Gideon’s fellow Israelites have discovered that he has destroyed the shrine of Baal and Asherah. However, they don’t question why Gideon did this. That would have been relevant, since he was appointed by God to deliver Israel. But the people reject Gideon and want to kill him.
Judges 6
30 Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has torn down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah pole that was on it.”
31 Then Joash said to all who stood by him, “Are you arguing for Baal? Should you save him? Whoever argues for him will be put to death this morning. If he is a god, he will argue for himself, because he has torn down his altar.”
32 And they called him that day Jerub-baal, saying, “Baal contended with him, because he threw down his altar.”
Jerusalem
“The men of the city” here represents Jerusalem, which rejected the resurrected Christ. He had fulfilled the old covenant and established a new covenant, but the Jewish people clung to the old covenant and Judaism. By also rejecting the resurrected Christ, they, as it were, crucified the Son of God anew (Hebrews 6:6). The men of the city believe that Gideon should die, while here he is a representation of the One who has conquered death.
We have an altar
The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews says of this: “We have an altar, from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat” (Hebrews 13:10). “The altar” here has a symbolic meaning and refers to the sacrifice of Christ: his resurrection and triumph over death. “The tabernacle” represents the service under the old covenant. Israel, which continued to adhere to the old covenant, has no part in Christ and what He has accomplished.
Fighting against God?
Joash plays a remarkable role here. The word translated “struggle” is elsewhere used to mean conducting a legal dispute (Isaiah 50:8; Jeremiah 2:9) or a trial (Isaiah 51:22).
His actions are strongly reminiscent of Gamaliel, a member of the Sanhedrin, who stood up when they tried to kill the disciples -witnesses of Christ’s resurrection. He warned against this: if their work is not from God, it will disappear of its own accord; but if it is from God, it will be unstoppable and would prove to be fighting against God himself (Acts 5:34–39).
Because the people fought against God, they were “put to death.” The city of Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed, Israel fell into the grave and was scattered among the nations (Ezekiel 37).
Struggle between the old and the new
Here Gideon receives his second name: Jerub-Baal, meaning “Baal contends/struggles with him.” Israel did not accept the resurrected Christ, rejected Him, and clung to the old. It was contrary to their traditions.