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: (Judges 6:25)
We are not told by what means God spoke to Gideon, but Gideon recognized the divine voice. No doubt up till this moment he had been pondering what course to pursue.
Grove.
Heb. ’asherah, a sacred pole set up beside the altar (see on ch. 3:7). First, Baal’s altars must be destroyed. God would not honor a sacrifice to Himself until the idols were overthrown. So it is today. Every idol must be removed from the heart if we would claim God’s blessing today.