Jdg 6:25-40 He Thrust the Fleece Together, and Wringed the Dew out of the Fleece, a Bowl Full of Water

[Study Aired April 5, 2021]

Jdg 6:25  And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father’s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it: 
Jdg 6:26  And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down. 
Jdg 6:27  Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father’s household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night. 
Jdg 6:28  And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. 
Jdg 6:29  And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing. 
Jdg 6:30  Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it. 
Jdg 6:31  And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar. 
Jdg 6:32  Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar. 
Jdg 6:33  Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel. 
Jdg 6:34  But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him. 
Jdg 6:35  And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them. 
Jdg 6:36  And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, 
Jdg 6:37  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. 
Jdg 6:38  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. 
Jdg 6:39  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. 
Jdg 6:40  And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground. 

The first half of Judges Chapter 6 deals with the oppression of the Midianites and the calling of Gideon by the Lord to wage war against them. Before we can wage any war in our heavens, we must have an encounter with Christ. This encounter with Christ means that our eyes begin to see and our ears begin to hear the word of God. That is the same as seeing Jesus face to face. That is when we are assured that we shall not die. In other words, we are not going to be hurt by the second death, which is the lake of fire.

Jdg 6:22  And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face.
Jdg 6:23  And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

The second part of Chapter 6 which we are reviewing today has to do with further preparations that we need in order to start this war with the old man or the flesh.

Jdg 6:25  And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father’s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:

It is while we are still in darkness that Christ comes to us to lead us to the way of peace. Gideon was instructed by the Lord to take the second bullock, who was young, and one seven years old to offer a burnt offering to the Lord. The first bullock is Adam, and the second bullock is Christ who was offered at a young age for our sins. The bullock being seven years old means that the bullock is complete in the sense that it was without spot or wrinkle. That is another attribute of Christ that made His sacrifice acceptable to God. As indicated, the first bullock is Adam or us who are earthy and cannot be used as a burnt offering for our sins.

It is only when we take hold of this second bullock (come to know Christ) that we can overthrow all the false doctrines which have permeated our heavens, signified by the altar of Baal and the grove by it, which represents the goddess Asherah.

Exo 29:10  And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock.
Exo 29:11  And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Exo 29:12  And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar.

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

Jdg 6:26  And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down. 

The altar to be built for the Lord must be on top of a rock, which is Christ. The foundation upon which we offer ourselves must be based on Christ or the word of God. Anything else means we are laying a foundation on sand which will tumble down when the winds blow and the rain and the floods come. The winds, the rain and the floods represent our judgment.

1Co 3:11  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Mat 7:26  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Mat 7:27  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

It is the wood of the grove that is used as fuel for the burnt offering. This is another way of saying that it is our own sins which serve as fuel to burn all the chaff within us, making us able to present ourselves as living sacrifices to God. So God uses our own sins to correct us.

Jer 2:19  Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

Jdg 6:27  Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father’s household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night. 

The number 10 signifies the completion of the flesh. Gideon taking ten men to destroy the altar of Baal and the grove is an indication that he was yet carnal when he decided to destroy the altar of Baal. This is confirmed by his fear of his father’s household and the men of the city. The fact that the demolition of the altar was carried out in the night also attests to the fact that Gideon was not out of the woods of darkness yet.  He had started the journey to come out of darkness into His marvelous light, but he was not there yet. Scriptures say that the fear of man is a snare in the sense that such fear are like traps which lead us into darkness.

Pro 29:25  The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.

Jdg 6:28  And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. 
Jdg 6:29  And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing. 
Jdg 6:30  Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it. 

These verses speak of the hatred we experience when we start our journey out of Babylon. Jesus warned us of this hatred when He said that we will be hated of all nations for His name’s sake. There are several reasons why we are hated. In this case, they wanted to put Gideon to death because he had cast down the altar of Baal and cut down the grove by it. Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing he received from his father, and Joseph’s brothers hated him because their father loved him more. In all cases, the underlying issue here is what the woman at the well revealed to Jesus during their dialogue. That is, in leaving Babylon we are saying, just like the woman at the well, that the New Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship God instead of the mountains (Jerusalem which is) where our brothers and sisters are worshiping.

