Judges 6:36–37
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Good evening, church. People around the world come up with funny ways to reassure themselves. I don't know if you've seen that in your own life. You've got a big life decision ahead of you, or maybe something dangerous you're about to encounter. You look for some kind of sign to reassure you. It's going to turn out okay. In Africa, where I used to work, the people there live in a very harsh, dangerous environment, and they would go on journeys to seek water. They live in a desert land. And they developed a way that they could reassure themselves if their journey would turn out all right.
So in that part of Africa, they have different animals, so they pick the different signs. If you see a fox, your journey is going to be good. If you see a hyena, your journey is going to be really bad. You might want to stay home. So one day I was traveling with our guard to the big city. It's a part of the world that's pretty unstable, so you have an armed escort. So there's me and my guard in our car, and we went to the big city, and in the morning we saw a fox. So I turned to the guard, smiled and said, looks like it's going to be a good journey today.
We went to the big city, had a different business that we took care of. On the way home, the sun set, it's dark, and what do we see in the headlights? A hyena. And I turned to the guard and said, okay, so does that mean they cancel each other out? Or like the journey began well, but now it's going to end really bad. Thankfully, we made it home safe, and that has nothing to do with our message tonight except this. we want reassurance and we look for signs to find that reassurance and as Christians we are on a dangerous journey will we make it to heaven as a church we are on a mission a daunting mission make disciples of all nations should we look for signs is that okay and has God given us any given us as a church any signs to reassure us. We'll look at that and more in our verses tonight. Judges chapter 6,
verse 36 to 37. You'll find them printed on the front of your bulletin or in the Pew Bible on page 206. So let's look at those there. As you're turning there, just to give you a bit of background context for the verses, this is in the book of Judges. It's a really dark, dark time in the history of Israel. Israel has been falling into idolatry, and as a result, they're oppressed by their enemies at this time in Israel's history God has chosen Gideon very fearful cowardly man to save Israel and God has given Gideon many reassurances that he will save Israel by his hand and he has sent him and promised him that he will be with him so Gideon even though he's fearful has these reassurances from God and he begins to act in faith he tears down the altar of Baal and then he rallies the troop and now Gideon's approaching the battlefield and he wants more reassurance. As we look at our verses, we're going to notice three things, Gideon's faith, Gideon's weakness, and then in the context, God's response. So all of this is meant to drive us to
the main idea of these verses, which is this, God graciously strengthens weak faith. Let's read our verses. Then Gideon said to God, if you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, behold, I'm laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew in the fleece alone, and it is dry in all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said. So the main idea is this, God graciously strengthens weak faith.
Let's see how he does that in this text and then apply it to our lives today. So point number one, Gideon's faith. We know Gideon is a man of faith because of Hebrews 11. Gideon is included in that great chapter of faith. So Gideon is a man of faith. But are there any evidences here in these verses that Gideon has faith? And yes, there are. There's a lot. First, Gideon prays to God. Then Gideon said to God, Gideon prays. That is a sign of faith. Gideon also knows God's word.
He knows his mission. If you will save Israel by my hand. He says it twice. He knows God's word. He underlines it. As you have said. As you have said. He's a man of God's word. Church, do you know your mission? Do you know God's word? Do you pray God's word back to him? Is your prayer journey filled with the promises of God? imitate Gideon in this. Not only does Gideon pray to God, not only does he know God's word, but notice where Gideon is.
Where is he? Where is he? He is on the threshing floor. Why would that be important? Why would that be a sign of Gideon's faith? Well, if you look back earlier in chapter 6, where was Gideon at the beginning of the story? He's in the winepress. Why does that matter? Because a winepress is a lower place where no wind can flow, and that's where he was threshing out wheat because he was so scared of the Midianite armies invading, he was hiding.
But he is no longer in the winepress. Where is he? He's on the threshing floor. What is the threshing floor? It's a wide open place where the wind can blow and you can thresh the wheat. So he's moved from the winepress to the threshing floor. Friends, celebrate small victories. When you see growth in faith in yourself or in someone else, recognize that. Celebrate that. Gideon has grown in faith. But not only that, there's one more evidence of Gideon's faith, and that is this.
He tests God with a fleece. Now, why a fleece? Was it just laying around? A fleece would be like this, it's not clothes yet, it's just this sheared off the sheep. There it is lying on the ground. It's like, oh, there's a fleece. Here, God, I'm going to put that on the ground, see if it's wet in the morning. No, the point is not the fleece. The point of the test is the dew. He wants to test using a fleece, which can absorb moisture, whether the dew will be on the fleece only and the dry will be ground.
