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 Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised— ³⁷ 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, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” ⁴⁰ That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew. (NIV)

When I was a young Christian, in my teen years, I would often hear other believers talk about ‘putting out a fleece’ when seeking guidance. Of course, they got the idea from the story of Gideon. At the time it seemed to make sense. But as the years went by, I eventually heard voices saying, ‘No, this is not a good idea’, and I came to understand that Gideon’s ‘fleece’ was evidence of a lack of faith. Warren Wiersbe articulates the issue well:

‘The phrase ”putting out the fleece” is a familiar one in religious circles. It means asking God to guide us in a decision by fulfilling some condition that we lay down. In my pastoral ministry, I’ve met all kinds of people who have gotten themselves into trouble by ”putting out the fleece.” If they received a phone call at a certain hour from a certain person, God was telling them to do this, or if the weather changed at a certain time, God was telling them to do something else.

”Putting out the fleece” is not a Biblical method for determining the will of God. Rather, it’s an approach used by people like Gideon who lack the faith to trust God to do what He said He would do. Twice Gideon reminded God of what He had said (6:36-37), and twice Gideon asked God to reaffirm His promises with a miracle. The fact that God stooped to Gideon’s weakness only proves that He’s a gracious God who understands how we are made (Ps.103:14). Who are we to tell God what conditions He must meet, especially when He has already spoken to us in His Word? ”Putting out the fleece” is not only an evidence of our unbelief, but it’s also an evidence of our pride. God has to do what I tell Him to do before I’ll do what He tells me to do!’

In all of this, however, let’s not lose sight of the precious truth that our God is real, alive, vocal and active! He speaks; He acts; and He does guide His people in many mysterious and wonderful ways.

Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. ³⁴ Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. ³⁵ He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them. (NIV)

Warren Wiersbe tells the story of when a group of British pastors were discussing the advisability of inviting D.L. Moody to their city for a mission. One man asked, ”Why must it be Moody? Does D.L. Moody have a monopoly on the Holy Spirit?” Quietly one of the other pastors replied, ”No, but it’s evident that the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on D.L. Moody.”

Having encountered Gideon, we know he was not naturally heroic. It was the Spirit of the Lord who made the difference. When the Spirit does the work through us, we can’t take the credit. All the glory must go to God.

‘Just change a few details and the story of Gideon can be the story of any Christian today. We won’t be called to fight Midianites, but we’ll surely be called to fight other enemies just as bad – false teaching, worldliness, ungodliness, and idolatry of every kind; and if we are faithful, God will add our names to His list of ”heroes of faith.” Tom Hale

 ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty. (Zech.4:6)

‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

“Trying to do the Lord’s work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work. But when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you.” ~ Corrie Ten Boom

Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. ¹⁸ Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.”

And the Lord said, “I will wait until you return.”

¹⁹ Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.

²⁰ The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. ²¹ Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared. ²² When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

²³ But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”

²⁴ So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

²⁵ 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. ²⁶ 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 a burnt 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 townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.

²⁸ In the morning when the people of the town got up, there was Baal’s altar, demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar!

²⁹ They asked each other, “Who did this?”

When they carefully investigated, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash did it.”

³⁰ The people of the town demanded of Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”

³¹ But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, “Are you going to plead Baal’s cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.” ³² So because Gideon broke down Baal’s altar, they gave him the name Jerub-Baal that day, saying, “Let Baal contend with him.” (NIV)

I guess it shows just how low things had got in the nation that the spiritual rot was showing itself under Gideon’s own roof.

When God calls you to do something, you need to make a start, however hesitatingly and fearfully you may approach the task. Furthermore, it may well be that you need to start at home. But your stand for truth, righteousness and God’s Word may not necessarily be understood or appreciated by your nearest and dearest. Jesus calls us to love Him first, and to love Him more than any natural relation, and there may be a high price to be paid at home. Some new believers find, at their baptism, that they are cut off from their families.

Gideon’s bold action was so unappreciated by his family members that he would have died, but for his father’s intervention. Maybe Joash had long suspected that Baal was overrated, but hadn’t been able to bring himself to get rid of the altar and pole. Perhaps it was superstition? Had these things become like ‘good luck charms’ to him? Or maybe his son’s actions were a sudden wake up call, and he began to see things clearly. The crowd themselves probably expected that Baal would have put Gideon to death; when this didn’t happen they began to side with Gideon.

‘It took faith for Gideon to tear down his father’s altar and to go against his community. In our day, too, we are called to do as Gideon did. We must always put Christ first – above our community, our family, and ourselves (see Matthew 10:34-39; Luke 14:26).’ Tom Hale

 One day the angel of God came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, whose son Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress, out of sight of the Midianites. The angel of God appeared to him and said, “God is with you, O mighty warrior!”

¹³ Gideon replied, “With me, my master? If God is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all the miracle-wonders our parents and grandparents told us about, telling us, ‘Didn’t God deliver us from Egypt?’ The fact is, God has nothing to do with us—he has turned us over to Midian.”

