And it came to pass the same night, that Jehovah said to him, Take the young bullock, which thy father hath, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the Asherah that is by it;
The word comes to Gideon on the same night he built his altar to the Lord. It sends him not against Midian but against his own father's household. Before he can face a nation's enemy, he must face the idol standing on his family's land.
The first thing God asks of Gideon is not public bravery but honesty at home:
Here we see that Gideon had to begin at home. God called him to raise the flag of testimony in the very heart of his family — in the very centre of his father's house. This is intensely interesting and deeply practical. Testimony must begin at home. It will never do to rush out into public work while our private and domestic ways are anything but what they ought to be. It is useless to set about throwing down the altar of Baal in public while the very same altar remains standing at home.
The word translated "grove" in older Bibles does not mean a stand of trees. What people did to it shows what it was made of:
The word "grove" naturally suggests a row of trees. But that cannot be the meaning, since people set groves up "under every green tree." Manasseh put a carved image of the grove that he had made in the temple. Josiah later removed it, burnt it, and ground it to powder. That image was no doubt made of metal. But the groves were of wood, as we learn from the fact that people cut them down and burned them. One passage speaks of planting groves, another of making them, and another of building them. They always go together with idols and images.
Gideon had just built an altar to the Lord. That act itself made Baal's altar intolerable:
The altar itself is now a challenge to the idols. The Lord's altar cannot stay in the company of Baal's, and Israel cannot be delivered while its faith is divided. So on the same night — the night of the day when the Lord had appeared — the Lord told him to throw down Baal's altar and cut down the asherah. The asherah was a pillar of wood, the symbol of the Ashtaroth worship that went with Baal's. Then Gideon was to build an altar to the Lord on top of the stronghold where Israel used to retreat from the Midianites, and to offer on it his father's second bull, with the wood of the asherah he had cut down.
Another writer ties the demand to Gideon's own name:
God will not share His glory with Baal. One altar or the other must be thrown down. Gideon is to make good his name, "the cutter down," and to show the vigour of his faith and the reality of his obedience.
God's peace does not leave the idols standing:
There judgment begins. We must "cease to do evil" before we "learn to do good." The Lord comes to us as "the God of peace." Still the call is, "Down with the idols in your father's house." … And what is more, if God says, "Pull down the altar of Baal," He will give strength to do it.
The wood of the felled image became the wood of the sacrifice:
The positive duty of anyone who would be a testimony for God is, before everything else, to cast down his idols. Why are there so few true servants among Christians, walking in the power of a testimony for Christ? It is because they have not the two altars. And why have they not the second? Because they have not provided themselves wood for the sacrifice. The idols are the wood. Let us overthrow them; let nothing of them remain. Let us begin in the innermost circle of the family. If we do not do this, where will our testimony be? The overthrowing of the idols is the secret of power. The Spirit of the Lord only came upon Gideon when he had done this. We do not now have Baals of stone and groves of wood, as he did, but we have many other idols. Unlike him, we often prefer them to the power of a faithful walk with God.
Obedience came, but not yet in daylight:
Gideon obeys, but he does it by night, fearing to do it by day. Here nature breaks in. His faith was not yet strong enough to let him testify openly and boldly; but what his faith did enable him to do, that he did.
- Home first. God sends Gideon against the idol on his father's land before He sends him against Midian.
- Judgment first. God greets Gideon in peace, then tells him to pull the idols down. We must stop doing evil before we learn to do good.
- One altar. God will not share His glory with Baal, so one altar or the other must fall. Divided faith never wins a deliverance.
- Fuel. The wood of the felled image feeds the fire of the new sacrifice. The idols supply what worship burns.
- Then power. The Spirit came on Gideon only after the idols came down. What God commands, He gives strength to do — even to a man who can only manage it at night.
and build an altar to Jehovah thy God upon the top of this strong place in the ordered manner, and take the second bullock, and offer up a burnt-offering with the wood of the Asherah that thou shalt cut down.
Gideon has just met God and built an altar called "The LORD is Peace." That same night God tells him to tear down his father's altar to Baal and raise the LORD's altar in its place, with the idol for firewood.
God does not send Gideon against the raiders from Midian first. He sends him against the altar in his own yard.
Here we see that Gideon had to begin at home. He was called to unfurl the banner of testimony in the very heart of his family — in the very centre of his father's house... Testimony must begin at home. It will never do to rush out into public work while our private and family ways are anything but what they ought to be. It is useless to set about throwing down the altar of Baal in public, while that same altar remains standing at home.
Another writer asks how far one man's obedience has to reach.
