The Lord said unto him. — Luther rightly observes that by such expressions we are not at all meant to understand a voice in the air. It is useless, and therefore undesirable, to speculate as to the exact manner in which the Divine intimation came to him. When God speaks it is not possible for man to mistake His voice. It was distinctly revealed to Gideon that he must be an iconoclast before he could be a deliverer.
Even the second bullock. — It has been disputed whether the true rendering is “even” or “and.” Ewald makes it mean “even,” and explains shani (second) to mean “old” (Gesch. ii.498). The LXX., the Vulgate, Luther, &c, render it “and,” as in the margin of our version. This seems to be the right rendering; for (1) the labour of two bullocks would not be too much for the task before Gideon; (2) a bullock (shor) of seven yeàrs old would hardly be called a young bullock: literally, “a heifer (par), son of an ox.”
Of seven years old. — The Chaldee renders it, “which has been fattened for seven years,” and there is very possibly an allusion to the seven years of the Midianite oppression (Judges 6:1). The law had not prescribed any fixed age for burnt offerings. Why the bullock is called “the second bullock” is very uncertain, but this minute and unexplained detail shows that we are not moving in the region of legend. The first bullock is said to belong to Joash, and we must, therefore, probably suppose that the second was Gideon’s own. Possibly in this circumstance we may see an explanation of these minute directions, and the significance which they were intended to bear. The first bullock had been intended by Joash as a sacrifice to Baal, and is used in the destruction of his altar; the second had, perhaps, been reserved by Gideon as a sacrifice to the Lord when better times should come — a votive offering, which was being fattened for the longed-for day of deliverance. This bullock is sacrificed to Jehovah, and the fact that it, too, has been used for the destruction of the Canaanite idols is a sign to Gideon that the day for which he had hoped has come.
Throw down. — As commanded in Exodus 32:13; Deuteronomy 7:5.
The altar of Baal. — Rather, of the Baal, i.e., of that particular Phœnician idol which your father worships. (Comp. 1 Kings 16:32.)
That thy father hath. — This shows that Joash had joined with other Israelites in the apostasy, which had provoked the Midianite oppression. The words are literally, which is to thy father, as in the previous clause; and the pointed repetition of these words tends to confirm the conjecture mentioned in the previous note. It is called especially Joash’s altar because, though used by the whole city (Judges 6:28), he was the head of the Abi-ezrites.
The grove. — Rather, the Asherah, as in Judges 3:7. Baal, “the sun,” and the nature goddess Asherah — who is often confused with Astarte — were worshipped in conjunction (1 Kings 16:31-32; 2 Kings 13:6; 2 Kings 18:16; 2 Kings 24:3-6).
That is by it. — Rather, that is upon it. No mention is made of the image of Baal. Possibly the sun was worshipped at this altar without any idol, and the Asherah — perhaps a mere wooden pillar or gross emblem of phallic nature-worship — was placed upon it. It was the first law of God’s worship that He was one God and therefore “jealous” against that easy combination of idolatries which is common to all forms of Polytheism. “Baal’s altar must be overthrown before God’s altar is built.”