“Right vs. Wrong” or “Maturity vs. Immaturity” that is the question?

Scripture Read: Judges 6:36-40 Then Gideon said to God, “If You will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken, ³⁷ behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken.” ³⁸ And it was so. When he arose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece, he drained the dew from the fleece, a bowl full of water. ³⁹ Then Gideon said to God, “Do not let Your anger burn against me that I may speak once more; please let me make a test once more with the fleece, let it now be dry only on the fleece, and let there be dew on all the ground.” ⁴⁰ God did so that night; for it was dry only on the fleece, and dew was on all the ground.

Application: As we return to this text let’s review the question we answered and then look at another question. Was Gideon wrong or was he offending God by asking for the test? Clearly, we saw from Scripture that God makes no comment therefore we will not either. In reality, another question really is a more important one for us. It really doesn’t matter what Gideon did, or for that matter what anyone else did, because the question will always come back to what does God want each one of us to do. True, as we look at examples in Scripture we can glean principles that will help us make our decisions, still, in the end it really has everything to do with our personal walk with God. No one will stand before the Lord to account for anything other than what they did themselves. Having said that, we must remember that Gideon lived at a different time than we do, and the Old Testament saint had a different relationship with God than that which is afforded us in the New Testament era. 

We have the Holy Spirit of God living inside us, making us the Temple of God and enabling us to hear and sense the very direction of God in our lives. Tragically, many believers today continue to ignore the clear presence and evidence of God working in their lives and insist on a “miracle show” from God. This was the condition that Jesus found the Jewish leaders in when He walked among them. They were not in the same situation as Gideon was. True, God had been silent for 400 years so there was no example of God before the people, much like Gideon’s time, but Jesus did not just walk up to the Jewish leaders and ask them to believe. He walked among them performing incredible signs to validate that He was the Messiah. From His works to His words everyone was astounded that this “son of a carpenter” could say and do the things He did. In that context, the Pharisees were still actively seeking a way to ignore the truth, so they approached Christ and demanded a sign. Consider His response:

Mark 8:11–13 The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him. ¹² Sighing deeply in His spirit, He said, “Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” ¹³ Leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side.

Perhaps, for us, it would be best to see how the Lord might feel if we continue to seek signs from Him in order to follow Him. Instead of thinking whether a fleece is a “sin” or not, it might be better to move it to a category of “is this beneficial or not?”. Paul, when talking to a church that was steeped in sin and immaturity made this statement:

2 Corinthians 5:7 for we walk by faith, not by sight

It might be wiser for us to consider when we struggle in our faith, that if we choose to place a “fleece” before the Lord, instead of thinking in terms of “right or wrong”, we might do better to think in terms of “immature or mature”. Each one of us must walk this journey of faith for him or herself, and only the Lord will measure the worthiness of that walk.

One last thing should be considered; if you feel that you must ask the Lord to validate a direction in your life through a “fleece” follow the example of Gideon. Make it specific and verifiable. Asking for a general sign like, if the sun comes up tomorrow, is not realistic and usually exposes an ulterior motive for the sign.  Most times a fleece that is based on generalities is really a tool to try to justify a decision that has already been made. A real “fleece” is specific and leaves no question whether or not it has been verified. Even still, I encourage all of us to seek the Holy Spirit to stretch our faith and not look to walk by sight. He need not prove Himself to us, if anything we need to prove ourselves to Him!

Meditation Questions: What is more important to you, knowing exactly what the Lord wants or becoming more mature in your faith? When you are 100% sure about something, what does that show you about your faith? When you fear – what do you think drives that? Why? What do you do about it? What’s the best way to learn something? So if you apply your answer to how to grow your faith, what will that mean? When you struggle in your faith, what is the struggle really about? What can you do about that? 

