Judges 6:36-40

Gideon's Signs Judges 6:36-40

36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,
37 Behold, 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.
38 And 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.
39 And 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.
40 And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

22.

Why wish for so many signs? Judges 6:36-40

It was the weakness of his flesh which prompted him to ask for so many signs. God had already answered Gideon's request to receive his present. At that time an angel of the Lord touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes which he presented. Fire came up out of the rock and consumed the flesh and cakes. He had then received courage to tear down the altar of Baal. As he entered into the fuller task of driving the Midianites from the land, he asked for additional assurance that God was with him. When he put the fleece out and asked that there be water on the fleece only and none on the ground, he may have thought all the water was soaked up by the fleece. When he put the fleece out the second time, he asked God to leave the fleece dry and have water around. The second sign would have seemed more unnatural, thus requiring what would have been considered more definitely a supernatural act on the part of God. God did not fail Gideon, and he received the assurance he wanted before he went into the battle.