En Harod is associated with Gideon (Judges 7) and two of David’s mighty men (2nd Samuel 23:25). In Judges, it is the name of the spring by which Gideon camped before his battle with the Midianites.
En Harod; the name means “spring of trembling.” The spring of Harod still flows today from the mouth of a cave at the foot of Mount Gilboa. It was at En Harod that Gideon conducted his final test, excusing those who knelt down to drink, reducing his army from 32,000 to just 300 soldiers. (See Judges 7.1-7)
God had already promised Gideon a great victory, yet the doubtful judge requested a sign. Gideon's “fleece” didn't cause the Midianites to disappear; Gideon still had to trust God for deliverance. From his position at En Harod, Gideon could see the 135,000 Midianites at the hill of Moreh, ready to fight him.
Then the Lord said to Gideon, "The people are still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. Therefore it shall be that he of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you, he shall go with you;’ but everyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go. So he brought the people down to the water.” (Judges 7:4–5)
The reduction of Gideon's army wasn't just to glorify God by winning the battle with only three hundred men. The action also exposed Gideon’s fear. Now he had to deal with it. Even though Gideon sought security with the fleece, and though God granted that request, God immediately put Gideon in a more insecure position. There’s no doubt that Gideon struggled to trust God when the numerical odds were 4-to-1. How is he going to respond now that the odds are 450-to-1?
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