Many people today are looking for some special sign to tell them what is God's will for their life. They are like a man in the OT. In the book of Judges the man most talked about is Samson. The second man most talked about is Gideon. Today a good organization that gives out Bibles in schools, hospitals, prisons and hotel rooms is called the Gideons and is named after this man. Most of us know the story about Gideon and the 300 soldiers with trumpets and pitchers and torches in Judges chapter 7. But today I would like to look at the chapter before that, Judges 6.

     Judges 6:11-40 tells how the Angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and told him things like, "the LORD is with you" (6:12), "Go ... and you shall save Israel"(6:14), and "you shall defeat the Midianites"(6:16). In 6:21 Gideon witnessed the miraculous fire from the rock. But in verses 36 and 37

Judges 6:36-37

"Gideon said to God, 'If you will save Israel by my hand as You have said-look, I shall put a fleece of wool (or sheepskin) on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand as You have said.'"

Should we follow the example of Gideon and "set out fleeces"? There are several lessons we can learn from this story. Let's take a look at four of them.

1. THE FLEECE GAME IS AN EXPRESSION OF DOUBT.
     God had made it very clear what He wanted Gideon to do. Look at verses 14 and16. Then the Lord turned to him (Gideon) and said,

Judges 6:14-16

"Go ... and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you? ... And the Lord said to him, 'Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man."

Verse 12 says God even sent His Angel to deliver this message in person. Gideon knew what God had said even as he laid the fleece or sheepskin on the ground ("as You have said" 6:36,37). So why did Gideon put out the fleece? Because he doubted what God had told him. God's word wasn't enough for him. He wanted visible evidence, evidence he could see. It is true that to make good decisions we need facts. Gideon had all the facts, but still he hesitated. He delayed his obedience because he doubted God.

2. THE FLEECE GAME DOES NOT STRENGTHEN YOUR FAITH.
     In verse 36 Gideon says that if God will give a visible sign

Judges 6:36

"then I shall know that You will (do) as You have said."

So God gives him the sign and what happens next? Gideon asks for another sign. He says just once more with the fleece;

Judges 6:39

"let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew"

Even after two miraculous signs with the fleece and God repeating His promise of victory, Gideon was still afraid and doubted God (7:10-11).

     You see you can never really be sure with a fleece! Imagine you like someone and you don't know, "Should I keep this relationship or stop?" So you ask God for a sign from heaven in order to know if you should continue this relationship, and three days later you see a shooting star in the sky! "Wow!" you say. But then you begin to question, "Was that a sign from God or just chance?" So what do you do next? You'll probably do the same thing that Gideon did--you'll say "Lord, may I see three shooting stars in the northern sky in the next 48 hours, if this decision is Your will!" But can you ever be 100% sure? See, the fleece game does NOT strengthen you faith.