This verse shows that God’s people are called to put away their idols and trust only in the God who can truly save.
“But Joash said to all who stood against him, ‘Will you contend for Baal, or will you deliver him? Whoever will plead for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone has torn down his altar.’” (v.31)
In this scene, Gideon’s father Joash speaks to the outraged crowd that wants to execute Gideon for tearing down Baal’s altar the night before (Judges 6:25-32). The location for this account is in Ophrah, a city associated with the tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Israel. Joash, who lived around the late 12th or early 11th century BC, responds to them by challenging the legitimacy of Baal’s power, essentially saying that if Baal is truly divine, he can defend himself. This remark exposes the emptiness of idol worship, a recurring theme during the period of the judges, when the Israelites repeatedly turned to false gods (see commentary on Deuteronomy 12:1 for references to the Israelites’ continued Baal worship, Judges 6:25-32). Joash’s bold statement reveals that genuine faith in the one true God stands in stark contrast to the powerless idols Israel had begun serving.
By calling for Baal to prove his own divinity, Joash both defends his son Gideon and unmasks the futility of depending on a god made by human hands. This scene takes place in an era when oppression from foreign nations often followed Israel’s idolatry (Judges 2:11-14). Joash’s words anticipate the biblical truth that the LORD alone is the living God who answers the cries of His people. The people’s reaction is critical because tearing down Baal’s altar was a serious offense in their eyes, yet Joash shows that the offense would be hollow unless Baal himself could respond. If Baal were real, he would not need human vengeance.
This passage underlines the broader spiritual lesson throughout Scripture: God requires wholehearted devotion, and false gods inevitably fail to rescue their worshipers. Nearly a millennium later, Jesus teaches that an undivided commitment to the true God is indispensable to genuine worship (Luke 4:8 drawing from Deuteronomy 6:13). Joash’s insight that a deity who cannot defend himself is no true god stands as a timeless reminder that salvation rests in the LORD alone.
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Judges 6:31 meaning
“But Joash said to all who stood against him, ‘Will you contend for Baal, or will you deliver him? Whoever will plead for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone has torn down his altar.’” (v.31)
In this scene, Gideon’s father Joash speaks to the outraged crowd that wants to execute Gideon for tearing down Baal’s altar the night before (Judges 6:25-32). The location for this account is in Ophrah, a city associated with the tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Israel. Joash, who lived around the late 12th or early 11th century BC, responds to them by challenging the legitimacy of Baal’s power, essentially saying that if Baal is truly divine, he can defend himself. This remark exposes the emptiness of idol worship, a recurring theme during the period of the judges, when the Israelites repeatedly turned to false gods (see commentary on Deuteronomy 12:1 for references to the Israelites’ continued Baal worship, Judges 6:25-32). Joash’s bold statement reveals that genuine faith in the one true God stands in stark contrast to the powerless idols Israel had begun serving.
By calling for Baal to prove his own divinity, Joash both defends his son Gideon and unmasks the futility of depending on a god made by human hands. This scene takes place in an era when oppression from foreign nations often followed Israel’s idolatry (Judges 2:11-14). Joash’s words anticipate the biblical truth that the LORD alone is the living God who answers the cries of His people. The people’s reaction is critical because tearing down Baal’s altar was a serious offense in their eyes, yet Joash shows that the offense would be hollow unless Baal himself could respond. If Baal were real, he would not need human vengeance.
This passage underlines the broader spiritual lesson throughout Scripture: God requires wholehearted devotion, and false gods inevitably fail to rescue their worshipers. Nearly a millennium later, Jesus teaches that an undivided commitment to the true God is indispensable to genuine worship (Luke 4:8 drawing from Deuteronomy 6:13). Joash’s insight that a deity who cannot defend himself is no true god stands as a timeless reminder that salvation rests in the LORD alone.