Does he worship and obey God for himself? Then that same obedience must be claimed for the whole circle of his responsibilities. Is a man going to be a deliverer for all Israel, while his own family is in bondage?... How many are tempted to invert this order. They may be jealous enough for God's altar for all Israel, and yet have never set it up in their own homes.
The verse does not ask Gideon to add the LORD's altar alongside Baal's. Tearing down the one and building the other is a single command.
He is to cast down his father's altar of Baal, cut down the wooden image, or column, and offer a bull on an altar to the LORD. After all, this is only the natural enlargement of the worship he had just enjoyed. God will not share His glory with Baal. One altar or the other must be thrown down. Gideon is to make good his name, "the cutter down," and to show the vigour of his faith and the reality of his obedience.
The offering must burn on wood cut from the Asherah — the wooden column beside Baal's altar. Nothing of the false worship survives it.
The positive duty of anyone who would be a testimony for God is, before anything else, to cast down his idols. Why are there so few true servants among Christians, walking in the power of a testimony for Christ? It is because they have not the two altars. And why do they not have the second? Because they have not provided themselves with wood for the sacrifice. The idols are the wood (v. 26). Let us overthrow them, and let nothing of them remain. Let us begin in the innermost circle of the family... The overthrowing of the idols is the secret of power; the Spirit of the LORD only came upon Gideon when he had done this.
God fixes the altar's shape and site, not Gideon. The ESV has the stones "laid in due order"; other translations read "in the ordered place." Writers take that phrase as the end of self-chosen worship.
It is of the essence of self-will to say, "I have a right to worship God how I like." Obedience to God is the saint's rule and liberty. No power in the world has any right to interfere with this. And what is more, if God says, "Pull down the altar of Baal," He will give strength to do it.
But Israel's own altar stood at the tabernacle in Shiloh. So how could a new altar on this rock be right? One writer answers that God's command alone settled it.
Gideon worshipped according to a new revelation of God, despite Shiloh and the tabernacle. His rock became the ordered place, or the anointed altar, only because of this revelation and command of God.
So Gideon obeyed. One writer points out what had to come first, and what could only come after.
Gideon was associated with evil in his father's house. As another has said, "faithfulness within comes before outward strength: evil must be put away from Israel before the enemy can be driven out. Obedience first, and then strength: this is God's order."
What if courage falls short of open testimony?
Though the flesh may hinder testimony, it cannot prevent obedience, if there is faith... The stirrings of the flesh are no excuse for failing to obey what we have faith to do. So it was with Gideon. From the start he learned how hostile his own people were to faithfulness for the truth. The world does not realise that its opposition always draws out of God's witness more than enough power to crush it.
- Home first. The altar you tear down in public is worthless while the same altar stands in your own house.
- One altar. God will not share His glory; Baal's altar must come down for His to go up.
- Idols as fuel. The wood of the cut-down image feeds the fire — the thing removed becomes the means of worship.
- God's order. God fixed the place. Obedience, not preference, is the believer's rule and freedom.
- Then power. Obedience first, strength second — the Spirit came on Gideon only after the idol fell.
And Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as Jehovah had said to him. And it came to pass, because he feared his father's house, and the men of the city, if he did it by day, that he did it by night.
Gideon's first task is not to fight Midian but to tear down the altar in his own family's yard. He does it at night, with ten servants, because he is afraid — so does obedience mixed with fear still count as obedience?
God's first order sent Gideon against the altar in his own home, not against the enemy camp.
Now the Lord calls Gideon to act; but he must first begin at home… Here we get obedience. Gideon was linked with evil in his father's house. As someone else has said, "faithfulness at home comes before strength outside: evil must go from Israel before the enemy can be driven out. Obedience first, and then strength: this is God's order."… So with Gideon: God could not send him to strike the Midianites until he had pulled down the idol in his father's house… Satan is helpless in the presence of an obedient man. The devil resisted in obedience is the devil defeated.
Gideon was afraid, and he obeyed anyway. One writer calls that the real meaning of courage.
Gideon obeyed, taking ten men who were his servants to do this serious work. They did it at night, because Gideon feared what the men of the city would think. There was timidity in his faith, but faith still acted. True courage does not mean having no fear. It shows itself in doing right despite fear.
Obeying God and speaking out about it are not the same thing. One can fall short while the other goes ahead.
Even where a person receives and obeys the word of God, the testimony often falls short. Many a true soul is not ready to speak out as openly as he might. It is better when obedience and testimony go together. The flesh may hold back testimony, but it cannot stop obedience, if there is faith… The feelings of the flesh are no excuse for not obeying what we have faith to do. Because of them we may give up the higher place of testimony, but nothing must stop obedience to God's word.
What Gideon did in the dark was no token gesture.