Mat 24:9  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
Mat 24:10  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Mat 24:11  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:12  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Mat 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Gen 27:41  And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.

Gen 37:4  And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

Joh 4:20  Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

Thanks be to God who always delivers us from those who hated us.

2Sa 22:18  He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me.

In Gideon’s case, God used his father to come to his rescue as follows:

Jdg 6:31  And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar. 
Jdg 6:32  Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar. 

What Joash said to the people who wanted to kill Gideon is the same as what Gamaliel said when the Sanhedrin wanted to kill the apostles for preaching in the name of Christ. “Let Baal plead” for himself is another way of saying that if what Gideon has started is of the Lord, it shall stand and nothing can withstand it, but if it is of man, then definitely it will not stand. As we encounter issues in our walk with Christ, let us be guided by this truth. That is, whatever is of the Lord shall stand (means it will be for our good), and whatever is of man’s origin shall not stand. We are all going through a lot, whether sickness, relationship gone sour, putting food on our table, loneliness, etc. However, in all of these, we are more than conquerors. It will work for our good!!!

All those who have gone before us (the elect) have also had their fair share of what we are going through. For example, Paul went through periods of loneliness and neglect apart from the physical beatings he endured. However, in the end he was able to overcome.  We also shall overcome!!

Act 5:33  When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.
Act 5:34  Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space;
Act 5:35  And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men.
Act 5:36  For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.
Act 5:37  After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.
Act 5:38  And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:
Act 5:39  But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Jdg 6:33  Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.

Both the Midianites and the Amalekites are related to the Israelites. The Midianites were descendants of Abraham’s son Midian, and the Amalekites were descendants of Jacob’s brother’s (Esau) grandson.

The term “children of the east” seems to have been applied to the inhabitants of any part of the country East of Palestine. It is stated that Jacob, when he fled from Esau, “came to the land of the children of the east” (Gen 29:1), and the place to which he came was Haran in Mesopotamia. It was from there that Jacob had his wives Leah and Rachel.

Therefore, the children of the East are also related to Israel. What is being pointed out here is that these enemies are fleshly related to Israel. In other words, this war is about the enemy within us or our flesh. Collectively, these enemies are called the old man, the flesh, the beast, etc.

Gen 29:1  Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east.

Gen 29:4  And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we.

Gen 29:9  And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep: for she kept them.

It is important to note that these enemies pitched their tent in the valley of Jezreel. According to Strong, the name Jezreel means “God will sow”. The question is, “What does God sow?” Remember that the parable of the sower says that the sower is Christ who went out to sow. Of course what he sowed was the word of God, and it is sown in our hearts and minds. Therefore, the place where all these enemies have gathered for battle is our hearts and minds. This battle is the same as the war in our heavens in Revelation 12:7 where Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. The outcome of this war in our heavens is that the dragon and his angels (the enemies within) will prevail not and neither will their place be found anymore in heaven (Rev 12:8). This outcome should give us confidence and hope that we will win the war of our heavens!!

Mat 13:3  And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

Rev 12:7  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Rev 12:8  And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Jdg 6:34  But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him. 

The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and as a result, he blew the trumpet to gather his people for battle. As Jesus taught us, the words He speaks are spirit. Thus, another way of saying that the Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon is that Gideon’s eyes of understanding concerning the word of God were enlightened. So verse 34 means that when we start seeing and our ears start hearing, that is the time that we declare war on the enemies in our heavens by blowing the trumpet. As indicated in an earlier review, blowing a trumpet may signify a call to gather or a call to war. In this case, blowing of the trumpet by Gideon was a call to gather and also a call to war.

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Num 10:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 10:2  Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.
Num 10:9  And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.

When Gideon blew the trumpet, the Abiezrites gathered after him. The Abiezrites were the descendants of Abiezer, the son of Gilead. Joash and Gideon were members of this clan, and Gideon describes the Abiezrites, as “the weakest in [the tribe of] Manasseh.” This is to confirm to us the characteristics of those whom God is selecting as the elect to wage war with the enemy within.

