Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 6:40
And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.
And God did so that night,…. The night following, the night being the season in which the dew falls:
for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground; and this might signify, that not Gideon only, as before, should partake of the divine favour, but all the Israelites, who would share in the salvation wrought by him. Many interpreters observe, that all this is an emblem of the different case and state of the Jews and Gentiles under the different dispensations; that whereas under the former dispensation the Jews partook of the divine favour only, and of the blessings of grace, and enjoyed the words and ordinances with which they were watered, when the Gentiles all around them were like a barren wilderness; so, under the Gospel dispensation, the Gentiles share the above benefits to a greater degree, while the Jews are entirely destitute of them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(40) It was dry upon the fleece only.Such a result as thisnot being in accordance with natural circumstancescould only have arisen from direct interposition. Besides the simple narrative, which tells us of these results as a sign granted to Gideon in accordance with his prayer, it is of course possible to allegorise the dew as the sign of Gods grace, and to say that the first sign represented Israel as replenished with Gods love when all was dry around (Hos. 14:5, I will be as the dew unto Israel; Mic. 5:7, Jacob shall be as the dew); and the second, the fact that God manifested himself in the weakness and forsaken condition of His people, while the nations were flourishing all around. Similarly St. Ambrose (De Sp. Sanct, Prol. in 1) sees in the fleece full of dew the Hebrew nation hiding the mystery of Christ within itself, and in the dry fleece that mystery extended to all the world, but leaving the Hebrew nation dry. It would be equally possible to give a mystic significance to the threshing-floor, as a type of the universal Church (Mat. 3:12, &c.). But these allegoric applications of simple narratives are, to say the least, precarious; nor is there much value in Ewalds comparison of the fleece to Gideons character, cool amid the general passion, dry amid the general damp of fear.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘ And God did so that night, for it was dry on the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.’ God graciously gave him his further sign. Next morning the ground was covered in dew but the fleece was bone dry.
What lesson do we learn from all this, apart from the need to be obedient to God? The main thing is that when God wants a man to do something special He prepares him for it step by step so that when the final test comes he is ready. Gideon thought that his test was now over. All that remained was the battle against overwhelming odds. But God was turning a raw young man into a man of steel and faith, and He had yet more tests in store for Gideon.
One thing we do not learn is that we have a right to seek guidance in this way, to set God tests in our daily lives. Only when God sends us against a huge, overwhelming enemy force that has been tyrannising a whole country for years, with only a small group of timid men to help, will we have even the smallest right to do what Gideon did. Of course Deborah would not have needed such proof. But she had had many years of experience of the power of God.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
REFLECTIONS
READER! let you and I pause over this chapter, and in the view of Israel’s repeated departures from the Lord God of their mercies, behold the picture of our own hearts. How often, how very often, hath our adorable Redeemer saved us from our enemies, and yet how prone are we to forget the gracious hand that hath wrought our salvation? And while we view our unworthiness, let the reflection lead us to contemplate renewed mercies. Doth not God send his messengers, like the Prophet, to remonstrate with us? Are not his visitations, either in the common Providences of life, in sickness, trouble, persecution, and the like, voices like the Prophet’s of solemn expostulation? And when, these messengers of correction and reproof are accompanied with his grace, and put a cry in our heart, under a sense of sin, and the prayer of earnestness for deliverance, doth not Jesus fly to our aid, and like his type, the Gideon here spoken of, come forth to our rescue? Oh! thou adored Lord our Righteousness! how precious is it to my soul, to see thy renewed goings forth for me in all the redemption of thy mercy! Dearest Jesus! grant me, from such repeated testimonies of thy love, such unalterable assurance of my interest in thee, that I may neither seek the moistened nor the dry fleece, to tell me that thou art a faithful God. Oh! for grace amidst all the departures and backslidings of my unworthy heart! Oh, for grace to believe stedfastly the record which God hath given of his dear Son.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jdg 6:40. And God did so See how tender God is even of the weak; and how ready to condescend to their infirmities! These signs were very expressive. They are going to engage the Midianites. Could God distinguish between a small fleece of Israel and the vast floor of Midian? Yes, by this token it appears that he can. Is Gideon desirous that the dew of divine grace might descend on himself in particular? He sees the fleece wet with dew, to assure him of it. Does he desire that God will be as the dew to all Israel? Behold all the ground is wet!
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
6:40 And God did so that night: for it was {q} dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.
(q) By which he was assured that it was a miracle of God.