30 seconds of sexual release = a lifetime of regret

☛ Probing Proverbs 6:30-35 Excuses might be found for a thief who steals because he is starving. But if he is caught, he must pay back seven times what he stole, even if he has to sell everything in his house. But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool, for he destroys himself. He will be wounded and disgraced. His shame will never be erased. For the woman’s jealous husband will be furious, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge. He will accept no compensation, nor be satisfied with a payoff of any size. ☚ 

As we finish this section of Proverbs some very significant Truths are shared and we would be wise to take heed. Wisdom has been warning of the dangers and foolishness of sexual sin, culminating with adultery. Why? God’s first institution was marriage and it is sacred. One man exchanges vows with one woman to be completely faithful to each other until death separates them. An adulterer trespasses over that vow and steals from a spouse the one thing they thought was secure.  As wisdom continues, some hard truths must be confronted. In our day and age we have equated forgiveness with consequences. We do believe from Scripture that every sin is forgivable. 

That is true; however, we have no right to think that concerning consequences. God forgave Moses for rebelling against His command to not strike the rock, but Moses still lost the privilege of going into the Promised Land. In our desire to feel good about our sins and failures we have convinced ourselves that when God forgives, that also means that there will be no consequences for our sin. This is not supported in Scripture, and here Wisdom reinforces that fact. The thief can be forgiven, yet must still pay back what has been stolen. Wisdom states that the adulterer “destroys himself”. Notice the description of that destruction: “wounded”, “disgraced”, “His shame will never be erased”, “the woman’s jealous husband will be furious, and he will show no mercy”. “But Nate, surely an adulterer can be forgiven, can’t he? Wisdom is talking apples and your thinking oranges. If an adulterer understands his sin...turns from it – i.e. STOP THE SEX!!; repents and confesses, the Lord in His grace and mercy, based on the blood of Jesus Christ will forgive. That has very little to do though with the warnings that Wisdom gives concerning the consequences of this sin. Moving backwards: “The woman’s jealous husband will be furious, and he will show no mercy” The jealous spouse may not be as forgiving as God is...even a child of God, knowing what they should do, may not if they allow the flesh to control them. At the least the adulterer may be hated for life by the offended spouse...at the most the adulterer may enter eternity prematurely! “His shame will never be erased” No matter how faithful he becomes in the future, all that know what happened will always know, so the shame of his actions are like a scar, always with him. This is why so many adulterers pick up and move away, hoping to start new with strangers.  “Disgraced” His legacy is disgraced, because he could not control himself and not only sinned, but tore apart another couple’s marriage. The fact that the marriage may have been a disaster already really does not matter, all will view him as the final death nail to that relationship. Even a president that would have been known for great things will be remembered that he had to get his sexual pleasure so badly that he did not care if it separated a couple. Who wants to be remembered for not having enough integrity to at least keep your sexual escapades limited to people that have not promised themselves to only one person! 

Lastly, “wounded”, the adulterer is wounded...no matter what else happens he knows inside himself he let down his God, his spouse, his family and himself. This is more important than many believe and they do not understand it until after they have lost it. In this fallen world of sin and failure this is an important goal that can help a believer remain focused. I hate the fact that I have failed mentally to remain faithful to the woman I love so much. I compromised with porn and lust...and that is disappointing enough, but I still have the prize of reaching Jesus and being able to praise Him, that because of His strength and willingness to supply power when I needed it, I was physically faithful to the gift God gave me and I enter eternity as a one woman man. That is my desire and prayer! No fantasized pleasure is worth losing that! Don’t kid yourself! Sacrificing the ultimate of Jesus’ delight in your faithfulness to your spouse on the Alter of the immediate gratification of sex brings consequences that none desire to pay.

A Father’s heart

Ephesians 5:21–33 ...For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. ³² This mystery is great; Proverbs 30:18–19 There are three things that amaze me— no, four things that I don’t understand: ¹⁹ how an eagle glides through the sky, how a snake slithers on a rock, how a ship navigates the ocean, how a man loves a woman.

