Limiting Fleeces

June 22, 2020September 22, 2021

[Text Version]

Judg 6:36-40 NLT

Then Gideon said to God, “If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, prove it to me in this way. I will put some wool on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised.” And it happened just that way. When Gideon got up the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowlful of water. Then Gideon said to God, “Please don’t be angry with me, but let me make one more request. This time let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew.” So that night God did as Gideon asked. The fleece was dry in the morning, but the ground was covered with dew.

Using a fleece is a comforting way to please the soul and personality, but it is not recommended as a pattern of relationship with the Lord. Most people use fleeces by stating a certain need for guidance: “Lord, if You do such n’ such, then I know I’m supposed to do such n’ such.” Notice the if-then clause. This clause suggests making a contract with God on YOUR TERMS. When a person lays a fleece before the Lord, he is putting God into a position to answer according to his way, not God’s. It is controlling the limits of circumstances and asking God to fit that mold.

There are those who lust for signs. (The Pharisees wanted signs, rather than Jesus. They did not see HE WAS the sign.) People who look for signs are also vulnerable to falling into a snare. They are ones who lay fleeces before the Lord on a continuing basis. One satanic realm of influence is the lust for signs.

God knows the heart, and may answer a fleece, as recorded in Gideon’s plight. Notice the awe and respect of Gideon’s heart in approaching God in this manner. Placing the fleece before the Lord was with great caution as unto the fear and respect of the Lord: “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.” (Judges 6:39-40 KJ)

The fleece was a request to God, and God answered as His gift. This was not without consequences. God wanted Gideon’s army cut down to 300 men. It was not that God was angry so Gideon had to make up for the use of the fleece by cutting his army; but that the fleece and answer were very much like a contract. Gideon suggested a contract on Gideon’s terms. God answered. Then God gave Gideon God’s terms: 300 men.

The scriptures suggest God is reasonable, listens to the will of man, and is willing to be flexible and work with him. He is our Good Father. However, we should not test Him to see how far He is willing to bend. This whole concept is something to be approached with reverence, respect and awe. He’s not Someone to bargain with in the market place. Those who use fleeces on a regular basis are asking for trouble.

Fleeces suggests a flexible part of God’s nature, but when we draw the line of flexibility it is best WE BE THE FLEXIBLE ONE. If one has the wrong motive: a lust for signs, lust for knowledge, demanding (striving with) or testing and proving Him, one day the Lord will thresh out that leaven in the heart through a sifting process.

There is one other reason God would cut this weed out. There are people who have been accustomed to using fleeces with a pure desire to find out His will. He knows the heart, and perhaps will even answer for a season on their terms. Yet there will come a day when He wants them to grow and come out of this type of relationship with Him. Fleeces put God in a box, He is not cheerfully willing to stay there for very long! There are many of ways to hear from Him without putting Him in a box. He desires to bring His own up and out, seeking Him on His territory.