Jehovah charged Gideon to tear down the altar of Baal that belonged to his father and to cut down the Asherah that was beside it and then to build an altar to Jehovah his God upon the top of that stronghold in the ordered manner (vv. 25-32).
Gideon did this by ten men at night and not by day because he was too afraid of his father’s house and the men of the city (v. 27).
The men of the city contended for Baal (vv. 28-31). When they saw that the altar of Baal had been torn down and that the Asherah beside it had been cut down, they asked who had done this thing. After inquiring and seeking about, they concluded that Gideon had done it, and they desired to kill him.
Because of this Gideon was called Jerubbaal, which means “Let Baal contend” (v. 32).
All the Midianites, Amalekites, and the children of the east gathered together, and they crossed over and encamped in the valley of Jezreel (v. 33). The Spirit of Jehovah clothed Gideon, and he blew his trumpet to call the Abiezrites. Then he sent messengers to call the people of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali to come up to meet them (vv. 34-35).
According to verses 36 through 40, Gideon asked God for signs to water a fleece of wool and to dry it. First, Gideon said that if there was dew on the fleece alone and it was dry on the ground, then he would know that Jehovah would save Israel through his hand. The next morning there was dew only on the fleece. Then Gideon asked that it be dry on the fleece only and that there be dew on all the ground. God did so that night, and it was dry on the fleece only.
In 7:2-8a we see that three hundred were chosen by God to follow Gideon to defeat Midian for Israel. Jehovah told Gideon that the people who were with him were too many for Jehovah to deliver Midian into their hand. God charged Gideon to proclaim that whoever was afraid and trembling should return and depart. Twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained (vv. 2-3). Out of the ten thousand, only three hundred who lapped the water into their mouth with their hand were chosen by Jehovah (vv. 4-8a).
Judges 7:8b-25 describes the defeat of Midian.
According to verses 9 through 15, Gideon heard the account of a dream in the camp of Midian. One of the Midianites recounted a dream to his companion, saying, “I have just had a dream. There was this round loaf of barley bread tumbling through the camp of Midian. And it came to the tent and struck it, so that it fell and turned upside down. And the tent collapsed” (v. 13). His companion responded by saying that this was nothing else than the sword of Gideon and that God had delivered Midian and all the camp into Gideon’s hand. When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he worshipped, returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Arise, for Jehovah has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand” (v. 15).