4/20/15: Reassurance

#LifeThatMatters

In Judges, chapter 6, the Angel of the Lord appears to Gideon to tell him he is the next judge chosen to deliver Israel, this time from the oppression of the Midianites. Not understanding why he, the least in a small family, would be chosen, Gideon asked the Lord for some reassurance. First, the Lord consumes food with fire. Then He allows dew to fall on an animal skin only and not on the ground, and then on the ground and not on the animal skin (see verses 21 and 36-40).

I was a little puzzled by this, not by the signs themselves, but by Jesus’ reaction in the New Testament when He was asked by the Pharisees to show a sign. His reaction then was, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign!” Matthew 12:39 NIV. Why was it wicked for the Pharisees to ask for a sign but okay for Gideon?

I think the answer lies in the heart of the one asking the question. You see, the Pharisees were asking for a sign out of their sarcastic disbelief; Gideon was asking because of his sincere desire to believe. Gideon’s heart beat for God and he wanted to be sure he was moving in obedience. Our loving heavenly Father has no problem reassuring us that we are really hearing from Him, but woe to those of us who clearly hear God’s voice and still do not move and obey. The Pharisees simply wanted to see some magic; their hearts were twisted to hate Jesus no matter what they saw. Gideon was poised to obey.

What do we do with the voice of God when we hear it?

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