“¶ And it came to passe the same night, that the Lord said vnto him, Take thy fathers yong bullocke, euen the second bullocke of seuen yeeres old, and throw downe the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut downe the groue that is by it:”
1611 King James Version (KJV)
6:25 The second bullock - He was to offer one for himself, the other for the sins of the people, whom he was to deliver. 'Till sin be pardoned thro' the great sacrifice, no good is to be expected. Thy father hath - Which thy father built in his own ground, tho' for the common use of the city. The grove - Planted by the altar for idolatrous uses, as the manner of idolaters was. This action might seem injurious to his father's authority; but God's command was a sufficient warrant, and Gideon was now called to be the supreme magistrate, whereby he was made his father's superior, and was authorized to root out all idolatry, and the instruments thereof.