Picture Credit: (15th Century German Lithograph as taken from "Biblica Bible Atlas")
…that is the question. Is it
appropriate – or let’s tone that down a bit – is it OK for a Christian to lay a
fleece before the Lord the way that Gideon did?
With any background in church at all, you probably know the story of how
Gideon tested God not just once, but twice, by asking him for a miraculous sign
concerning whether he should lead Israel in a battle against the Mideanites by
placing a wool fleece on the threshing floor.
The first time, he wanted the fleece to be full of dew while the
surrounding ground was bone dry. The
second time, he wanted the fleece to be dry while the surrounding ground was
wet with dew. And while God was gracious
to answer Gideon’s request both times, the story of Gideon’s wavering
confidence is not a promise that God will answer us likewise. Is it a sin to place a fleece before the
Lord? Probably not. However, speaking as one who in the past has
done just that, I would strongly advise the Christian of today not to embark
upon such a dangerous venture for a number of reasons. Give me a moment to explain why, and then I
will follow that up with an alternative that hopefully you will find superior
to Gideon’s fleece.
First of all, the fleeces that we place before God are typically
nothing like Gideon’s fleece. To begin
with, as I mentioned in my sermon this past Sunday (audio here), one can debate
whether or not Gideon’s test was the result of a lack of faith. He had already demonstrated faith by tearing
down the altars of Baal and he had already mustered 32,000 soldiers to go to
war against the Mideanites, so clearly he was willing to do what God had
asked. His fleece was not testing God,
but rather seeking clarity from God. By contrast, most of the fleeces we place
before God are a mask of either our own fears or our lack of faith. When we place a fleece before God because of
fear or lack of faith, it is displeasing to God.
Second, we have no guarantee that God will respond to our fleece
request. Just because God was gracious
to respond to Gideon’s request doesn’t mean that he will respond to ours. Perhaps he will – or perhaps he will
not. Placing a fleece before the Lord is
paramount to an ultimatum and placing an ultimatum before God is a risky
proposition. Doing so is a little bit like your child giving you an ultimatum.
You are under no obligation to respond to it all and you are likely to ignore
it altogether just to teach them a lesson. We could be making a big mistake if we give
God such an ultimatum and then make a big life decision based upon that.
Third, placing a fleece before God is dangerously close to testing God.
Deuteronomy 6:16 says “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you
tested him at Massah.” Massah is where
the Israelites quarreled with Moses because they had no water, questioning
whether God was with them. Our fleeces
are much like that, questioning God’s providence and provision in our lives.
Fourth, the nature of Gideon’s fleece request was supernatural. A wet fleece with a dry ground? A dry fleece with a wet ground? For God to answer affirmatively required
nothing less than a minor miracle. Most
of the fleeces we place before God are not supernatural in nature. In fact, we tend to give God multiple,
perfectly plausible choices in our fleece requests. “God, if they offer me this
job, then I will know you want me to take it.
However, if they don’t offer me this job, then I know it is not your
will.” Have you ever prayed that
prayer? The problem with that approach is
that either result is equally plausible.
How do you know that God is answering your fleece rather than just a
natural outcome of circumstances and free will?
A true fleece like Gideon’s requires a
supernatural sign. Unfortunately,
that leads me to the last reason we shouldn’t do it.
Jesus says asking for a miraculous sign reflects an evil heart. On two
different occasions in the gospel of Matthew Jesus says “an evil and adulterous
generation seeks a sign” (Matthew 12:39 and 16:4). Now I realize that in those instances, they
were looking for proof that Jesus was really the messiah because they did not
want to believe – which is a bit more extreme than our typical fleeces. However, those are strong words from our Lord
and do you really want to risk being placed in that same category? I would think not.
So if we shouldn’t place fleeces before the Lord, how do we – like Gideon
– get clarity concerning God’s will in our lives? One of the reasons we feel that we need a
fleece is because we do not truly understand the nature of God’s will in our
lives. We misunderstand what it means to
seek and know God’s will and think it is all about specific actions and
choices. While there is a small thread
of truth in that, God’s will is far deeper than that. God’s will is more about the state of our
heart and our willingness to obey.
