Follies and Nonsense #270 and my theory about Gideon's fleece

On a more serious but related note:

We're currently studying Judges in Sunday school. On a plain reading of Judges 6:1-40, there was no confusion about God's will. God told Gideon in no uncertain terms what He wanted Gideon to do. In fact, Gideon reiterates this by stating "as You have said." But for whatever reason, the Word of the Lord seemed to be insufficient. Therefore, the fleece was an act of unbelief, not an act of inquiry. It wasn't an act of faith but evidence of lack of faith.

So why do Christians "put out a fleece" to "find" the will of God? Does anyone know where and how this practice originated? I'm curious because it's based on a complete misreading of the text. And lest you think I am pointing the finger, I've put out my share of "fleeces" too.

However, I do have a theory. My hypothesis is a well-meaning Sunday school teacher was very uncomfortable with the moral ambiguity of the judges in Judges. Children needed to know right from wrong and learn a good moral lesson. Also Gideon is mentioned in the "Hall of Faith" in Hebrews 11, so he has to be one of the good guys. Therefore, Gideon's unbelief was framed in a better light by putting a different spin on the story. He didn't know what God wanted him to do. He needed to make sure because he wanted to please God. Ergo, the fleece. The kids in that Sunday school class took this to heart, "fleeced" when they didn't know what was God's will, and taught it to their children. Maybe one of those kids grew up to be a preacher who preached it from the pulpit. I don't know, but this false idea has certainly spread into the psyche of Christendom. Of course, this is just speculation, but it had to start somewhere...