Joash said to all who stood against him, Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? he who will contend for him, let him be put to death while [it is yet] morning: if he be a god, let him contend for himself, because one has broken down his altar.
"There are some profound spiritual implications in Gideon’s assignment. 1. Baal must go before Midian can go. . . . 2. God’s altar cannot be built until Baal’s altar is destroyed. . . . 3. The place we must start is in our own backyard." [Note: Inrig, pp. 100-101.] 