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Jdg_7:1-15
Now having around him what seemed to him an adequate number of troops, Gideon wished for a sign—perhaps the same he had formerly been prevented from proposing by the sudden disappearance of the angel. He now, however, required it; not, perhaps, so much for the confirmation of his own faith, as to authenticate his commission in the eyes of the strangers who had responded to his call. Yet, taking into account the weakness of human nature, it is not incredible, that although clothed with the Spirit of the Lord, and after all the evidence he had received, his own faith needed some further strengthening in presence of the countless hosts of Midian overspreading the vast plain of Esdraelon. The sign he made choice of was remarkable, and well calculated to make an impression upon the minds of his followers. The tenor of the request is expressed in such a manner as would have been offensive to any man of spirit, who had given solemn assurances to another; but the Lord is very merciful, very long-suffering—more of both than man—and he complied without a rebuke. Perhaps, also; the terms employed are to be regarded as not so much the emanation of his own feeling, as his mode of stating the case for the understanding of his people. “If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, and do as thou hast said, behold I will put a fleece of wool on the floor, and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said.” This is an experiment natural enough to occur to a man of few and simple ideas, and these connected chiefly with agriculture and cattle. That it is such as would not be at all likely to be thought of by us inhabitants of towns, only proves its natural truth.
The thing came to pass as Gideon had desired, for “he rose up early in the morning and thrust the fleece together, and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.” It is remarkable the correlative part of the miracle is not mentioned, that the ground about the fleece was quite dry; but this is implied. Gideon, for further assurance, and with a becoming apology for his presumption, ventured to ask that the miracle might now be reversed—this time the fleece to be dry and the ground wet with dew. This, of the two, was the stronger proof of supernatural interposition, seeing that it is the property of wool to absorb whatever dew may fall, and its dryness when the ground about was wet with dew, was altogether a miraculous thing. The dew itself was not preternatural, we should think; but only the mode of its exhibition. Dews fall in Palestine, as we know from Scripture and from travels. It depends much upon locality, however—the dews being heavy in the highlands, but scarcely perceptible in the low and even plains. In traveling in some parts of Western Asia, we found the difference remarkable, as affected by high or low-lying situations. In the former we have often found cloaks of sheep-skin, exposed to the open air, as heavy with dew as if they had been dipped in water; in the latter we have slept all night upon the housetops without finding, in the morning, any trace of dew upon the bed-clothes. Dew would seem not naturally abundant, at least at the time of the year, in the neighborhood where Gideon was favored with this sign, for the quantity of dew on the fleece, in the first sign, is certainly pointed out as a most extraordinary circumstance.
Immediately upon receiving the assurance he desired, Gideon marched with his men to the nearer neighborhood of the enemy’s camp. If he had any remaining misgiving, it probably was, that his warriors were too few to cope with the myriads of Midian. Note: 135,000, at least, of “men that drew sword,” not to speak of others with women and children. See Jdg_8:10. How much, therefore, must he have been astonished to receive the intimation that they were too many! And why too many? “Lest Israel vaunt themselves, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.” The enforcement was therefore required of the very remarkable law of Moses, which was admirably calculated to secure the presence of none but efficient and courageous men, in an army, while apparently diminishing its strength. This consisted in the making of a proclamation that whoever was fearful and faint-hearted might withdraw to his home. Considering that all of Gideon’s army were volunteers, it speaks much for the impression which the nearer approach to the host of Midian had produced, that more than two thirds of his army withdrew. Twenty and two thousand went away, and only ten thousand remained. We cannot but suppose that Gideon was regarding this result with amazement and concern, when he was told that they were still too many, and that another experiment for reducing their numbers must be made. The mode of reduction adopted in this instance was very singular. The whole army was to be taken down to the water, and every one that “lapped the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth,” was to be set apart from those who bowed down on their knees to drink. Some difficulty has been found in identifying the first of these processes. The explanation which we give is founded upon our own observation of the different modes in which men drink in haste when coming to a stream on a journey, without being provided with vessels wherewith to raise the water to their months. It is to be observed that this class is further described as “the number of those that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth.” The chief distinction between them and the others is, that they did not bow down on their knees to bring their mouths near the water, and luxuriate in a more leisurely manner. They continued standing, stooping so far only as to be able to reach the water with their hands, the hollow of which they filled, and then brought it rapidly to the mouth, jerking in the refreshing contents. The motion, compared to a dog’s lapping, cannot apply to the tongue, first, because the human tongue is not framed for lapping; and secondly, because if so, it would be an action belonging rather to those who brought their faces down to the water than to those who stood upon their feet. Supposing lapping with the tongue at all a possible action to a man, it would certainly not be resorted to by one who had succeeded in bringing a handful of water so far as his mouth. It would have been a needless, if not silly, delay in quenching his thirst. The motion expressed by “lapping,” must therefore apply to the hand, the rapid motion of which, between the water and the mouth, might be not unaptly compared to the rapid projection and retraction of a dog’s tongue in lapping. This last action, if taken as apparently meant, for an indication of character, would denote men of rapid and impulsive action, too earnest in the work before them to endure to satisfy their animal wants with the leisurely action of men at ease; a few hasty handfuls of water was all that the impatience of their spirit, in the great interests before them, allowed them to partake. These were the men to save Israel. They were but three hundred in number; and all the rest of the ten thousand were, to their great amazement, sent away, and Gideon remained alone with his small band of men.
Gideon had asked signs of God—and had been forgiven; and now, again, God gives him other signs suited to strengthen his faith—beautifully illustrating the Divine consideration for the frailty and feebleness of man—“for that he also is flesh.” First, there was the sign which pointed out to him the men on whom he might rely; and as their number was but small, he has another sign to show him that even this small force is sufficient. He receives an intimation that he is to go down by night to the very camp of the Midianites—and, for his encouragement, he is allowed to take with him Phurah his armor-bearer. So the two stole down to the camp in the darkness of the night. It was too dark to see anything, and the chief may have been perplexed to know wherefore he had been sent. He had been sent to hear, not to see. Presently he heard one of the out-posts speaking to his fellow respecting a dream that had troubled him that night—remarkable enough to awaken his attention, and suggest to him that it was no common dream—though he knew not how to discover its purport. He dreamed that as the host lay there encamped, a cake of barley meal rolled down from the hills and smote the tent against which it came with such violence that it fell down. Josephus says it was the royal tent, which is not unlikely, for the word rendered “tent,” with the definite article, which the original has, means the fairest and strongest tent. The man to whom the dreamer told his dream readily undertook to interpret it. The barley cake, he said, was the sword of Gideon—for into his hand hath God delivered Midian and all the host.” This was enough for Gideon. It was of no importance to him whether the interpretation was correct or not—one thing was true and certain, that the Midianites were afraid of him, and themselves believed, not only in the possibility, but the probability—the certainty, of their own overthrow. In that conviction of theirs, the victory was already his.
It is curious that the man should have seen in the humble cake of barley meal a symbol of Gideon. It was, however, an apt and recognizable symbol of the condition of the Israelites, whose representative he was to be regarded. Hear Volney as to the condition of Syria in our own times, under the like state of things. “From all these causes we may easily imagine how miserable must be the condition of the peasants. They are everywhere reduced to a little flat cake of barley or dourra; to onions, lentils, and water.” Note: Travels in Egypt and Syria, ii. 412.