Jdg 6:15  And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.

In the Book of Samuel, the elect are described as follows:

1Sa 22:2  And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.

Are you in distress? Are you in debt? That is, do you feel you owe God so much because of your sins? Are you discontented with your current state in terms of being poor in spirit? If your answer is yes, then you are heading toward the right direction with God!! The reason God is choosing such people is that He does not want any flesh to glory in his presence.

Paul also described the qualification of those God is selecting as follows:

1Co 1:26  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28  And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29  That no flesh should glory in his presence.

Jdg 6:35  And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them. 

Gideon sent messengers to specific tribes of Israel to come wage war against the Midianites. Our Lord Jesus Christ (representing Gideon) is sending messengers (His elect) to the following tribes of God’s people (Israel) to wage war against the flesh – those from Manasseh, Naphtali, Asher and Zebulun. We can know what these tribes represent if we get to know the blessings Jacob pronounced on these tribes in Genesis 49.

Manasseh: The tribe of Manasseh came out of Joseph, as Manasseh was the son of Joseph, and so the blessing proclaimed to Joseph is also relevant to Manasseh. Joseph or Manasseh is described as being the target of an archers’ attack, who shot him and harassed him severely. However, he was made agile by the hand of the Lord. Archers are the propagators of false doctrines who are Satan’s messengers. So what this means is that we have to come to realize that we are those whose heavens are the target of all false doctrines, and as a result, we have defiled our heavens with these false doctrines.  So it is only those who recognize that their heavens have been defiled by these false doctrines who are being called by the Lord to wage this war against the false doctrines (Midianites). We are assured that the Mighty one of Jacob will come to our aid and fight our battles for us.

Gen 49:22  “Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall.
Gen 49:23  The archers bitterly attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him severely,
Gen 49:24  yet his bow remained unmoved; his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
Gen 49:25  by the God of your father who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

Zebulun: It is said in Genesis 49:13 that Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea. It is at the shore of the sea that we see the beast rise from the sea. So those who are being called to wage this war against the flesh are those who have seen who the beast is – that is you and me. Without seeing the beast, there is no way we can wage war against it.

Gen 49:13  “Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea; he shall become a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon.

Rev 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

Asher: This tribe is described as having his food (bread) rich (fat). Our food being rich means that we have the true word of God. So those who are being called to wage this war against the flesh (Midianites) are those who have started knowing the truth of God’s words, that is, their eyes are seeing and their ears are hearing.

Gen 49:20  Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

Naphtali: These represent those who are being set loose from the clutches of Babylon (worldly church system) and have the word of truth. These are those who are being called to wage the war.

Gen 49:21  Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

The Sign of the Fleece

Jdg 6:36  And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, 
Jdg 6:37  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.
Jdg 6:38  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. 
Jdg 6:39  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. 
Jdg 6:40  And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground. 

Gideon’s test to assure himself of God’s hand in his life in delivering his people from the Midianites signifies the unveiling of God’s plan of salvation for the elect and for the world at large. A fleece is the woolly covering of a sheep or a soft warm fabric with a texture similar to sheep’s wool. It is therefore the covering of a sheep, and so this speaks of our righteousness in Christ which comes to the elect (His sheep) through the fiery word of God represented here by the dew of heaven.

Now the first test of Gideon was for the fleece to be soaked with dew and the earth remaining dry. This signifies that salvation (being clothed with Christ’s righteousness through the word) first comes to His elect, and it is through the elect that the whole of the earth will be saved (the dew will also fall on the earth, the second test). So that was what Gideon’s test teaches us – that is the elect being saved first in this life. Later, they will be used by the Lord to save the world.

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
1Co 15:24  Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

So what Gideon’s test was trying to prove was whether God will save the world (represented by the Israelites) through His elect (Gideon’s hands).

Verse 38 says that after squeezing the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water was obtained. This is to make us aware that those whom God is redeeming now to become saviors of the world must know the full counsel of the word of God and be able to rightly divide the word. Our bowl (our hearts and mind) must be full of water (the word of God) and not half full.

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.