And Joash said to all that stood near him, Will *ye* contend for Baal? or will *ye* save him? he that contends for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning. If he be a god, let him plead for himself, because they have broken down his altar.
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And on that day they called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead with him, because he has broken down his altar.
Gideon had pulled down the altar of Baal in his own father's yard, and the men of the town came for his life. His father's reply turned the trial around. The nickname it produced — Jerubbaal, "let Baal contend against him" — stuck to Gideon for life. It was a standing dare to the idol he had insulted.
The name puts the burden of proof where it belongs. A god who cannot defend his own altar has already lost the case. Older translations word it "Let Baal plead against him," and the writers quoted here follow that wording.
This was very simple reasoning: "If he is a god, let him plead for himself." Gideon's decided course had brought matters to a point. Baal was either a reality or a most complete delusion. If the former, let him plead for himself. If the latter, who would think of pleading for him? Nothing could be simpler. Gideon's action was a complete success. The worship of Baal was overturned, and the worship of Jehovah Elohim set up instead.
Joash never weighed the pros and cons of Baal worship. One writer turns that refusal on anyone tempted to argue a case for evil.
It was of no use to argue the case, except to show the people the folly of pleading for Baal. If the things set aside were Baal's, and if Baal was a god, surely he would arise and take their part. It was of no use to debate. And do not let us suppose that all the arguments of all the good men in the world can make that which is evil, good. It is sad indeed to see the arguments that are devised by the wit of men in defence of evil. The binding duty of the saint is to separate from evil, however much long tradition or anything else supports it.
The altar Gideon smashed stood on his own family's land. God told him to pull it down before he went out against Israel's enemies.
The will of Jehovah was explicitly declared to Gideon. Apart from the will of the Lord, he had nothing but death to expect. But come what may, "he who does the will of God abides forever," and Gideon was content to accept all the consequences… It would have been a glaring inconsistency for a man to go out against the pagan enemies of Israel while Baal was worshipped in his own father's house.
Writers draw the same order out of the story as a general rule for service.
As another has remarked, "Faithfulness within precedes 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."
Joash had owned that altar. Now the man who kept the idol takes his son's side.
Not to be interrupted by the unbelief of those around, he did it by night, and the next morning the challenge to Baal was plain for all to see. So Gideon had to "add virtue" to his faith — the boldness needed by every good soldier of Christ. This boldness is God's means to awaken and embolden others, so that Joash, his father, steps into the ranks.
Another writer traces the same cause and effect back to how far Gideon went:
There is nothing, we repeat, like plain decision — bold, uncompromising faithfulness for Christ, whatever it costs. Had Gideon been less decided, had his line of action been less thorough, his father Joash would not have been so completely won over. It needed just such a way of dealing with Baal to convince a reasonable person that the worship of such a god was a sham and a falsehood.
The new name looks like protection: the crowd goes home and Gideon lives. It did the opposite.
The name "Jerubbaal" was no defence. On the contrary, it brought up the question whether there was power in Satan now that faith was in exercise.
One writer traces Joash's answer through to the title it gave Gideon.
He answers that the man who pleads for Baal deserves death: it is for Baal himself to avenge the insult. The sarcasm knocks the opposition down at once, and leaves Gideon with the title of idol-challenger, "Let Baal contend!" In the fight that is beginning, the very existence of the man of faith is a sign of victory already won, a pledge of one to come.
Later Scripture found the word "Baal" too shameful to keep and swapped it for a word meaning shame.
Ishbosheth means "man of shame"… We know from Chronicles (1 Chron. 8:33) that his original name was Esh-baal. The same change happened to Jerubbaal, turned into Jerubbesheth (2 Sam. 11:21). In Hosea 9:10 Baal himself is called "that shame." It is hard to doubt that people made these substitutions because they felt how shameful idolatry was.
- Obedience first. Gideon had to clear evil out of his own home before God would send him against Israel's enemies — "obedience first and then strength."
- No debate. Joash refused to argue the merits of Baal; no amount of clever reasoning can make an evil thing good.
- A plain dare. "Let Baal contend against him" — the name forces the idol either to act or stand exposed as nothing.
- Courage spreads. Gideon's boldness brought the very father who had owned the altar into the ranks. Boldness is God's way of stirring up others.
- A banner, not a shelter. Jerubbaal gave Gideon no protection. It raised the question whether Satan still had power where faith was at work.