There Comes A Time When God Calls Us To Go Beyond The Fleece
Gideon says,
” And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. “
Judges 6:36-40
God asked Gideon to do a very difficult thing, i.e. stand up to the false worship of Baal and Ashtoreth. The future judge of Israel felt that he needed confirmation and so he devised the famous “fleece” test. Though he initially proved God, once YHWH demonstrated it was His voice, Gideon was off and running.
Going beyond the fleece
I believe that there is a time in our Christian walks where we go “beyond the fleece”. At that time, based on our experience with our Lord, we simply listen, hear, and obey on time. No longer do we have to prove God because we know His voice intimately.
Many leaders of God’s church are fearful children. They see sin around every corner, under every bed, and distrust their flock’s ability to be led by God’s Spirit. Therefore, people are taught to “confirm” virtually everything they do by what they have been taught. Though checking what God says by scripture is not bad per se, constantly linking our obedience to our understanding of His word, is.
Jesus says,
“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”
Matthew 16: 13-17
I believe we must start to live by revelation and not by what our natural man says. Peter, in answering Jesus’ question, spoke not by knowledge, but by what his heavenly Father revealed to him. The rock that Jesus said he would build his church upon is “revelation”. Whenever someone chooses to live by every word that proceeds from His mouth, He blesses them.
Live life by revelation
Thus, as we mature in Christ, we become like Peter in that we live by revelation and not by knowledge; forsaking the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, exchanging it for whatever God speaks to us. Thus, our faith is not based upon the shifting sands of man’s understanding, but upon the rock of God’s revelation.
In conclusion, it’s ok to seek confirmation from God, especially if He is calling you to do something extraordinary. However, the higher way is to simply believe what He says and do it when He says to do it.
This is great insight! The mighty men and women of God throughout scripture so often followed His voice into “ridiculousness” – just by listening to Him and obeying Him against logic and what people thought.
It seems to me that the normal mode of operation for even believers is to accept what is revealed to us through “flesh and blood”, like Jesus mentioned to Peter, i.e. logic, man’s opinions, and our own understanding. But Abraham would have never planned to sacrifice Isaac, Noah would have never built the ark, and Gideon would have never pared down his army if they were listening to what was revealed to them through “flesh and blood” – human understanding and natural thinking.
But scripture encourages us that, “. . .a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” 1 Corinthians 2:14
Those who can follow God into “ridiculousness” by listening to what He reveals to them beyond flesh and blood – like so many people in the Bible did – are in a place to be truly blessed: “but just as it is written, ‘things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him'” (1 Corinthians 2:9). And how do we perceive those things He has prepared for us and wants to bless us with if we can’t see them or hear them and they have not entered into the heart of man?
“. . .to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:10).
So cool. Thanks for sharing!
Big hugs. . .
Dear CL,
Thank you so much for your insightful thoughts about “Going Beyond The Fleece”. What you write gives our readers an added perspective that helps flesh out the truth as a whole! Way to go!
Big hugs and lots of love,
Michael