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Before Gideon began to fight, he
asked God to promise to save Israel from the Midianites. He said,
"Give me now a sign, that I may know that thou wilt be merciful to
the Israelites. I will put a fleece of wool upon the ground
to-night; in the morning I will look at it; and if I see the fleece wet
with dew, and all the ground dry, then I shall know that thou dost promise
to save us from our enemies." Gideon put the fleece of wool
upon the ground, and God heard his prayer. In the morning, when
Gideon looked at it, it was very wet, and he wrung from the fleece a bowl
full of water; but there was no dew upon the ground. We
know that the moisture in the air, which we cannot see by day, becomes
cool at night, and turns to dew. But why was the fleece alone wet,
and everything else dry? Because God had heard the prayer of Gideon,
and He wished to show him that He can do all things, and to teach him to
trust in Him. The next night, Gideon asked God to let him try the
fleece again. He said, "To-night, let the fleece alone be dry,
and all the ground wet, and then I shall know that thou wilt save
Israel." God again attended to Gideon; and the next morning,
all the ground was wet with dew, and the wool alone was dry. Was
this wonderful? Yes, it was a miracle God alone could do; and when
Gideon saw it, he felt he might trust his powerful, kind, and wonderful
God. His faith was strong now, for he thought, if this powerful
friend were with him, he need not fear the Midianites. Gideon
was not going to fight alone; he had many thousand men with him. But
God wished to teach the Israelites, that their soldiers had no power to
gain the victory, and that He alone could save them; and so He told Gideon
to say to the soldiers, that if they were afraid, they might return home,
and not come to the battle; and 22,000 went away. They could not
have had much faith in God, nor much holy courage; they were weak, fearful
men, who would not have helped Gideon to fight against the enemy.
The army was small now; only 10,000 men; but God said, "I do not want
so many; if all these soldiers go, the Israelites will say that their own
power and courage gained the victory. Bring the 10,000 down to the
water, and let them drink; notice the men who lap the water like a dog,
and put them on one side; and the men who kneel down to drink water, put
on the other side; and I will tell thee whom I choose to fight against the
Midianites." Gideon obeyed God, without murmuring, or asking
why. He brought all the soldiers to the water, and told them to
drink. A few of them lapped, putting their hands to their mouths;
but all the others stooped down on the knees to drink. Gideon
counted these who lapped; they were 300. Then God said, "By the
300 men who lapped will I save you; let all the others return home." Gideon
had a very, very small army now. The Midianites were in great
numbers; the Israelites only 300. Was he frightened? No, he
had no need to fear, for God was with him, and He was stronger than
all. Perhaps when Gideon looked upon the great army of the
Midianites, he felt fearful; but when he looked up to God in faith and
prayer, his fear was gone, because he knew he might trust in Him.
Try to be like Gideon; and when you are in trouble, or sorrow, or
difficulty, look to God for deliverance, and to Him alone.
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