The second test, he reverses those two. The point is not the fleece, it's the dew. Why would that be important? Why would that be significant? Whose altar did Gideon just tear down in the previous scene? Baal. Who is Baal? The weather god, the storm god, the god who controls the rain and the dew. If you think about Elijah and Ahab, Elijah says, thus saith the Lord, there will be neither rain nor dew.
Gideon's test is not arbitrary, it's theological. He knows that God, Yahweh, the God of Israel, is the true God, not Baal. And now he is laying out a test to see if he can trust Yahweh. But here's the thing, where we see the cracks begin to appear in his faith. Because although he knows God controls the weather, he's not so certain yet that God will control the battle. You see, he just tore down Baal's altar, and Baal didn't contend for him.
He did nothing. How can Gideon be so sure that Yahweh, who controls the weather, won't abandon Gideon on the battlefield? And this leads us to our second point, Gideon's weakness. So Gideon has faith, but he has a weakness as well. His faith has cracks. He has weaknesses. And we see this again as we look at our verses in several ways. First, Gideon demands reassurance. He has God's word. He wants more. He demands more. He says in the beginning, if you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, you expect him to say, then I will rise up and fight.
I will praise your name forever. I will give you a tenth of all I have. Instead, he says, if you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, behold, a fleece. He has God's word. He wants further proof. He is demanding reassurance, and that's a sign of weakness. And notice this too. He shifts the foundation of his faith. He shifts the foundation from God's word, his authoritative, sufficient word, and he shifts it to what?
A man-made test with a fleece. And he shifts it from God to himself. The I in the original language is emphatic. If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, behold, I, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. Gideon has shifted his foundation, and it's a shaky ground. it's a slippery slope and notice also the circular reasoning in this verse if you take out the middle just rip it out real quick and read the beginning and the end it makes no sense if you will save israel by my hand as you have said then i shall know that you will save israel by my hand as you have said he adds an unnecessary unnecessary step in the middle he over complicates things you know the interesting thing, brothers and sisters, weak faith is small faith. It's a faith that overthinks and second guesses. It goes round and round in circles. Weak faith takes the colossal promises of God and crams them into a tiny circle that goes round and round and round and round and
and ends up nowhere. God's promises were meant to run wild in our hearts, expand our horizons, and lead us into action. I don't know about you, but I can totally identify with Gideon here. And one more thing. Notice this. His weather test is not just theological. It's not arbitrary. But it's super dangerous because of... It's a test of sight.
Why is that dangerous? What does the faith chapter say in Hebrews chapter 11. What is faith? Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the certainty of things not seen. And what is Gideon asking for? He wants sight. I have your word. I want to see something I can see. God has told us we walk by faith and not by sight. And walking by sight is dangerous. Think about Lot, Abraham's brother or nephew. They were told to split up and choose land, and Lot picked land based on sight. Sodom and Gomorrah, that valley looked good, and he ended up living in Sodom and Gomorrah, and he barely escaped with his life. And Gideon's story doesn't end up well either. Even though God gives him victory, he ends up continuing to walk by sight, And in the end of his story, he makes a golden ephod in a similar way that reminds us of Aaron making a golden calf. And Gideon kickstarts the downward spiral of Israel in the book of Judges.
Living by sight does not end well. In other words, Gideon's test is not exemplary. We should not imitate it. But how? How do we imitate Gideon in this? Are there ways in which we live by sight with weak faith. What about our evangelism? We know Matthew 28. Go and make disciples of all nations. We know the gospel. Clear message. We know the promise. He is with us. And yet, we lay out a fleece. I'll share the gospel with that person if they sit next to me.
I'll share the gospel with that person if they talk first. Or what about our obedience? Obeying God's will for our life. So often we reduce God's will to big decisions like, who am I going to marry? What job should I take? And so often we seek signs to reassure us in the course we should take. But brothers and sisters, God's word has clearly told us his will. His will for our lives is to believe the gospel, be connected to a church, love one another, serve, disciple, be sanctified. He wants us to make it to heaven and not get so caught up with who we're going to marry or whether we'll get that promotion at work. He cares far more about your gossip and harboring bitterness than whether or not you switch majors in your college. That's point number two, weak faith. Gideon has weak faith and so do we. What is God's response? And here is where we get to the main idea. God graciously strengthens it. He graciously
strengthens weak faith. We're going to step out of our verse to verse 38. Gideon has laid down the test, and how does God respond? What does verse 38 say, the very first sentence? And it was so. Do you know when the last time that sentence was used in the Bible? The last time we heard this? It's actually the first time, Genesis chapter 1. Genesis 1, the creation of the world, God speaks, six times it says, and it was so, and it was so, and it was so. Here, a man with weak faith speaks to God, and it was so. God graciously strengthens weak faith. This should encourage us to pray, no matter how weak our faith may be. And notice God's response is eager, It's tangible, and it's exceedingly gracious.
