When the men of the city arose in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was torn down, and the Asherah which was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar which had been built. They said to one another, "Who did this thing?" And when they searched about and inquired, they said, "Gideon the son of Joash did this thing." Then the men of the city said to Joash, "Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has torn down the altar to Baal, and indeed, he had cut down the Asherah which was beside it." But Joash said to all who stood against him, "Will you contend for Baal, or will you deliver him? Whoever will plead for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone has torn down his altar." Therefore on that day he named him Jerubbaal, that is to say, "Let Baal coated against him," because he had torn down his altar.
When the men of the city arose in the morning: In verse 28, when some men of the village went up to the altar site (meaning they when there to pay homage to Baal), it was gone. They men were enraged. Baal's altar was demolished and in its place was a brand new one with the bull laid upon it and burned up. The Asherah pole was also destroyed with its wood used as kindling under the new altar. Moreover, the men who found this situation were Israelites and not Canaanites.
Then the men said to Joash: The men of the village run to Joash and tell him that they have evidence that his son, Gideon, was the one who destroyed their sacred worship space. (This is NOT a matter that the village folks, mostly Hebrews, would have been punished by some Canaanites for this desecration. Rather, it was simple THEY worshiped Baal and were deeply offended.) They were so offended that they wanted to add murder to the long list of their sins. They told Joash to get his son and bring him outside so that they could kill him as a penalty for defiling Baal.
But Joash said to all who stood against him: Now Joash being a good father says, "Wait a minute! If Baal is unable to defend his own altar, then just how powerful of a god is he? Does Baal need humans to defend his deity?" Joash goes on to say that anyone who even attempts to defend Baal will be put to death by morning. This sounds like Joash intends to kill anyone who goes after his son. However, this is not the intent.
It was common understanding in that era that to question the power of a god to defend himself was to impugn the divine character of that god. The penalty for that offense was death--a penalty that Joash as Baal's caretaker was obliged to carry out.
Joash's logic was impeccable. Nobody should do anything. If Baal was real, he would avenge this sacrilege, and if he could not do that, then he was not real. Thus, there would be no crime committed. Furthermore, it would only be a human (and not another god) that Baal would have to fight. Joash says, "someone has torn down his altar." That is, obviously a human being torn down the altar, and what kind of opponent is a mere human to a god? The conclusion of the matter: let Baal fight his own battles.
He named him Jerubbaal: As a result of this, Gideon became known by a new name among his clansmen: Jerubbaal. Remember in that era, a name was assigned to people based on their reputation or character, and in some instances, for a famous act they committed. Jerubbaal means "Let Baal defend". From this point on, be alert that we will see Gideon called by both names. In fact in later books such as 2 Samuel, he is given a third name Jerubosheth. In later times, the word bosheth, which means shame, became a derogatory nickname for Baal.
This entire episode to this point was largely to purify Gideon and his family and to rid the village of the stench of idolatry. The God-principle is simple and logical--only a man that is in good standing with the LORD can lead His people with God's authority. It was necessary that Gideon and his family be the starting point for this cleansing.
3. (Judges 6:33-35) Gideon gathers an army
Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the sons of the east assembled themselves; and they crossed over and camped in the valley of Jezreel. So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon; and he blew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called together to follow him; and he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet them.
Then all the Midianites and Amalekites and the sons of the east: In verse 33, the Midianites, Amalekites and the children of the east descend once again upon the tribes of Israel. They stop and camp (as usual) in the valley of Jezreel because it was one of the most fertile place in all of Canaan. It was also where the most abundant crops grew. Ophrah, Gideon's hometown, was right on the edge of the Jezreel Valley. It was in this moment of need that the LORD empowered Gideon with the Holy Spirit to be the deliverer of God's people.
Prior to the first Pentecost after Jesus' crucifixion, the Holy Spirit had two ways to interact with man. One, the Holy Spirit comes upon a person, or two, the Holy Spirit covers a man. There are two different words used that have two entirely different meanings.
