Let the Fleece be Dry - Judges 6:39

In the book of Judges we learned how Gideon, “said unto God, If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, 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 you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said. 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”, and in chapter six and verse thirty-nine of Judges, we learn how Gideon said to Jehovah God, “this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece”, where we read,

And Gideon said unto God, Let not your anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray you, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.

The verse reads, “And Gideon said unto God, Let not your anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once:” The writer began with the words, “and Gideon” whose name means “hewer” and was the youngest son of Joash of the Abiezrites, fifth judge of Israel who led the Israelites against the Midianites” “said unto God” or “uttered, declared and proclaimed to the Supreme Deity”, “let not your anger be hot against me” which means “do not allow your, Jehovah God’s, wrath that wrinkles the nostrils and nose exist as furious, kindled and burning in opposition to me, Gideon”, “and I will speak but this once” or “and I, Gideon, shall declare, talk and converse indeed and surely this one and only time or occurrence”. The writer shared how “Gideon” appealed to Jehovah God not to have fiery wrath in opposition to him, and he would speak just one more time.

The verse goes on to say, “let me prove, I pray you, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.” The writer continued with the words, “let me prove” which means “allow and permit me, Gideon, to test, assay and try”, “I pray you” or “I, Gideon, entreat, ask and beseech you, Jehovah God”, “but this once with the fleece” which means “solely and only one more time by the use of the wooly covering of a sheep or goat”; “let it now be dry” or “allow and permit the fleece at this time exist as arid and without moisture” “only upon the fleece” which means “indeed and solely on the wooly covering of a sheep or goat”, “and upon all the ground” or “and on each, the whole and every portion of the territory and land” “let there be dew” which means “allow and permit there to exist nighttime mist”. The writer shared how “Gideon” asked Jehovah God to allow him to test his calling one more time by the use of the “fleece”. This time Gideon wanted Jehovah God to make the land around the “fleece” to be wet, but the “fleece” to be totally “dry”. 

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how “Gideon” continued to doubt his calling from Jehovah God, so he appealed to God to allow him to “test” whether God wanted him to deliver “Israel” or not. If the “fleece” was dry and all the ground around it was wet, Gideon would know God commissioned him. We all may have felt this way, and sometimes, we may need reassurance as well. God wants us to have a personal relationship with us through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was resurrected from the grave after three days. When we submit to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and reassure us not only that He has called us, but also that He will equip us for the task He has in mind. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Hebrews 13:20-21)

Next time we learn how, “God did so that night”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".