behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there be dew on the fleece only, and it be dry on all the ground, then shall I know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken.
"Gideon’s fleece is not a sign of faith. It is the opposite. It is not a search for God’s will. It is a desperate grasp for security by one who knows clearly what that will is but who is reluctant to do it." [Note: Idem, "Gideon: A Rough Vessel," The Standard 77:2 (February 1987):25. See idem, Judges . . ., p. 307.] 