The first word is hayyah, which is rather a general term that depending on its form and context can mean "become", "come to pass" or "befell".
Here in verse 34 where we are told the Holy Spirit covered Gideon, the Hebrew word is labesh. It usually means to wear something like a garment or to be covered like with a blanket. The meaning is that a human is so powerfully enveloped in God's Spirit that the person becomes endowed with the ability to perform miraculous deeds including the ability to prophesy or to perform works that far surpass the human nature from both a courage and physical strength standpoint. People were given great ability to perform bravely in the face of humanly impossible odds against him, or given equally impossible strength and battlefield skill that most of the Judges displayed.
He blew the trumpet: It next says that Gideon blew a trumpet. The blowing of the shofar (trumpet) was the typical battle call for Israel. It also symbolizes that Gideon immediately took up the mantle of leadership, and it was he who would lead the people. This was Gideon's first action when covered with the Holy Spirit.
The Abiezrites were called together to follow him: The Abiezrites would naturally be the first people to follow Gideon because this was Gideon's own clan. Messengers were sent to other tribes to come and join the Holy War. Manasseh answered, which was again natural as the Abiezrites belonged to the tribe of Mannaseh.
Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali: These three tribes also heed the call to battle. It appears that Asher must have learned something over the last 40 years because when Asher was called to assist Barak against King Jabin, Asher decline and was criticized for it in the Song of Deborah.
4. (Judges 6:36-40) God assures Gideon's doubts
Then Gideon said to God, "If You will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken, behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken." And it was so. When he arose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece, he drained the dew from the fleece, a bowl full of water. Then Gideon said to God, "Do not let Your anger burn against me that I may speak once more; please let me make a test once more with the fleece, let it now by dry only on the fleece, and let there be dew on all the ground." God did so that night; for it was dry only on the fleece, and dew was on all the ground.
Then Gideon said to God: Now that Gideon has an army, he suddenly starts having doubts and asks for a sign. The sign is the infamous sheep's fleece laid upon the threshing floor. Gideon says to God, "IF You are going to save Israel thought me as YOU SAID you would..." Gideon's flesh was in violent conflict with the Spirit of God which clothed him.
Some Rabbis argue that Gideon only wanted to be sure that it was actually God that promised to use him in such a mighty way. Perhaps, but I must say I fight this urge quite regularly myself. I think I hear the LORD telling me to do something a certain way, but I am also aware of my ability to conjure up my own thoughts and assign them to God. My fear is that I am imagining things, or even worse, my pride is working overtime. I am not sure how to discern it. My usual answer is to ask God to show me the answer plainly in some way. I desire sufficient proof that I am hearing from God and that I am not involved with self-deception. Perhaps this is what was happening to Gideon, but it is nothing to be proud about or satisfied with.
I cannot tell you the number of people who tell me they "lay a fleece" when they are not sure about things. Can I tell you a secret? That is not a good indication of our spiritual maturity. So, we should probably not be in a hurry to let others in on it. People say to me, "I am seeking God's will with a fleece." OK. But that is not what Gideon is doing. Gideon already KNOWS God's will. He is only seeking assurance to bolster God's will. In reality, that is not any better. If one is going to choose a way to discover God's will, my opinion is that "laying a fleece" is not the way.
There is another problem with laying fleeces, and the story of Gideon demonstrates it. When men come up with a means to test God, maybe the results are not all the conclusive or convincing. So now what? We often come up with things that (for the moment) seem like a good test. And then when it happens we can think of a dozen ways in which the same result could have been achieved WITHOUT God's intervention.
Please let me make a test once more with a fleece: Gideon reasoned that fleeces attract water rather easily. It then would retain it. It would not be so strange for the dew to moisten the fleece, but at the some time evaporate for the threshing floor rock rather quickly as the sun rose. Thus, the results he saw in the morning could have been a natural event. So, Gideon decides it is more logical to do it in the opposite manner. He asks that the same ground be wet, but the fleece be dry the following morning. And that is what happened. Now, Gideon is convinced he has heard from God.
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