Judges 6:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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

NIV: That same night the LORD said to him, 'Take the second bull from your father's herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father's altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.

NASB: Now on the same night the Lord said to him, 'Take your father’s bull and a second bull seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal which belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it;

CSB: On that very night the Lord said to him, "Take your father's young bull and a second bull seven years old. Then tear down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.

NLT: That night the Lord said to Gideon, 'Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one that is seven years old. Pull down your father’s altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole standing beside it.

KJV: And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:

NKJV: Now it came to pass the same night that the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s young bull, the second bull of seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the wooden image that is beside it;

If Gideon thought his interaction with the Lord wouldn't have immediate consequences, he was quickly proven wrong. God was about to make things very difficult for the unsure, hesitant Israelite (Judges 6:17, 36–40). After delivering a command and miraculous sign (Judges 6:11–21), He speaks to Gideon again that very night.

Earlier commands were vague. Gideon was simply told to rely on God's power to rescue the nation from oppression by Midian (Judges 6:1–6). This instruction is very specific—and dangerously provocative. God's orders involve directly violating a false religious center, as well as sacrificing some of his family's property.

The Lord commands Gideon to pull down an altar to Baal and the Asherah pole next to it (Judges 3:7). Baal was a Canaanite storm god associated with prosperity and rain. Asherah, Baal's lover, was worshipped using trees, poles, or raised images. Both objects of false worship stand on the property of Joash, Gideon's father. That these centers of depraved, evil practices were so ingrained into the town makes God's displeasure easier to understand (Judges 6:1). Gideon's family and the people of his hometown were all involved in worshiping false gods. They were part of the reason God had allowed the Midianites to oppress Israel in the first place.

Some scholars understand the Hebrew phrasing here to mean only one bull is involved. Most, however, agree that there are two bulls being described. Then, as now, a typical cattle herd only includes a few bulls—males—while most of the group are females. The first animal is Gideon's father's bull. This is likely the largest and strongest of the herd. Gideon is to use that bull to help pull down the altar to Baal. The following verse shows what he is to do with the second bull, which is seven years old (Judges 6:26).

The Lord also commands Gideon to cut down the Asherah. This may have been a carved pole or image, or the trunk of a tree.

Judges 6:11–27 begins in a town called Ophrah. There, the Angel of the Lord appears to a man named Gideon. The Lord calls Gideon mighty, despite his apparent lack of influence or power, and commands him to save Israel from Midian. After a display of power, God commands Gideon to tear down the town's altars to false idols, replacing them with an altar to Yahweh complete with a sacrifice of his father's bull. Gideon does so under the cover of darkness out of fear of his family and the townspeople.

Israel follows the sad pattern of the book of Judges, and once again turns to evil and idols. God turns them over to the Midianites. These foreign raiders spend the next seven years invading and consuming Israel's crops and livestock. Israel cries for help to the Lord. His first step is to send a prophet to remind them of God's goodness and their disobedience. The Lord then appears to Gideon, commanding him to save Israel because God will be with him. Gideon obeys God's command to tear down a Baal altar and build one to Yahweh in its place. He calls his countrymen to follow him and asks for signs from God.

The book of Judges contains a series of stories with a common theme: Israel falls into sin, suffers, and is rescued by God, only to fall once again (Judges 1—2). The next phase in Israel's downward spiral comes after 40 years of peace, won by Deborah and Barak (Judges 4—5). Israel is punished for sin through the Midianites. After seven years, the Israelites cry out for help. The Lord appears to Gideon, challenging the timid man to lead the battle against Israel's oppressors. Empowered by the Spirit, Gideon calls for his people to follow him, but still asks the Lord for signs. Gideon's successful campaigns are depicted in chapters 7 and 8.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).