Fortunately, there is a way we can be confident about God’s will for our
lives in a way that Gideon (absent his fleece) could not.
We have two advantages that Gideon did not. We have the full and complete revelation of
God through the Holy Bible and we have the permanent indwelling of the Holy
Spirit in our lives. Most of God’s will
for our lives has been revealed in the scripture. Scripture reveals to us the attitudes and
character traits that God wants for our lives that will lead us to live in his
will. That means God’s will for our
lives is first and foremost to be saved, but then to bring glory to God, to
live as Christ lived, and to be holy. Therefore,
many of the decisions about which we typically place fleeces before God can be
resolved simply by asking this one simple question: “Which of these choices is
more likely to make me more like the person God wants me to be?”
It will never be God’s will for us to make a choice that either
directly or indirectly contradicts his revealed word in scripture and it will
never be God’s will for us to make a choice that will cause us to be pulled
further away from him. So, should I put
a bid in for that job in Las Vegas as a BlackJack dealer? Ummm… no. That one is easy. Should I take that job that requires me to
work on Sunday? Hmm. That one is a bit
tougher. I could put out a fleece… or I
could ask the question above – paraphrased for the specifics here: Is it necessary for me to feed my family
because I have no job? Or is it just a
promotion that gets me one step higher on the corporate ladder and more money that
I don’t really need? Should I spend $60K
on that new, 2016 Chevy Corvette? Why do I want it? Why do I need it? I will let you answer that one for
yourself. You see, the beauty is, if we
know and understand scripture, then we know and understand our decisions in the
context of God’s revealed word – and that gives us insight into his will for
that situation.
Then, in addition to that, we have the Holy Spirit living within
us. God himself – the third person of
the Trinity – who is our helper – will guide us in our decisions if we are only
willing to listen to his voice. Consider
what it says in Romans 12:1-2.
I appeal to you
therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not
be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,
that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and
acceptable and perfect.
Allow me to explain what I think that means. Unlike Gideon, we have a direct promise that
we can discern and know God’s will for our life. When we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice
– that is, when we give ourselves completely to Jesus Christ to follow him and
surrender to his Lordship and leadership in our lives; when we commit ourselves
to be different from the world – that is, when we commit ourselves to becoming
like Jesus Christ rather than like the rest of the world; when we renew our
minds by focusing on God’s perspective rather than on the world’s perspective;
then we have the promise that every decision we need to make can be tested
against God’s leadership in our life and we can KNOW the right thing to do.
You may say that sounds a bit too lofty and supernatural. Well perhaps it is, but allow me to explain
in closing how this works in practice.
First and foremost, you have to be right with God. If you are not right with God and in close
fellowship with him, there is no way you can discern God’s will. But assuming you are in right and close
fellowship with him, then seeking his will is a matter of evaluating the
decision against what we know from scripture and then engaging in earnest
prayer – and possibly fasting. The
litmus test question I suggested above is a good one. There may be others with more direct
scriptural application depending upon your specific decision, but often just a
search of principles and doctrines from scripture will answer our
questions. Then, as we pray – and perhaps
fast – over the decision, knowing what principles from scripture apply in our
given situation, God gives us full and complete confidence in his will
regarding that decision.
I have seen this principle work over and over in my life and – with the
caveat that I was in a right standing with God, being a living sacrifice, and
being heavenly minded – it has never failed me.
God is faithful and his word is true.
On the other hand, when I was out of fellowship with God, not being a living
sacrifice, and not heavenly minded, then my own thoughts and convictions have
betrayed me and I have made very costly mistakes. They key is to LIVE Romans 12:1-2.
We may not have a wet (or dry) fleece to pick up, but what we have
instead is a peace that passes all understanding. And then based upon that peace, we can be
confident and act in faith on that confidence.
No comments:
Post a Comment