¹⁴ But God faced him directly: “Go in this strength that is yours. Save Israel from Midian. Haven’t I just sent you?”

¹⁵ Gideon said to him, “Me, my master? How and with what could I ever save Israel? Look at me. My clan’s the weakest in Manasseh and I’m the runt of the litter.”

¹⁶ God said to him, “I’ll be with you. Believe me, you’ll defeat Midian as one man.” (The Message)

God knows who you really are, and who you can be, and what you can do, because of Him. He only has to be with you, and you have a strength you never realised (14). Jesus meets Simon. the reed, and knows He will make him into Peter, the rock.

‘Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰ It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. ³¹ Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” ‘ (1 Cor.1:26-27)

I think it may have been Hudson Taylor who referred to himself as ‘a man small enough for God to use.’ I like that!

It’s not who we are (or who we are in our own eyes) but who God is that matters. He makes the difference.

‘Gideon was an unlikely candidate for God’s ”Hall of Fame” (Heb.11:32). When God called him, he was hiding. When God spoke to him, he raised problems instead of trusting promises. One of his favourite words was if (vv.13,17, 36; Mark 9:22-23). When Gideon did start to obey God, he worked at night (v.27) and had to have repeated assurance that the Lord was with him. But God saw the potential in Gideon and even called him a ”mighty man of valour” (v.12). God sees the potential in you and says to you as He did to Simon, ”You are…You shall be” (John 1:42).’ Warren W. Wiersbe

The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. ² Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. ³ Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. ⁴ They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. ⁵ They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count them or their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. ⁶ Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.

⁷ When the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of Midian, ⁸ he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ⁹ I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors; I drove them out before you and gave you their land. ¹⁰ I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.” (NIV)

‘For best results follow the Maker’s instructions!’

When will we learn that God’s way is best?

What a sad, tragic, pathetic picture of an oppressed people is painted here. Sin ultimately leads to misery, even if it seems to offer some fun along the way. It did not have to be this way for God’s people.

Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34)

As the prophet told them, God had delivered them from slavery. They were not intended for it. But they walked right back into it, voluntarily. Not only does sin lead to misery; it is also madness.

How thankful we are, then, that the Lord is merciful, and hears us when we sincerely cry out to Him (6)

”To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Lk.18:9-14 NIV).

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam. When he had fled from Saul into the cave.

¹ Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me,
    for in you I take refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
    until the disaster has passed.

² I cry out to God Most High,
    to God, who vindicates me.
³ He sends from heaven and saves me,
    rebuking those who hotly pursue me—
    God sends forth his love and his faithfulness.

⁴ I am in the midst of lions;
    I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts—
men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
    whose tongues are sharp swords.

⁵ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
    let your glory be over all the earth.

⁶ They spread a net for my feet—
    I was bowed down in distress.
They dug a pit in my path—
    but they have fallen into it themselves. (NIV)

It’s important to remember that many of these psalms were written in situations of real trouble, and even desperate danger. It is also instructive to note the atmosphere of confidence which they exude, even as the trial continues. The psalmists believed in a God who had brought them through, and who would do so again.

The title to Psalm 57 locates its moment in history – a tricky one for David, to say the least. Although he was sheltering in ”the cave”, David knew that God was his true and trustworthy shelter. He was hiding in Him. Faith gives you eyes to see spiritual reality: to see beyond the walls of your ”cave” to ”the shadow” of God’s ”wings.”

‘This psalm and Psalm 142 are ”cave” psalms that can give you great encouragement. Your own ”cave” may be a sick-room, a difficult place of ministry, or even a home where there is tension or trouble. If you do what David did, you will experience peace and victory even in the cave.

David’s faith transformed his cave into a Holy of Holies (v.1)! His confidence was not in the rocks but ”under His wings.” (See Ruth 2.12.) In spite of sharp teeth (v.4), nets and pits (v.6), David was sure of God’s help.’ Warren W. Wiersbe

 Soon another Feast came around and Jesus was back in Jerusalem. Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there was a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda, with five alcoves. Hundreds of sick people—blind, crippled, paralyzed—were in these alcoves. One man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, “Do you want to get well?”

⁷ The sick man said, “Sir, when the water is stirred, I don’t have anybody to put me in the pool. By the time I get there, somebody else is already in.”

^8-9 Jesus said, “Get up, take your bedroll, start walking.” The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bedroll and walked off.

^9-10 That day happened to be the Sabbath. The Jews stopped the healed man and said, “It’s the Sabbath. You can’t carry your bedroll around. It’s against the rules.”

¹¹ But he told them, “The man who made me well told me to. He said, ‘Take your bedroll and start walking.’”

^12-13 They asked, “Who gave you the order to take it up and start walking?” But the healed man didn’t know, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd.

¹⁴ A little later Jesus found him in the Temple and said, “You look wonderful! You’re well! Don’t return to a sinning life or something worse might happen.”