As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him, for he knows our weakness, he knows our frame, that we are dust, and he stoops to strengthen us. Think about this. If you have a child who's afraid of the dark, what does a good father do? A good father goes to that child and says, honey, it's gonna be okay. I'm with you, God is with you, God is everywhere. God's in control, he's powerful, he's loving. But the good father doesn't only speak those assuring words.
What else does a good father do besides being eager and gracious? It's tangible. Honey, let me hold your hand. I'm here. I'm going to stay with you until you fall asleep. That father stoops to the level of the child to strengthen them. This is a pattern we see throughout the Bible. Throughout the Bible, God graciously strengthens weak faith. Think about Moses. Moses. After hundreds of years in Egypt, oppression, slavery, God is going to send Moses to deliver his people, and Moses is nervous. He's scared. What if the people don't believe me? God says, what's in your hand? A staff, something tangible that they can see. Or Elisha's servant, when the city is surrounded by enemies, and the servant cries out in distress, my Lord, there are so many. And Elisha says, oh Lord, open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opens his eyes, and he sees an army of chariots and horses of fire.
Or think about John 20, Mary, the disciples in the locked room. Thomas, rank unbelief. And what did we hear today? What did Jesus do? He stooped and he appeared and he graciously came to Thomas and Thomas had faith. Or what about the Apostle John and the early church? The early church. John is in prison. The church is being crushed by Rome. If anyone needed strengthening, it was the early church being crushed, persecuted, oppressed.
What did God do? He gave John sight. He gave him a vision. And John said, I saw heaven opened. And I saw a throne. And I saw a lamb slain. And I saw a multitude that none can number. From every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. I saw a man, a rider on a white horse with his robe dipped in blood. I saw the armies of heaven with fine linen following him on white horses and a sword coming out of his mouth with which to strike the nations.
And I saw on his thigh and his robe a name, King of kings and Lord of lords. I saw a new heaven and a new earth. I saw the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven like a bride adorned for her husband with the glory of God, radiant as a jewel. And with that sight, the church was strengthened. Romans 11, sorry, Hebrews 11, that chapter of faith says, men and women of faith were made strong out of weakness.
God did it for Gideon. He's done it throughout history, and he will do it for us. How does God strengthen us as a church? Well, in our evangelism, he strengthens us by the fact that sometimes those people do sit next to us, or they do speak first. He stoops and helps us in our weakness to evangelize, or in our obedience as Christians. The gospel is still being preached in this church. People are being baptized. Marriages are being strengthened. We're supporting global missions. God has been gracious to us.
Even in our big decisions in life, God graciously gives us wisdom and friends and providence to guide us as we stumble along. But how does God strengthen us in tangible ways? Is there anything else? Is there anything else that we as a church can see that God has given us to strengthen our weak faith? He's given us the church. He's given us baptism. He's given us the Lord's Supper. Brothers and sisters, whenever we see someone being plunged beneath the waters as a pledge of their allegiance to the king, we see made visible the gospel of our union with Christ, our death to sin, our resurrection life with him.
And as we see that, our faith is strengthened. Or the Lord's Supper, when we take the bread, we remember his body broken for us. Or the juice, his blood poured out for the forgiveness of many. We see our church as one, and our faith is strengthened. Or our weekly gathering, even today as we have gathered together, We see one another, we gather and we worship together. Even as we sing, we look around the room and as we see, our faith is strengthened.
If you're here tonight and you're not a believer, see the living proof that Jesus walked out of the grave and is the King of Kings who can save you from your sin. And church, as Christians, let's be encouraged that God has given us signs to reassure us on this dangerous journey to heaven and in this daunting mission to make disciples. Thank God for how he has strengthened our faith here today and go out in courage because what you have seen.
Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you that you are a gracious God. Thank you that though we are weak, you stoop to our weakness and you strengthen our faith. Father, thank you for making the gospel visible to us through the church. We pray that you would help us to walk in faith this week. In Jesus' name, amen.