That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.”
Judges 6:25-26
The Lord called Gideon to serve Him and there is no delay in giving him his first assignment. Gideon meets the Lord in the afternoon and the call to action arrives that night.
That night the Lord said to him “And it came to pass on that night”. We think God only acts sometime in the future. For all of us “that night” comes when God calls us to do His work. Gideon built an altar, it was now time to place a living sacrifice, himself, on it.
Take your father’s bull He is to take the bull belonging to his
father, Joash.
And the second bull seven years old He is to take a second bull. Many think this is Gideon’s bull. Perhaps his father bought a new bull and gave Gideon his hand-me-down bull. In any regard God requires
two bulls be used.
Pull down the altar of Baal that your father has Gideon is given his assignment. He is to use the bulls to tear down an altar to Baal that his father had built. God calls Gideon to attack first the very reason Israel
is being punished – idolatry in the land and He has him start at the very place that is closest to him – in his own family and city. Gideon’s devotion to God must be visible to all.
And cut down the Asherah that is beside it Co-located with the Baal alta r is what is called a grove – atree or rows of trees or cones of stone for worship of Asherah. Asherah was the mother goddess of the
Canaanites. This idol was thought to be the mother of all living things (mother nature). It was also the place where sexual rites and possibly orgies were performed and this was happening in Gideon’s house.
Build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order After the altar to Baal is destroyed an altar to God is to be constructed where it stood. The altars cannot co-exist. Baal must be removed before worship to God can occur. Gideon is to follow exactly God’s commands as to how His altar is to be constructed. (Exodus 20:22-26)
Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down After God’s altar is constructed to His specifications Gideon is to offer a sacrifice to God on that altar. Only after the idolatrous idols are removed is this sacrifice to God to be offered. Note God said to sacrifice the second bull, not his father’s, for sacrifice. Sacrifice is personal.
What can we learn? There are several key lessons in God’s command to Gideon.
1. Gideon’s first step of obedience is to address the sin against God that is occurring in his own family. God knows this will cause conflict
and Gideon has to make a decision. Who does he love – his family or God? All of us face the same decision if we are to follow Christ.
2. Gideon was to offer the second bull, his bull – not his father’s. Gideon could only repent and seek forgiveness for himself. God calls
each of us individually and we must respond individually..
3. Obedience is required if we are to follow the Lord. God did not ask Gideon to do something easy. He asks him to do what was
absolutely critical to bring deliverance to the land. First he has to purify where he lives
4. We see a critical element to revival and God’s blessing that is important to us today. We cry out for revival in our land as did
Israel (Judges 6:7). God sends a prophet to preach His truth and tell of sin (6:8). Israel confessed their sin but it was not until they get rid of Baal that God can be worshipped in the land. Many today want God’s blessing and protection but they want to hold onto Baal. Revival cannot, will not, come in that case.