DO YOU

REQUIRE

SIGNS?

FLEECES THEN AND NOW Judges 6:14-16, 36-40 And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, O my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house. And the Lord said unto him, surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in 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 mine hand, as thou hast said. And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.	REVIEW The angel gave Gideon a very effectual answer to his objections, by giving him a commission to deliver Israel out of the hands of the Midianites, and assuring him of success therein. Now the angel is called Jehovah¸ for he speaks as one having authority, and not as a messenger. There was something extraordinary in the look he now gave to Gideon. He looked upon him, and smiled at the objection he made, but girded and clothed him with such power as would shortly enabled him to answer them himself, and make him ashamed that ever he had made them. It was a speaking look, like Christ’s upon Peter (Luke 22:61) a powerful look a look that strangely darted new light and life into Gideon’s breast. The angel had honoured him, but see how meanly he speaks of himself: “My family is comparatively poor in Manasseh and I am the least, that have the least honour and interest, in my father’s house; what can I pretend to do? I am utterly unfit for the service, and unworthy of the honour.” God delights to advance the humble. This objection was soon answered by a repetition of the promise that God would be with him. The signs which God gratified him with, for the confirming both of his own faith and that of his followers. His request for a sign that a fleece of wool, spread in the open air, be wet with the dew, and let the ground about it be dry. (Notice an entire bowl full of water was wrung out.) When he repeated his request for a second sign, the reverse of the former, he did it with a very humble apology, deprecating God’s displeasure, because it looked so like a peevish humoursome distrust of God. God’s favour must be sought with great reverence, a due sense of our distance, and a religious fear. God’s gracious grant of his request. See how tender God is of true believers though they be weak. Behold all the ground was wet, yet the wool fleece was dry.
WARNINGS ABOUT SIGNS Matthew 16:1-4 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.	REVIEW We have here Christ’s discourse with the Pharisees and Sadducees, men at variance among themselves and yet unanimous in their opposition to Christ. Their demand was a sign from heaven; pretending they were very willing to be satisfied and convinced. Every miracle was a sign; but they despised those signs which relieved the sick and sorrowful, and insisted upon some sign which would gratify the curiosity of the proud. The design was to tempt him; not to be taught by him, but to ensnare him. Christ condemns their overlooking of the signs they had, v. 2, 3. They were seeking for the signs of the kingdom of God, when it was already among them. To expose this, Christ observes to them, their skillfulness in watching the weather. There are common rules drawn from observation and experience, by which it is easy to foretell very probably what weather it will be. Then there is the stupidity in the concerns of their souls. All the miracles Christ did and the gathering of the people to him were plain indications that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. It is great hypocrisy, when we slight the signs of God’s ordaining, to seek for signs of our own prescribing. It is the undoing of multitudes, that they are not aware what will be the end of their refusing Christ. He refers them to the sign of the prophet Jonas, which should yet be given them; his resurrection from the dead, and his preaching by his apostles to the Gentiles. Christ will not tarry long with those that tempt him, but justly withdraw from those that are disposed to quarrel with him.
KEYS TO DISCERNING GOD’S WILL Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of our mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.	REVIEW Concerning our duty to God. We see what is godliness. It is to surrender ourselves to God, and so to lay a good foundation. This is here pressed as the spring of all duty and obedience. The body must be presented to Him. Although Paul is a great apostle, yet he calls the meanest Christian brethren, a term of affection and concern. To present your whole self in a free will offering to not only avoid sins that are committed with or against the body, but the using of the body as a servant of the soul in the service of God. It is Christ living in the soul by faith that makes the body a living sacrifice. Holy love kindles the sacrifices, puts life into the duties. Our bodies must not be made the instruments of sin and uncleanness, but set apart for God, and put to holy uses. It is the soul that is the proper subject of holiness; but a sanctified soul communicates a holiness to the body. That is holy which is according to the will of God; when the bodily actions are so, the body is holy. God is a merciful God, therefore let us present our bodies to him; he will be sure to use them kindly. If the presenting of ourselves will but please him, we may easily conclude that we cannot bestow ourselves better. God does not impose upon us anything hard or unreasonable, but that which is altogether agreeable to the principles of right reason. The mind must be renewed for him. Conversion and sanctification are the renewing of the mind, a change not of the substance, but of the qualities of the soul. The progress of sanctification, dying to sin more and more and living to righteousness more and more, is the carrying on of this renewing work. It is God that turns us, and then we are turned. Though the new man be created of God, yet we must put it on and be pressing towards perfection. **By feeding our minds with the Word of God, meditating on it, and obeying it, we are able to prove what is that that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. When we do all these things, we experience true joy, and we no longer wonder what God wants us to do. **You are encouraged to spend time in daily prayer and Bible study. Attend church faithfully. May you love the Lord all the days of your life and make choices that are pleasing unto Him. (Information taken from LifeWay Summer Sunday school literature & the Matthew Henry commentary.)