Judges 6:22-30

22When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign LORD ! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!”

23But the LORD said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”

24So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. 25That same night the LORD said to him, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old. Or Take a full-grown, mature bull from your father’s herd Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole That is, a wooden symbol of the goddess Asherah; also in verses 26, 28 and 30 beside it.

26Then build a proper kind of Or build with layers of stone an altar to the LORD your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second Or full-grown; also in verse 28 bull as a burnt offering.”

27So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.

28In the morning when the people of the town got up, there was Baal’s altar, demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar!

29They asked each other, “Who did this?” When they carefully investigated, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash did it.”

30The people of the town demanded of Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”