1. Name & Context
Gideon, son of Joash, lived during a time when Israel was oppressed by the Midianites because of national disobedience. He was hiding in fear, threshing wheat in a winepress to avoid detection (Judges 6:11).
When the Angel of the LORD appeared, calling him a “mighty man of valour,” Gideon struggled to reconcile that divine greeting with his feelings of inadequacy and doubt. His heart longed to believe God’s promise but needed reassurance that God had truly chosen him to deliver Israel.
📖 Judges 6:14–15 (NKJV)
“Then the LORD turned to him and said, ‘Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?’
So he said to Him, ‘O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.’”
2. How He Asked for Faith
Gideon directly asked God for confirmation through a miraculous sign — the famous “fleece test.”
📖 Judges 6:36–40 (NKJV)
“So Gideon said to God, ‘If You will save Israel by my hand as You have said—look, I shall 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 shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.’
And it was so…
Then Gideon said to God, ‘Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more: let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew.’
And God did so that night.”
His request was not unbelief, but seeking confirmation in a trembling faith. He longed to believe yet needed assurance that the calling was truly divine.
3. How God Responded
God patiently and graciously granted both signs without rebuke.
- First, He made the fleece wet and the ground dry.
- Then, to remove all doubt, He made the fleece dry and the ground wet.
📖 Judges 6:40 (NKJV)
“And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground.”
This response revealed God’s compassion toward human weakness — that He prefers honest hesitation over proud presumption.
4. How He Received or Grew in Faith
Gideon’s faith was built gradually through a series of divine encounters:
- The angel’s visitation (Judges 6:11–24).
- The miraculous consumption of the offering by fire (6:21).
- The two fleece signs (6:36–40).
Each encounter layered experience upon revelation, building trust step by step.
His initial fear (“least in my family”) transformed into obedience when he tore down his father’s idol (6:27–28) — his first act of faith.
📖 Romans 10:17
“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Gideon heard, tested, and then obeyed.
5. How Faith Was Tested or Refined
God soon tested Gideon’s faith by reducing his army from 32,000 to just 300 men.
📖 Judges 7:2–7 (NIV)
“The LORD said to Gideon, ‘You have too many men… In order that Israel may not boast against Me that her own strength has saved her… With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you.’”
Facing a vast Midianite army, Gideon’s faith had to rest entirely on God’s power, not human numbers.
When fear crept in again, God gave another reassurance through a dream overheard in the enemy camp (7:13–15).
Each stage deepened Gideon’s faith — from fearful questioning to confident trust.
6. Results or Outcomes
- Victory through divine strategy: The 300 men broke jars, blew trumpets, and shouted — the enemy fled in panic (Judges 7:19–22).
- Faith vindicated: What began with a timid request ended with triumphant belief.
- Israel delivered: 40 years of peace followed Gideon’s leadership (Judges 8:28).
📖 Hebrews 11:32–34
“And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon… who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong.”
Gideon’s story moved from weakness to strength, illustrating that faith matures through dependence, not confidence.
7. Key Verses Summary
- Judges 6:14–15 — Gideon’s self-doubt.
- Judges 6:36–40 — The fleece tests.
- Judges 7:2–7 — Faith tested through army reduction.
- Judges 7:19–22 — Victory through obedience.
- Hebrews 11:32–34 — Gideon commended for faith.
8. Faith Insight / Lesson
Gideon teaches that God meets us where our faith begins, not where it should be.
He does not despise cautious hearts; He strengthens them through personal evidence and patient reassurance.
Faith often starts small — in fear, in weakness, in repeated confirmation — but when exercised, it becomes mighty.
His journey shows that true faith is not instant courage but progressive trust.
The God who condescended to a trembling man with a fleece is the same God who still answers honest prayers for assurance today.
💬 “Faith grows when doubt is surrendered, not silenced.”