Lay Out a Fleece? Repeat Gideon's Mistake?

In a study of Christ's temptation, the second temptation can very well be a mystery. Clearly, since Satan himself is offering it, Christ must resist. However, there is something deeper going on here that is easy to miss. Satan quotes Scripture to Christ to show that it was lawful. Indeed, his actions were lawful! However, as Paul says, "All things are lawful for me but not all are helpful." The temptation being placed before Christ was to test the promises of God. Would God deliver on all the things He said He would do? God had said these things concerning you, now how about putting it to the test? Perhaps a common Christian cliche would be to say "lay out a fleece." This brings me to my subject. Why do Christians say this? It honestly baffles me. If you feel God may be leading you somewhere but you really aren't sure, should you, as some would say, lay out a fleece? I would point out that the answer to this question is complicated. As a Christian, we can't always be entirely sure where God is leading us. That is part of following God and trusting Him. We know that God has command of the tiniest detail of History, but "laying out a fleece" is just a sign of a lack of trust in God. There is a difference between not knowing exactly where God is taking you and trusting that He knows what he's doing. The origin of this phrase is due to a lack of understanding of the Bible. It originates from the story of Gideon laying out a fleece before God. Now, this wasn't an honorable thing! This wasn't Gideon's finest hour! Gideon was suffering from a lack of trust in God and his needing a fleece is not a monumental act of the Christian Faith. Is this where we want to get a phrase that is considered sound advice? Let me briefly add that Gideon was a great man and yet human. He suffered from our human frailties. But, should we coin a common Christian cliche of his failings as sound advice? I would like to assert that this should not be the case. Trusting God is hard but laying out a fleece should not be our answer. The Word of God is our answer. If God has chosen a path for you He will open and close doors. God will make it clear. Sometimes it's simply our sin that blinds our eyes to God's blatant will.

God Bless,

Stanley

P.S. Sorry about not posting over the weekend. I was just relaxing. I'm still working on part 2 of TIAOMEIAS. Hope to have that up sometime this week and I have some other topics written out that I would like to address.