This is what we may call striking at the very root of the matter. The worship of Baal is completely overturned. This was no small thing. We have little idea what it cost the son of Joash to do this; but by the grace of God, he did it. True, it may have been with fear and trembling — still he did it… No half measures would have worked. There was no use picking a stone out of the idol's altar here and there. The whole structure had to come down from its very foundation.
God never told Gideon to do the work in daylight. He knew the man He had called.
Gideon obeyed at once, without compromise or holding back. For him the idols were nothing compared with the God he knew. This "mighty man of valour" had been short of courage. Fear of the enemy (v. 11), fear of God (v. 23), fear of his father's house (v. 27) were some of his marks. He did his work at night, afraid to do it by day. He still did it, because God had commanded him. Only in the morning did the people of the city see what had been done. The One who knew Gideon's character had not told him: Do this work by day. Let us too, weak as we are, destroy our idols quietly, when no eye is watching… The world will soon see that we have a new altar it does not know, and that the grove is worth nothing to us except as wood to burn.
Gideon still had to face the morning. One writer turns that wait into a question for the reader.
We can imagine how anxiously Gideon may have waited for the next day. Or how calmly, if he simply had God before him… Has anyone been trembling and hesitating to take some plain step of faith? Let them learn from Gideon, and take courage. The consequences you dread would fail to happen. The very people whose opposition you fear will approve.
- Home first. Evil had to go from his father's house before God could send him against Midian — obedience first, then strength.
- Night still counts. Fear may hold back your testimony, but it cannot stop obedience, if there is faith.
- Fear obeyed. Courage is not the absence of fear; it is acting rightly while afraid.
- Half measures fail. The whole structure came down, not a stone here and there.
- Morning vindicates. The consequences he dreaded did not come; the very people he feared came round.
And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered up upon the altar that was built.
The town wakes to a scene it cannot explain away. The altar it had prayed at is rubble, the wooden pole beside it is gone, and a bull has been offered on a new altar built to the God of Israel. What Gideon did in the dark is now the first thing every man in the town sees. A private act of obedience has become public testimony.
Gideon did the work after dark because he was afraid. The timing changed nothing about the result. By morning the deed stood in full daylight for the whole town to see.
He did his work at night, because he was afraid to do it by day. He did it all the same, for God had commanded him to. Only in the morning did the people of the city see what he had done... Let us, too, weak as we are, destroy our idols in silence, when no one is watching. Let us not talk loudly about it. Let us do this hard work with fear and trembling, looking to God alone, in the silence of the night. The world will soon see that we have a new altar which it does not know.
The altar Gideon pulled down belonged to his own family, not to some stranger's town. One writer finds God's order in that.
Faithfulness within comes before outward strength: Israel must put away evil before driving out the enemy. Obedience first, and then strength: this is God's order.
Another writer weighs what the night cost Gideon, and why the idol at home could not be left standing.
Gideon had nothing but death to expect, if it had not been the will of the Lord; but, come what may, "whoever does the will of God abides forever," and Gideon was content to face whatever followed... It would have been a huge inconsistency for a man to go out and deal with the pagan enemies of Israel while his own father's house worshipped Baal... For nothing wounds people more than something that treats their religion as nothing.
The men of the town found the altar broken down — not damaged, not half taken apart. That thoroughness is the point.
This is what we may call striking at the very root of the matter. The worship of Baal is completely overturned... There would have been no use in picking out a stone here and there from the idol's altar. The whole structure had to be torn down from its very foundation, and the idol itself shamed in front of the very worshippers it had deceived.
The wooden pole beside the altar came down too. The ESV calls it the Asherah; some older translations call it "the grove." One writer notes what God's altar does without:
The grove might add beauty to the altar of Baal, but God's altar must be set up in its own plain simplicity.
The town saw more than an absence. It saw a replacement — a new altar, fuelled by the idol that came down.
The positive duty of one who would be a testimony for God is, before all else, to cast down his idols. Why is it that there are so few true servants among Christians, walking in the power of a testimony for Christ? It is because they have not the two altars. And why have they not the second? Because they have not provided themselves wood for the sacrifice. The idols are the wood... Let us begin in the innermost circle of the family. If we do not do this, where will our testimony be?
The town's outrage is not a sign that Gideon got it wrong. It shows where the town had been resting its confidence.
The action of faith always stirs up the flesh. Israel did not know where their strength was; they thought it was in Baal. Gideon had learned that it was in God. These are testing times... How many think the strength of Christians lies in the things they see around them! The soul taught by God knows it is only in Jehovah Jesus.
Gideon's dreaded morning came, and the disaster he feared did not.
