3 minute read
The Writer's Pastor
The Trouble with Flawed Fleece Teaching
A student said she was stuck making a career decision because God wasn’t giving her the confidence she sought.
Her Christian devotion said, “If we ask God for a sign, he will make our path clear.” The writer drew that principle from the story of Gideon in the Old Testament. “When you want to know God’s will,” the devotion declared, “put out a fleece.” A “fleece” was explained as a specific sign we ask from God, as Gideon did.
In Judges 6, God told Gideon to lead Israel into a battle they would win. Gideon wasn’t so sure. To bolster his confidence, Gideon placed a wool fleece on the ground and introduced the one-day fleece challenge. He asked for a sign.
He told God he would believe if God would drench the fleece with dew overnight, but keep the ground dry without using painter’s tape and drop cloths. God obliged, and then Gideon reversed the challenge. The following morning, when the ground was wet and the fleece dry, Gideon launched into battle after two clear signs.
Based on this story, the devotion writer inspired the student to seek signs biblically, but God didn’t join her game.
While satisfying our desire for confidence and clarity, the fleece teaching is flawed.
Without delving too deeply into the proper rules of interpretation, we see that the writer took a scene from a biblical story out of context and created a concept that the biblical author never intended, and which contradicts other biblical texts.
Judges 6-7 shows God calling Gideon, who delays by asking for more and more signs. The biblical author spotlights God’s faithfulness despite Gideon’s doubts. And that’s the text’s point—God uses weak people to accomplish amazing things.
The author of Judges never intended to teach tips on discerning God’s will.
Many Christian writers find things in biblical stories and isolated verses that aren’t there. And that’s a problem.
Whether we write fiction or non-fiction, whenever we cite, explain, refer, or allude to biblical teachings, we benefit the reader only if we do so accurately. When we reveal or repeat incorrect scriptural concepts, we break our readers’ trust and lead them astray.
So, how can we handle scripture more effectively?
Own our teaching. Don’t repeat others’ biblical ideas without investigating their accuracy.
Determine the biblical author’s meaning before deciding on a modern application. Scripture never means what it never meant to mean.
Keep our text in context. Observe the surrounding paragraphs and chapters to understand the flow and how our passage fits into it.
Resist spiritualizing. Look for the plain meaning of the text, not a hidden one.
Compare our interpretation with other passages. Scripture interprets scripture, and no text contradicts another.
While writers don’t have to be professional exegetes, we are responsible for teaching accurately. God’s word, when interpreted well, is powerful and life-giving. Let’s refrain from authoring—Flawed Fleece Teaching—and write the truth.
Author, Rodney Combs, Ph.D.
Rodney Combs, Ph.D., author, pastor, coach, speaker. He guides people to elevate their lives for deeper fulfillment and greater personal and professional success, all for God's glory.
