“And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said to him, The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valour.” — Judges 6:12
In the days when Midian oppressed Israel, Gideon was found threshing wheat in secret, “to hide it from the Midianites” (Judges 6:11). His name, Gideon, means “hewer” — one who cuts down. Yet at this stage, it was only a hidden potential. Outwardly, he was timid, cautious, and overshadowed by fear.
The turning point came with a divine instruction: “Throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it” (Judges 6:25). This command was not about physical idols; in Neville Goddard’s reading, Baal symbolises the false gods of the mind — external conditions, limiting beliefs, and states that appear to rule you.
By night, Gideon obeyed. The altar was torn down. The grove was cut. A new altar was built, and “the second bullock” was offered to the Lord (Judges 6:26).
When the townsmen awoke and saw Baal’s altar destroyed, they cried to Joash, Gideon’s father: “Bring out thy son, that he may die” (Judges 6:30). But Joash replied: “If he be a god, let him plead for himself” (Judges 6:31).
From that day, Gideon was called Jerubbaal, meaning “Let Baal contend” (Judges 6:32). It was a name that marked the death of the old state and the birth of a new one — the moment he ceased to defend the false authority of appearances and took his stand in inner conviction.
The Neville Goddard Insight
Neville taught that the Bible’s names are not historical markers but psychological signposts. The shift from Gideon to Jerubbaal is the inner movement from serving fear to standing in faith. In the same way, Abraham and Sarah were renamed to mark their transition into the fulfilment of promise, and Daniel was also called Belteshazzar — a name imposed by an outer authority, symbolising an attempt to clothe him in a foreign state of consciousness.
In manifestation terms, Gideon’s change of name reflects a precise psychological act: the withdrawal of belief from the “god” of appearances. Instead of striving to change the outer world directly, you take your stand in the unseen reality of the wish fulfilled. As Neville taught, the old state then collapses under its own weakness — it cannot contend without your faith to sustain it.
The Power of a Name Change
In Scripture, a name change is never cosmetic. It signals the assumption of a new identity: Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Jacob to Israel, Simon to Peter. Each marks the point where an individual steps out of one state and lives in another.
Gideon’s transformation into Jerubbaal is no different. It is the public banner of an inward break from the tyranny of the senses. It is a confession that the outer “gods” have no more claim on one’s allegiance.
“If Baal is a god, let him contend.”
This is the voice of the awakened imagination, refusing to serve the old master. It is the Law of Assumption in action — where belief in the unseen becomes stronger than the testimony of the seen.