The morning after Cilla’s wedding I spent with the Lord; meditating on all the “Jordan Stones” He had given to me with Cilla as we both grew up together. Be sure...she caused as much growth or more in me than I did in her! As I sat I began to write what was on my heart:

Today I watched, as my little girl became a wife. The first time I held her...her hand could barely grip my pinky. Today as she embraced me...we stood adult to adult...but I still saw the little girl I have held so many times in my life.  Yet...her eyes...the same eyes that had mesmerized me when I first beheld her mother...her eyes continued to show love toward me...but now have a different fire in them for a new man in her life. They were magnetic, pulling him into heart. I felt such joy for both of them. Only a God of love could create such chemistry...such ecstasy! Today my little girl’s heart would be knitted together into a unity between herself, her Lord and her lover. No legal document could bring this about, that is only a contract...that is why the world always leaves a way out. No...this was a covenant...of the heart...given willingly and willfully. Today...my little girl entrusted herself to a man that promised in the name of Jesus and by the power of Jesus to love her uniquely. Through all of eternity these two will never know of a relationship like this. Such a short period of time, yet, they will experience the depth of a relationship that God only allows on this side of eternity. She will love others, but never in this way. He will protect and care for others, still it will pale in comparison to his love for her. That is what marriage is...much less to do with contracts and legalities...much more to do with spiritual mystery and supernatural unity. Today my little girl...still my little girl...has begun a new family...one flesh, one in purpose and one in resolve. Dad, you gave me this little girl and I offered her right back. You have done such a great job of growing her into the Christ-like woman...wife...she is today.

I come before You again...asking You to mold this couple into an example of what You intended marriage to be. She will always be my little girl, Your child...grant her the ability to be the wife Jesus can make her!

God needs to prove Himself?

Scripture Read: Judges 6:36-40 Then Gideon said to God, “If You will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken, ³⁷ behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken.” ³⁸ And it was so. When he arose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece, he drained the dew from the fleece, a bowl full of water. ³⁹ Then Gideon said to God, “Do not let Your anger burn against me that I may speak once more; please let me make a test once more with the fleece, let it now be dry only on the fleece, and let there be dew on all the ground.” ⁴⁰ God did so that night; for it was dry only on the fleece, and dew was on all the ground.

Application: Here we come to the section of the story of Gideon that causes so many believers problems. The idea of Gideon making God prove himself through signs is contrary to what we think is right. We’ll see that perhaps the “fleece” approach to your walk with God is not what God desires first. At the same time though, we need to be fair to both Gideon and the Scriptures. First, let’s summarize what’s going on here. Gideon has been commissioned by God to take on a task that would make any sane man nervous if not paralyzed. Gideon has not been raised in an environment where the evidence of the living God was obvious. This society was full of idolatry and the stories of the God of his fathers were exactly that … stories. So Gideon, to ascertain if what he was receiving was truly from God, chose to ask God to prove that He is God. He sets up a very precise and clear test. He places a woolen fleece on the ground and asks God that tomorrow the fleece will be moist, but the ground will be dry. That is exactly what he finds the next morning, and so he approaches God again and asks Him to reverse the test. Tomorrow morning the fleece will be dry but the ground will be wet. The next day it was exactly that way. So was Gideon wrong? Was he offending God by requiring a test? Should we follow his example?  These are all very good questions, yet all very different, so let’s take them one at a time.

First, we should never go beyond what the Scripture states. Nowhere in this section or anywhere else does God condemn what Gideon does. So we should not try to be the judge when God Himself chose to remain silent on this issue.  Second, it is important that we notice the spirit of Gideon when he approaches the Lord for the 2^nd test. He beseeches the Lord for mercy and patience before he makes his request. This shows us that Gideon understood that he was doing something that would not normally be done to God, but due to his lack of faith he felt the need to still ask. He does ask, but he asks with the plea that God will tolerate his lack of faith. Another issue that brings light to God’s attitude towards Gideon is that He has chosen to allow Gideon to be placed into Chapter 11 of the book of Hebrews, which we call the “Hall of faith”:

Hebrews 11:32 How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets.

To be included in this chapter, with names of saints that trusted God in great ways, states a lot of where Gideon is his faith. God never takes a person in a vacuum; he always deals with each one of us right where we are which includes the context of our life. Gideon had not had much of a reason or training to grow in faith toward God. So God, being God, extends patience and mercy; we should do no less. There is more from this section that we will learn, but let us spend some time meditating today where our faith is with God right now.

Meditation Questions: Where are you in your Faith right now? If God asked you to do something that seemed impossible, what would it take for you to do it? When was the last time you took a step of faith? Was it big or small in your eyes? Why do you say this? What do you think it would take for your Faith to be greater? How do the Scriptures show how God grows Faith?  What does this show you?