Commentary - Judges 6:36-40

Bird's-eye view

Here we have the famous account of Gideon and his fleece. It is a passage that is frequently misunderstood and misapplied by well-meaning Christians today. The central issue is Gideon's faith. God had already called him, commissioned him, and given him a sign (Judg. 6:17-21). He had already empowered him to tear down the altar of Baal (Judg. 6:25-27). The Spirit of the Lord had already clothed him (Judg. 6:34). And yet, here he is, asking for just one more sign. And then another one after that.

This is not a story about how to discern the will of God. God had already made His will perfectly clear. This is a story about the weakness of a man's faith and the profound patience of God. God condescends to Gideon's weakness. He stoops to our level. Gideon is not a spiritual giant here; he is a man full of jitters, wanting to be absolutely sure before he marches off to face the entire Midianite army. God, in His mercy, gives him the assurance he seeks, not because the method was commendable, but because the man was His chosen instrument. The point is not the fleece, but the faithful God who answers a faltering man.

Outline

Context In Judges

The book of Judges operates in a repeating cycle: Israel sins, God sends an oppressor, the people cry out, and God raises up a deliverer, a judge. Gideon's story is the fourth such cycle. He is called out of obscurity from the tribe of Manasseh while hiding from the Midianites who were devastating the land. The Lord had appeared to him and called him a "mighty man of valor," a title that Gideon's subsequent actions seem to contradict at every turn. This episode with the fleece comes right after the Spirit of the Lord has come upon Gideon and he has sounded the trumpet to gather the northern tribes for war. The army is assembling, the moment of truth is at hand, and Gideon gets cold feet. His request for a sign must be seen in this context: it is a last-minute hesitation by a man overwhelmed by the task God has given him.

Key Issues

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 36 Then Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand, as You have spoken,

Notice how Gideon frames his request. He begins by referencing God's own promise. "As You have spoken." This is key. Gideon is not in the dark about God's will. He is not flipping a coin to decide whether to go to war or stay home and farm. God has spoken a direct, personal, and unambiguous word to him. The issue for Gideon is not a lack of information, but a lack of confidence. He believes the promise, but he trembles at his role as the instrument, "by my hand." This is the crisis point for him. He knows what God has said He will do; he is just not sure that he, Gideon, is the man for the job, despite God already telling him so.

v. 37 behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have spoken.”

Here is the proposal. A simple, physical test. A fleece of wool, a common enough object, is to be the arbiter of his confidence. He wants a miracle, but a small and specific one. He wants God to manipulate the morning dew. This is not the grand faith of Abraham looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. This is the grasping faith of a man who needs to feel something solid under his fingers. He wants to "know." But what kind of knowing is this? It is not the knowing of faith that rests on the bare word of God. It is a knowing that requires empirical, tangible proof. He wants to walk by sight, just for a moment, before he has to walk by faith into the valley of battle.

v. 38 And it was so. Indeed he arose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece. And he drained the dew from the fleece, a bowl full of water.

And God does it. This is the astounding thing. God is not obligated to entertain such requests. He could have rebuked Gideon for his lack of faith. He could have told him to simply obey the word already given. But He doesn't. In His profound pastoral patience, God condescends. He meets Gideon in his weakness. The sign is not ambiguous. Gideon gets up early, full of nervous anticipation, and the fleece is sopping wet. He wrings out a full bowl of water. God has answered. The ground is dry, the fleece is wet. The evidence is in. The case should be closed.

v. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not let Your anger burn against me that I may speak once more; please let me make a test once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, and let there be dew on all the ground.”

But the case is not closed for Gideon. One miracle is not enough. His own words betray him: "Do not let Your anger burn against me." He knows he is on thin ice. He knows he is pushing his luck. This is not the confident prayer of a righteous man; it is the sheepish request of someone who knows he is asking too much. He recognizes that what he is doing could rightly provoke God's anger. And what is his request? To reverse the conditions. Perhaps a wet fleece on dry ground could be a natural fluke, a freak of meteorology. But a dry fleece on wet ground? That would defy all natural explanation. He wants to eliminate any possibility of this being a coincidence. His doubt is working overtime, trying to plug every hole where a sliver of uncertainty might creep in.

v. 40 And God did so that night. So it was dry only on the fleece, but dew was on all the ground.

And God does it again. The second miracle is as clear as the first. The patience of God is simply breathtaking. God is committed to His purpose, which is the salvation of Israel. And if that purpose requires Him to stoop to the level of a skittish commander and perform parlor tricks with the dew, then He will do it. God's plan will not be thwarted by the weakness of His instruments. He will prop up His chosen man until he is ready to stand. This is grace upon grace. God honors the request not because the request was honorable, but because His covenant promises are unbreakable. He had said He would save Israel by Gideon's hand, and He will see it through, even if it means drying a piece of wool in a field of dew.

Application

So what do we do with this? First, we must not take this as a pattern for our own decision-making. We are not to "put out a fleece" to determine God's will. We have something Gideon did not have: the completed Word of God and the indwelling Holy Spirit. God guides us through His sufficient Word, through the wisdom of the saints, and through the ordinary providences of life. To demand a supernatural sign when God has already spoken clearly in Scripture is not faith, but presumption.

Second, we should be enormously encouraged by God's patience. We are all Gideon at times. Our faith falters. We believe God's promises in the abstract, but we tremble when we are called to act on them in the particular. We know God is sovereign, but we still worry. This passage shows us a God who does not discard His people because of their weak faith. He is a Father who knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. He works with us, patiently strengthening our hands for the work He has given us to do.

Finally, this story points us to Christ. Gideon was a weak and faltering savior for Israel. He needed signs and assurances. But Jesus Christ, the great Captain of our salvation, set His face like flint toward Jerusalem. He did not falter. He did not ask for a sign in the Garden of Gethsemane. He perfectly trusted and obeyed His Father, and through that perfect faith, He accomplished a salvation for us that is eternal and secure. Our confidence is not in our own shaky faith, but in His unshakable faithfulness.