Is anyone trembling and hesitating to take some plain step of faith? Let them learn from Gideon, and take courage. How all the results you dread would fail to happen! The very people whose opposition you fear will approve. Or if not, what can happen?
- Home first. Pull down the idol in your own family before you face the enemy outside — obedience, then strength.
- All the way down. Not a stone picked out here and there. The whole structure comes down, and the pole beside it too.
- Replaced, not just removed. The morning shows two things — an altar gone and an altar built, the old idol burned as fuel for the new sacrifice.
- Daylight comes. Quiet work, done in fear, still ends up in plain view. The world soon notices the new altar it does not recognise.
- Then the noise. Opposition shows that faith has touched what people trusted in. The disaster you dread usually never comes.
And they said one to another, Who has done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.
Gideon tore down Baal's altar at night. By morning the whole town stood in front of the ruins, asking who did it. The search that follows raises two questions commentators keep coming back to: why God asked for this act first, and what happens when quiet obedience is found out.
God sent Gideon against the idol in his own father's yard before He sent him against Israel's enemies. The town even names him by his father: Gideon the son of Joash. Commentators see a fixed order here.
Gideon was tied to evil in his father's house. As someone else has said, "faithfulness at home comes before strength outside: evil must be put out of Israel before the enemy can be driven out. Obedience first, and then strength: this is God's order." … So it was with Gideon. Until he had pulled the idol down in his father's house, God could not send him to strike the Midianites. There is plenty here to make all of us search our own hearts. How often have we grieved over our lack of power in the Lord's service, when we could have traced the cause to some lack of obedience?
The townsmen woke to an obvious ruin because Gideon left nothing standing. A half-done job would have been useless.
We have little idea what it cost the son of Joash to do this. But by the grace of God, he did it. True, he may have done it with fear and trembling, but he still did it. He struck one strong blow at the whole system of Baal, and it crumbled to dust under his feet. Half measures would have been no use. Picking out a stone here and there from the idol's altar would have achieved nothing. The whole structure had to come down from its very foundation.
Gideon worked after dark because he feared these very men. His fear did not cancel his obedience.
His faith was timid, but faith still acted. True courage does not mean having no fear. It shows itself in doing right despite fear.
Gideon never announced what he had done. The city found him by asking around, because the act spoke for him.
It is better when obedience and testimony go together. But though the flesh may hold back our testimony, it cannot stop obedience, if there is faith… The stirrings of the flesh are no excuse for not obeying what we have faith to do… And if we are faithful, even without strong feeling, our acts will speak for themselves. So testimony will follow, even though it did not go with them. That is what happened with Gideon.
Once his name was spoken, his private obedience became public. It cost him, and it gave him a new name.
Only in the morning did the people of the city see what he had done… Let us, too, weak as we are, destroy our idols in silence, when no eye is watching us… The world will soon see that we have a new altar it does not know, and that the grove is worth nothing to us except as wood to burn. Then the world, which has supported us until now, will hate us. It was the altar of testimony that drew everyone's hatred onto Gideon. Hated — but what did it matter? He was given the name Jerubbaal (let Baal plead), and in front of everyone he became the living witness that the things he had once worshipped were worthless.
The men asking this question were Israelites, not foreigners. One writer sees their anger as a pattern, not a one-off.
The action of faith always stirs up the flesh. Israel did not know where their strength was; they thought it was in Baal. Gideon had learned it was in God. These are sifting times. In the Lord's day everything looked to be in beautiful order. But because He was setting aside men's traditions, everyone was against Him. It is the same now. How many people think the strength of Christians lies in the things they see around them! The soul taught by God knows it is only in Jehovah Jesus.
The crowd's question ended in a demand for Gideon's death. One writer notes who answered it.
And from the start, he learns how hostile his own people are to faithfulness for the truth. But how little the world knows that its evil opposition always draws out of God's witness more power than enough to put it down! The people's cry for Gideon's execution is met by Joash's challenge to let Baal plead for himself, if he is a god.
- Home first. Gideon had to clear the evil out of his own home before God could send him against the enemy outside. Obedience first, then strength.
- Whole, not partial. Gideon pulled the altar down from its foundation. Half measures would have been useless, and would have left nothing for the city to find.
- Fear allowed, disobedience not. Gideon worked at night because he was afraid. Courage is doing right despite fear, not the absence of fear.
- Acts declare themselves. He said nothing, yet the search found him out. When testimony does not go with obedience, it follows after it.
- Discovery costs. Once named, Gideon faced the town's hatred and a call for his death. It made him a public witness that his old god was worthless.
And the men of the city said to Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die, because he has broken down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the Asherah that was by it.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.