Judges 6:25-40

25On the same night, the Lord said to Gideon, ‘Take your father's bull from among his animals. Also take a second bull, one that is seven years old. Use them to pull down your father's altar to Baal. Also cut down the Asherah pole that is there.

26Then build an altar in their place to give honour to the Lord your God. Build it in the proper way, on top of that hill. Then use the wood from the Asherah pole to burn the second bull as a burnt offering to me.’

27So Gideon took ten of his servants, and he did what the Lord had said. He was afraid of the people in his father's family and the men of the town. So he did this at night, not in the day.

28Early the next morning, the men of the town saw that someone had destroyed Baal's altar. They saw that someone had cut down the Asherah pole. They saw that someone had burned the second bull as a sacrifice on a new altar.

29They asked each other, ‘Who has done this?’ They asked many people until someone told them, ‘Joash's son Gideon has done this.’

30Then the men of the town said to Joash, ‘Bring Gideon out of your house. We must punish him with death. He has destroyed Baal's altar, and he has cut down the Asherah pole that was beside it.’

31Joash said to the angry men who were against him, ‘Are you trying to save Baal because he is in trouble? Why should you do that? Anyone who tries to help Baal will die before tomorrow arrives. If Baal really is a god, he should fight for himself. It is his altar that someone has pulled down!’

32So after that, people called Gideon ‘Jerub-Baal’. That was because Joash had said, ‘Baal should fight for himself. He himself should punish the person who pulled down his altar.’

33At that time, the Midianites, Amalekites and people of the east made an agreement to fight together. They crossed the Jordan River and they made their camp in the Jezreel valley.

34Then the Lord's Spirit came to Gideon with power. Gideon made a loud noise with a trumpet. He called the men of Abiezer's clan to follow him.

35He sent men to take a message to Manasseh's tribe. He told them to send their men to join him. He also told the men of the tribes of Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali to come and join him too. They all came to meet with Gideon.

36Gideon said to God, ‘I want to know that you will do what you have promised to me. If you will really use me to rescue Israel, please show me that it is true.

37I will do this: I will put the wool of a sheep's skin out on the stone floor. During the night, please cause the dew to make it wet. If it is wet but the ground around it is dry, I will know that it is true. You will use me to rescue Israel, as you have promised.’

38That is what happened. When Gideon got up the next morning, the wool was wet. Gideon squeezed water out of it. It was enough to fill a bowl!

39Then Gideon said to God. ‘Please do not be angry with me. Let me ask you to do one more thing. I will put out the sheep's wool again to see what happens. This time please make the ground wet with dew, but keep only the wool dry.’

40That night God did what Gideon had asked. The sheep's wool was dry, but the ground around it was wet with dew.