^15-16 The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. That is why the Jews were out to get Jesus—because he did this kind of thing on the Sabbath. (The Message)

It is worthy of note that this man’s healing was a ‘sovereign’ act on the part of Jesus. He took the initiative, coming to this man and healing him. There is no indication that he had any faith in Jesus. His expectation, if anywhere, seemed to be in the stirring of the waters. So, we have to say that there is nothing formulaic about the healings recorded in the New Testament. There is a mystery about God’s work. We can’t box Him in. Furthermore, out of the hundreds of sick who lay there, it appears our Lord came to just this one man.

We also need to recognise that although all sickness is related to sin, in that everything that is bad came into the world at ‘the fall’, not every single illness can be traceable to personal sin. But sometimes there is a definite link, and it may be that Jesus’ words in verse 14 intimate such a cause here. (Incidentally, this reminds me of Jesus saying to the woman caught an adultery, ”Go now and leave your life of sin” – John 8:11. But it feels like she had a more responsive heart).

Anyway, don’t expect that those you are kind to will always treat you well. Some won’t. The guy in our story seems to have shown little gratitude to Jesus, if any at all. Rather, he treated Him badly. Be prepared for this in our sin-soaked world. If Jesus could be so abused, we should not be surprised if similar treatment comes our way from time to time.

 Jesus said, “Get up, take your bedroll, start walking.” The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bedroll and walked off.

^9-10 That day happened to be the Sabbath. The Jews stopped the healed man and said, “It’s the Sabbath. You can’t carry your bedroll around. It’s against the rules.”

¹¹ But he told them, “The man who made me well told me to. He said, ‘Take your bedroll and start walking.’”

^12-13 They asked, “Who gave you the order to take it up and start walking?” But the healed man didn’t know, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd.

¹⁴ A little later Jesus found him in the Temple and said, “You look wonderful! You’re well! Don’t return to a sinning life or something worse might happen.”

^15-16 The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. That is why the Jews were out to get Jesus—because he did this kind of thing on the Sabbath. (The Message)

I still smile when I remember the words of one commentator about this healed man. What he said was to the effect that he seemed to be ‘a nasty piece of goods.’ I understand the comment though, because it must have been obvious to him that ‘the Jews’ were hostile towards Jesus. Nevertheless, he ‘shopped’ Him.

Their problem was that the miracle took place on the Sabbath. Religious ‘rules’ can be so nit-picky and uncharitable, and religious people so unpleasant According to the law, it was illegal to carry a bed or a mat on the Sabbath. This was considered ”work” (Jeremiah 17:21-22) However, it was legal to carry a bed if someone was lying on it. Tom Hale explains:

‘The Pharisees and the teachers of the law had added many kinds of regulations concerning what was ”work” and what was not ”work.” Many of these regulations were not written in the Old Testament. The rules forbidding work were made in order to keep the Sabbath day holy; it was supposed to be a day set apart for worship and prayer and rest. But the Jewish leaders had added so many little rules that the original meaning of the Sabbath had been lost. Because of all these rules, it was no longer possible to do any healing or other good works on the Sabbath. But Jesus’ teaching was that it was always lawful to ”do good” on the Sabbath (see Mark 2:23-28; 3:1-5; Luke 13:10-17…)’

We would do well to consider what evangelical ‘rules’ we cherish and seek to lay on others.. Maybe we inherited them from our parents. Perhaps we inhaled them from within our church tradition. There are numerous ways we can pick these things up, and the problem is we often confuse them with what the Bible actually teaches. We can end up burdening people with our own stipulations and taboos. Of course we mean well. We are committed to godliness. We want to protect people from sin and all its insidiousness. But we need to search our hearts and ask, ‘Are we asking others to live the Bible, or do we just want them to conform to our ideas?’

Religion cripples people with man-made regulations, but Jesus sets people free to walk.

 Soon another Feast came around and Jesus was back in Jerusalem. Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there was a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda, with five alcoves. Hundreds of sick people—blind, crippled, paralyzed—were in these alcoves. One man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, “Do you want to get well?”

⁷ The sick man said, “Sir, when the water is stirred, I don’t have anybody to put me in the pool. By the time I get there, somebody else is already in.”

^8-9 Jesus said, “Get up, take your bedroll, start walking.” The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bedroll and walked off. (The Message)

In the background to this passage, there lurks the belief, held by many at the time, that an angel would occasionally come down and stir up the waters in the pool of Bethesda, and the first one in following the stirring of the waters would be healed. (But note that not all ancient manuscripts of John contain verse 4)

We might wonder why Jesus asked the man ”Do you want to get well?” The fact that he had ben there for thirty-eight years would rather suggest he did! Furthermore, his explanation of why he wasn’t beter seemed highly plausible (7).

Nevertheless, I do think there are those who enjoy bad health. A malady can become your identity. You can become addicted to a lifestyle of dependence, unemployment, sickness benefit, and being the centre of attention and the object of sympathetic care. Yes, some people, I’m sure, do need the above challenge.

But your issue may not have to do with physical health, but spiritual. There is some other matter with which you are struggling: a problem, a sin, an addiction maybe? You too must face the challenge, ‘Do you really want to be free?’ Jesus is able to make you ”free indeed’ (Jn.8:36). Yet how much do you want such liberation?