Gideon's Fleece

Judges 6:1 - 7:25

If one of the major themes of the book of Joshua is "remembering" then it is fair to say that one of the major themes of the book of Judges is "forgetting". Maybe better put the theme here is, "what happens when you forget."

An oft repeated phrase in this book is found right at the start if chapter 6: "Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord..." As usual they then "cry out" and God "hears their cry".
In this case He comes to Gideon.

The opening interaction with Gideon is interesting. He is hiding, almost cowering, in a wine press threshing wheat when the angel of the Lord appears and says, "The Lord is with you mighty warrior." (If this was played out on film today that would probably come across with a LOAD of sarcasm behind it but that isn't the case here.) Gideon's response is indicative of the tensions between remembering and forgetting:

Judges 6:13: "But sir", Gideon replied, "if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all the wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."

So Gideon knows the stories at least, he sems to know something about what it looks like when God is "with" the Israelites but he claims to not understand why God has let them fall into the hands of Midian. Fast forward to verse 27 where Gideon is tearing down his fathers alter to Baal along with his Ahera pole. Hello?!?!? WHY has God put them into the hands of Midian? Worshipping the gods of the people of tha land? Pretty clear instructions have been given about THAT for generations. Did you perhaps forget that bit Gideon?

The back and forth that follows as Gideon puts out his famous fleece, as God winnows down the army, as Gideon and his servant enter the camp of the Midianites all serve to show God's patience. I think it is safe to say in this particular case that Gideon has grown up in a household that recalls the forms of their relationship with God without recalling the substance. He has been taught the stories but not the outcomes or spiritual truths contained within those stories. He dad and all the people of the town have been worshipping false gods perhaps alongside their own traditions...covering all their bases as it were.
God deals gently with Gideon, showing him the truth in answer to his question, "why?"

I love this story not because of the cool military victory or the "magic fleece" but because it shows God's heart towards Gideon, and man whose heart is good but who lacks understanding. It shows God's patience in teaching wisdom. It shows God's faithfulness to His people. I love the fact that if, by my actions, I "forget" what God has done in the past He still reads past those actions to the heart.

Lord, help us to remember and please be as gentle with us as you were with Gideon when we forget.