Do you see those water drops on the fence? That’s morning dew. You know, when you walk out in an early morning and everything is wet, completely saturated. Heavy dew is usually seen in the warm, moist summer. Those days have moved on. These little drops of water appear on surfaces and in the grass in a morning or evening as a surface cools down. When the surface cools down, the moisture in the atmosphere cools faster than it can evaporate creating dew drops. The best-worst and I are not seeing many dew drops on our walks these days as the weather has turned and our dew drops are now frost flakes. When I see these dew drops, I’m reminded of Gideon. You know, the dew-drop deliverer.
Once again the people of Israel sinned against the LORD, so he let the people of Midian rule them for seven years. The Midianites were stronger than Israel, and the people of Israel hid from them in caves and other safe places in the hills…so Israel was reduced to starvation.
Judges 6:1-6
Israel had once again gotten themselves into a pickle. They were on the down of the obey-disobey teeter-totter and had hit the ground with a thud. It was their modus operandi. It is ours too, isn’t it? Who is ruling us as a people? As a country? We get sideways because of disobedience and then what do we do? Exactly what the Israelites did…
Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help against the Midianites, and he sent them a prophet who brought them this message from the LORD, the God of Israel: “I brought you out of slavery in Egypt. I rescued you from the Egyptians and from the people who fought you here in this land. I drove them out as you advanced, and I gave you their land. I told you that I am the LORD your God and that you should not worship the gods of the Amorites, whose land you are now living in. But you have not listened to me.”
Judges 6:7-10
And what does the Lord do? He sends the most unlikely person to put His plan in motion. He doesn’t call the greatest, the most experienced, the most faithful, the got-it-all-together person, He surprisingly uses the weak – sometimes physically, sometimes mentally, sometimes spiritually. Why is that? Because it’s unexpected, it is unusual. If He used the greatest, most experienced, most faithful, the person who has got-it-all-together, that would be expected and the glory would be misplaced. He uses unexpected people to do unexpected things so that His glory shines through.
Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”
“But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!”
The LORD said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”
Judges 6:14-16
Just like the rest of us, Gideon made excuses. Why? Because Gideon was looking through the self lens and not the God lens. Looking through the self lens reveals all our weaknesses our hidings beneath the threshing floor. Gideon just couldn’t see how God would use him. So…
Gideon replied, “If you are truly going to help me, show me a sign to prove that it is really the LORD speaking to me. Don’t go away until I come back and bring my offering to you.”
He answered, “I will stay here until you return.”
***
“Oh, Sovereign LORD, I’m doomed! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!”
Judges 6:18, 22
Gideon sought confirmation from the Lord. We can all look at the story and say that Gideon should not have tested the Lord. But, don’t we do the same thing? What I love about this exchange between Gideon and the Lord is just that – the exchange. Gideon was weak in faith, like me, like you, and he voiced that to the Lord – Lord, don’t go away. When Gideon received confirmation from the Lord, he did what the Lord asked of him. Gideon destroyed the altar of the idols that Israel was worshiping. Gideon acknowledged God and then got rid of all other gods. Isn’t that what we’re asked to do too? Recognize the Lord, forsake other idols, get ready to enact God’s plan?
Soon afterward the armies of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east formed an alliance against Israel and crossed the Jordan, camping in the valley of Jezreel. Then the Spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon with power.
Judges 6:33-34
You’ve just got to love Gideon! He was made ready for the task at hand, he was clothed with the Spirit of power from the Lord! But…Gideon needed more proof. He was vacillating between that self lens and the God lens, again. See, he is just like me, you! The self lens said, Gideon this is outrageous you can’t do this. The God lens said, you are weak but I Am strong. So, Gideon called on God to do the dew, and God did the dew, not once but TWICE!
“If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece 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 that is just what happened. When Gideon got up early 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. Let me use the fleece for one more test. 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.
Judges 6:36-40
Now I’m not saying that the fleece-test is the best-test, it definitely is not. But there are some amazing lessons and reassurances from God in the story of Gideon. Our strength can only come from God, no other idols can replace the power of God, despite what we think, including self. Gideon conversed with God. He shared his fears. He asked questions. He sought guidance. Gideon called – God answered. He always does. God always does the dew!