Gideon’s Fleece: Gideon’s Victory

Gideon assumes the mission within his anointing.

Soon after Gideon’s destruction of the Baal/Asherah altar, the Lord calls upon Gideon once more.

 The Midianites encamp near the Valley of Jezreel

Judges 6.34, “But the spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew the trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him.”  Gideon gathers the neighboring tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali.  Gideon has been anointed to enter battle, and those assembled await orders.  Gideon’s first action, however, was not to prepare for battle.  He did something else instead.  Gideon takes two days in order to confirm his anointing.

Next, we will relate the story of the fleece, or what is today known as ‘throwing out a fleece’ or ‘fleecing.’
Jg. 6.36-40: “Gideon said to God, ‘If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised—look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor.  If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said,” (38) And that is what happened.  Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.  (39) ‘Then Gideon said to God, Do not be angry with me.  Let me make just one more request.  ‘Allow me one more test with the fleece.  This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew.’  That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground around was covered with dew.”

The superficial criticism of Gideon’s behavior is his continued reluctance and doubt.  Although testing God’s will by asking for a sign was a common practice in ancient times, it is also true that Gideon might have shown greater faith.  Yet, there are reasons for Gideon’s reluctance.   The northern provinces (Israel) suffered much more influence from Canaanite tribes than mountainous Judea, for Israel contained the breadbasket of the Jezreel Valley.  With the underlying distraction of mixed-gods worship and weak civil authority, Gideon is not the strong and vibrant biblical leader we have been taught to envision.  Gideon perceives his circumstances just as each of us must do.

Gideon is not rushing into battle.  He is securing his position, both in his mindedness and preparations, and he probably must further contemplate precisely what he is called upon to achieve.  As with anyone who may be called or anointed into a specific task, considering our situation may lend more value than righteous fervor.  Without the grounding, we may find ourselves midway through and suddenly bereft of faith or strength.  Even though what is now before him is a far greater task than his first commission, that of burning the Baal/Asherah Temple, when the next anointing arrives, he does not embrace it wholeheartedly, which we usually think the anointed would do.

What is God really after?  His pursuit is reuniting a nation, Israel, under His leadership and promise.  Two events must occur: the first is the destruction of false gods, and the second is the removal of the wrath of the enemy.  Both need to be accomplished before Israel can be free.  Gideon may not know or have imparted to him the fullness of this awesome twofold task, scripture does not say, but it does seem likely he feels the pressure and the weight.

As to false gods, Gideon possesses a few of those himself.  In his case, they are within.  When significant tasks are at hand, a man must reach confirmation within himself enough to release the power of God from within himself.  Many pastors and teachers refer to this as ‘coming into agreement.’  Gideon seems willing.  However, he understands the agreement cannot be in the manner of words only, for a great task stretches before him, and it must be an agreement that begins to build substance within him; it must be spirit-driven.  Gideon, likewise, cannot afford to fall upon his obstructionist nature, sabotaging himself; he must become confident in a spirit-settled way.  Gideon cannot afford to press forward full of blustering confidence and then run into a lack of resolve.  He cannot afford to discover doubt while in the midst of battle.  So it is with each of us.

With the syncretism of false gods, there will arrive a divisive nature.  The ‘eye is not single,’ and the light on the hill cannot shine.  In his mind, what he sees and what he doubts betray him.  He has yet to put his senses in place with his anointing.  The weakening agent of a double pathway can lead to many doubts, loss of inner fortitude, and confusion. 

Gideon now faces the situation that anointing is not the same as performing within the anointing or ministry.  If it is Gideon who is to accomplish this task, then it is he who must be sure.  Once settled, he must then move into his anointing by his actions.  During this unification process, faith always comes into play.  Faith may unify (wholeness) but can also lead to confirmation and certainty.   Having faith to move mountains is laudable (Mt. 17.29), but like us, Gideon’s mountains are truthfully the mountains within himself: mountains of doubt, mountains of procrastination; there could be any number of conditions that plague Gideon even as they plague humankind.

The anointing will begin to winnow the wheat from the chaff.  This winnowing is one reason many people secretly do not wish to receive an anointing, for they fear the changes that come with anointing.  Some changes are superficial, but oftentimes, these changes run deep to the root of the person.  Not all can be settled at once, but the initiating energy of the anointing will continue to work, and Gideon probably senses he will become a different person when all is finished.  He must first become prepared by becoming settled in the spirit.

Light of Day

Gideon used a fleece to get God’s confirmation, not only once but twice!  Yet, receiving and fulfilling are not the same.  To illustrate, we go back to an earlier part in the story, and scripture tells us this: Jg. 6.25-27, “That same night the Lord said to him, ‘Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old.  Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.  Then build a proper kind of altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height.  Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as an offering.  (27) So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him.  But because he was afraid of his family and the men of the town, he did it at night rather than in the day.”  Gideon receives his anointing but accomplishes it awkwardly—he does not function in the light of day and before all men.

The fulfillment of God’s complete anointing for Israel is at hand, and no such awkwardness can be allowed for this task.  Now, and of his own accord, Gideon must be sure.  He has accomplished the first mission, but the second is waiting.  I wonder what Gideon would have done if God had not given him another sign.  He had already blown the shofar to unite the tribes.  Would Gideon have just sent everyone home?

Gideon gives us a lesson all should remember. Gideon’s first given task was accomplished in the middle of the night, surreptitiously.  If you hide, then the fullness of your work becomes challenging to manifest—Gideon employed a kind of connivance.  Gideon did not demonstrate the full measure of his first anointing, and soon after, we find in v. 29, “They (the townspeople) asked each other, ‘Who did this?’”  In other words, they had to go looking for the culprit.  Gideon’s father spoke up for him and saved him, but now Gideon finds himself in a much bigger arena, and in such arenas, all must happen in the light of the day.

For us, the question is, is Gideon’s first attempt at fulfilling his anointing the same as mine?  Do I move by night, partially hiding or concealing myself, or do I move by the full light of day?  In which manner is my anointing undertaken?  Individuals, pastors, and teachers face this daily, though they may not see it quite this way.  We see in Gideon a “mighty man of God,” at least as most tell the story.  But when we observe the details, underneath remains the story of a man who has doubts about what he has clearly been shown but now must make himself full and ready to complete the task.

If one seeks anointing in some part of one’s life, it must also be a time of preparedness for stepping forth in the spirit of that anointing.  Otherwise, doubt of itself becomes a spirit killer.  It is through the use of the fleece that Gideon removes his doubt.  Without coming to terms with doubt and becoming settled in the spirit, faltering steps will otherwise begin to decide the issue, and the direction of the actual anointing will begin to unravel.
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Note Midianite camels, authentic dress, bedouin
Lifestyle (tents).

Gideon and his united tribes defeat the Midianites and “all the hosts” (Jg. 8.10) who were with them.  Continuing to pursue, the enemy becomes further scattered and rent.  With a serious and purposeful dedication, Gideon slays Midianite kings as he completes his anointing.  How Gideon does so is worth reading in chapters 7 & 8.  But for now and for this text, Gideon has his victory, and God has His victory through Gideon.

Perhaps the story of Gideon teaches us lessons of unity and purpose with God. Throughout Jesus’ ministry, we see both factors at work: a knitting together of those who are chosen, or unity, as well as those who later come forth and join the standard, establishing fulfillment of purpose.  Unified and purposeful within anointing, Gideon finally achieves God’s complete plan.

The final phase of Gideon’s story must, however, be accounted for as a failure.  The next installment is Gideon’s Fall.

God Bless!