Then he said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me. Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You.” And He said, “I will wait until you come back.”
Judges 6:17-18
We come to a passage of scripture that has confused many people. The Angel of the Lord has directed Gideon to lead Israel against the Midianites who have violently oppressed them for seven years. Twice the Angel of the Lord (the Lord Jesus Christ) has assured Gideon that he will be victorious for the Lord will go with him into battle. Gideon initially waffled. Is this true? Do I believe this or not? There is a major reason for Gideon’s reluctance. He does not yet comprehend it is the Lord God who sits before him. Maybe he thinks this is a man of God, a prophet, but before he agrees to do this he wants to be sure this is from God. So after hearing the Lord repeat Himself, Gideon does something unusual.
If now I have found favor in Your sight Gideon makes a statement which seems to express doubt. The Lord has clearly demonstrated sufficient favor or grace toward Gideon in assigning him this responsibility. But Gideon asks the Lord’s indulgence to seek additional confirmation that this message is really from God. This is a matter of Gideon’s heart which is known only to God. If Gideon wants to make sure this is not from a man, a false prophet, an idol or even from his own imagination then seeking additional confirmation that this message is from God to him is appropriate. If his intent is to delay in order to determine how to get out of doing what God asks, it is a sin. We can’t tell which it is but God can.
Then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me Gideon asks the Lord to make (He is the creator) a sign (a pledge or witness) that the Angel of the Lord is God. So we see the question Gideon has – is
this a true message from God Himself? (Remember he is not sure it is God speaking to him yet.) This is not unlike what Moses did in the wilderness when he asked God “who shall I tell them sent me?”
Do not depart from here, I pray Before Gideon discusses the sign or pledge He desires He asks the Lord not to leave. This appears to be an indication that if this request is truly from God Gideon wants to obey it but he needs to be sure this man speaks for God. Therefore he asks the Lord not to depart so that the assignment is withdrawn from Him.
Until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You Before Gideon asks the Lord for a sign he intends first to go and
bring to the Lord an offering (a present, tribute, sacrifice or meal offering). From the type of meal Gideon prepares it indicates he thought he was honoring a prophet, a man of God, instead of sacrificing to the Lord God Himself.
And He said, “I will wait until you come back” The Lord hears and honors Gideon’s request. We see how patient and longsuffering our
Lord is. He put up with numerous questions from His disciples that indicated they did not understand or believe Him. In this case Gideon does not even recognize Him yet he honors Gideon’s request for time. He does this regularly for each of us also as we ponder “Is God speaking to me?”
What can we learn? God’s word tells us that “man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart.” It is through that truth about God that we need to interpret this passage. We observe Gideon’s behavior and question him. God looks at his heart and sees
his motive. We ascertain that the Lord honored Gideon’s request because he was willing to obey if he was sure this was truly
God’s will for him.
Does this mean we have the liberty to ask God for signs before we obey Him? Where scripture is clear (Gideon only had the first
five books of Moses) we should not ask God for signs. When God’s direction is clear asking for signs is an indication we really
want to disobey God’s clear direction. Second Gideon did not have the Holy Spirit indwelling in Him, we do.
The signs we are to seek today are the internal approval of the Holy Spirit in compliance with God’s word of what we believe God is calling us to do.