14.2-3)

While it would be unfair—and unrighteous—to pass judgment on Gideon and ignore our own sins, Gideon’s story was written so we would learn from both the good and the bad.  In the passage quoted above, we find Gideon asking God for a sign, not once but twice in as many days!  We can tell that even Gideon knows he’s treading awfully close to the line with God, because he prefaces his second request with, “let not your anger burn against me” (v39).  Considering that God has already given him exactly what he requested, we’re left wondering why the first sign isn’t enough for him to believe.  It doesn’t appear that he doubts God’s power, only his will to help Israel—as he asked the angel prior to this incident, “if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?” (Jdg 6.13). 

What’s that?  Oh, yes, an angel of the Lord spoke to Gideon!  Not only that, but Gideon made a request of the angel: “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me” (v17).  The angel provided what was asked, and “Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord” (v22).  That first sign strengthened Gideon’s wobbling knees enough that he obeyed his orders and tore down his own father’s altar of Baal and attendant Asherah idol, replacing them with an altar to the Lord.   But despite making it safely through this first ordeal among his own people and even amassing an enormous army to fight the oppressing Midianites, he again became reluctant to put himself at the front of the conflict, and asked for the two signs of the fleece, with which we began. 

Despite the reminder that each of us has his own shortcomings, we’ve been looking at Gideon’s repeated requests for miraculous signs in an unfavorable light.  And that’s in keeping with the words of Jesus, who on more than one occasion said things like, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign” (Mt 16.4; see also Mt 12.39ff).  But, on the other hand, isn’t it understandable that we should be skeptical about outlandish or fantastical claims to be an angel of the Lord, or even the Messiah?  The Spirit himself says,

do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4.1)

Yet, he also told the Israelites, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test” (De 6.16) and, getting back to Gideon, he admitted he wished to “test just once more with the fleece” (Jdg 6.39).  It’s not that God expects us to have an innate ability to discern instantly between his Spirit and those that tell us lies in his name; he gave Israel a straightforward test to determine whether a prophet really spoke for God: wait and see whether his predictions come true (De 18.22).  In the early church, he gave some the supernatural “ability to distinguish between spirits” (1Co 12.10).  But the point is this: when he’s already given you plenty of reason to trust him, don’t push him to do more.  This was Jesus’ gripe with the scribes and Pharisees who showed up and demanded he given them miraculous signs in addition to the countless healings and exorcisms he’d already publicly performed.

That brings us back to Gideon, once again—wasn’t that exactly the same thing he was doing?  God provided one sign; he asked for a second.  God obliged, and Gideon—knowing he was now on thin ice—requested a third.  But even that isn’t the end of it.  We don’t read of Gideon asking for more signs; but all the same, God gave him one.  He told Gideon,

“Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” (Judges 7.9-11)

We may find fault with Gideon’s weak faith and persistent need for reassurance—and make no mistake, that’s why they’re recorded for us!—but God is more gracious than we are, and strengthened Gideon to do the task he’d appointed, with yet another sign—this time, an unsolicited one.  Does that mean we should “despise the riches of his kindness, restraint, and patience” (Ro 2.4, CSB)?  Certainly not!  But take note of the abundant proofs he’s already provided for us, even before we could ask!  It’s more than we deserve, giving us in his creation and his Word ample evidence of his power, righteousness, faithfulness, and love.  We shouldn’t demand additional signs of him; instead, we should look to those he’s already given, and placing our faith, our souls, and our daily choices into his hands, not our own.

Jeremy Nettles

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