Samson

Again the Israelites did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord
delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for 40 years. (Jdg 13:1).

Manoah had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. The angel of the Lord
appeared to her and told her that she was barren and childless, but she would conceive and give birth to a son. She shouldn't drink wine or other
fermented drink, nor eat anything unclean. She would conceive and 
bear a son whose head was never allowed to touch a razor because the boy
would be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He would take
the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines. (Jdg 13:2–7).

A Nazirite is an individual who has taken a vow of consecration for a period of time. But in this case it would be for his entire life. The sign would be that he wouldn't
cut his hair. Samson would break every aspect of this vow.
He was extremely gifted and anointed by the Lord but followed his own desires. 

Samson would take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines,
but he wouldn't eliminate the threat. God would use Samson's disobedience to do so.

The Philistines had existed since the time of Abraham and were a constant
threat to Israel. They were completely defeated only in the time of king David,
who greatly weakened them, and they are extinct today.

Then the woman went to her husband Manoah and told him this. He prayed
to the Lord to let the man of God come again to teach them how to raise
the boy that was to be born. God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came back to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband wasn't with her.
The woman hurried to tell him. Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he asked him if if it was he who had spoken to his wife. He said he was.
Manoah asked him what would be the rule that would govern the boy's life and work. The angel of the Lord answered that his wife must not eat anything that came from the grapevine, nor drink wine or other fermented drink, nor eat anything unclean.
She must do everything he had commanded her. (Jdg 13:8–14).

Manoah told the angel of the Lord that they wanted him to stay until they had prepared a young goat for him. The angel of the Lord replied that even if he detained him he won't eat any of their food. But if they prepared a Burnt Offering, they would offer it to the Lord. (Manoah didn't understand that it was the angel of the Lord.) Then Manoah inquired the angel of the Lord what his name was, so that they could honor him when his words came true. He replied that it was wonderful to see it 
(wonderful counselor (Isaiah 9:6)). Then Manoah took a young goat along with the Grain Offering and sacrificed it on a rock to the Lord (= angel of the Lord). And
the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: As the flame rose from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended into the flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground.
When the angel of the Lord didn't appear again to Manoah and his wife,
Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord. He believed they would die because they had seen God, but his wife didn't believe so. (Jdg 13:15–23).

The angel of the Lord was the pre-incarnated Jesus Christ, see Jesus – I AM. 
The reason for that Manoah thought he was going to die was because God
had told Moses that no one can see the face of the Lord and live (Exo 33:20).
What they saw was a manifestation of the Lord in some tangible form (theophany), see God Shows Moses his Glory in Moses; Part 13: Rebellion and Paganism.

The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him. (Jdg 13:24–25).

When Samson grew older, he went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. When he came back he told his father and mother that
he wanted her as his wife. Her parents questioned it. But Samson said that
she was the one for him. His parents didn't know that this was from the Lord, seeking an opportunity to confront the Philistines; for at that time they ruled over Israel. Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother. As they approached it, suddenly a young lion came roaring at him. The Spirit of the Lord
came powerfully upon him so that he tore the lion with his bare hands
as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done. Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he liked her. Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look
at the carcass of the lion, and in it he saw a swarm of bees and some honey.
He scooped out the honey with his hands and ate as he went. (Like a Nazirite 
he wasn't allowed to touch a dead body). Now his father went down to see
the woman. And there Samson held a feast, as was customary for young men.
When the people saw him, they chose 30 men to be his companions. Samson told them a riddle. If they could give him the answer within the seven days of the feast, he would give them 30 linen garments and 30 sets of clothes. If they couldn't,
they must give him 30 linen garments and 30 sets of clothes. Simson told them
the riddle: "Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet." For three days they couldn't give the answer. On the fourth day they demanded that Samson’s wife explained the riddle to them or they would burn her and her father’s household to death. Then Samson’s wife turned to Samson for the explanation
and cried for the entire seven days of the festival. So on the seventh day he told her, because she kept pressing him. She in turn explained the riddle to her people.
Before sunset on the seventh day, the men of the city said to him:
"What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?"
Samson told them that they had received the answer from his wife. Then the 
Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. He went down to Ashkelon,
struck down 30 of their men, stripped them of everything and gave
their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. Burning with anger,
he returned to his father’s home. And Samson’s wife was given to one
of his companions who had attended him at the feast. (Jdg 14).

Samson had already by this time put the Word of God aside. It was forbidden for a Jew to take a wife from a pagan people, see The Book of Ezra and 
3.1 The Israelites are a Chosen People in Moses; Part 9: Provision from God.

God used Samson's character and disobedience. Man's disobedience doesn't prevent God's purpose and will from being accomplished. God is sovereign, see 
God's Attributes. But this doesn't justify his decisions and actions. What a man sows he shall also reap (Gal 6:7–9). Samson didn't fear God, he did what was right
in his own eyes. His disobedience had devastating consequences for his own life.
His main weakness was women which would make him lose his power later.

Later at wheat harvest Samson went to visit his wife. But her father won't let him in. He was so sure he hated her that he had given her to his companion. He could take her younger sister instead. Samson went out and caught 300 foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then attached a torch to each pair of tails, lit the torches,
and released the foxes into the standing corn of the Philistines. He burned up
the shocks and standing grain, along with the vineyards and olive groves.
When the Philistines asked who did it, they were told that Samson did it, because
his wife was given to his companion. The Philistines then came up and burned her and her father to death. Samson swore that he wouldn’t stop until he got
his revenge on them. He viciously attacked them and slaughtered many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in a rock. (Jdg 15:1–8).

The Philistines went up and camped in Judah to take Samson as prisoner. 
Then 3000 men from Judah went down to the cave and told Samson that the Philistines were their rulers. He replied that he did to them what they did to him. They said that they had come to tie him and hand him over to the Philistines.
They wouldn't kill him. They tied him with two new ropes and brought him up
from the rock. As he approached, the Philistines met him and shouted.
The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings fell from his hands. When he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down 1000 men. Being very thirsty, he cried out to the Lord for water. Then God miraculously
gave him water. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived.
Samson led Israel for 20 years in the days of the Philistines. (Jdg 15:9–20).

One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend
the night with her. The people of Gaza surrounded the place and waited for him
all night at the city gate. They wanted to kill him. But Samson lay there only
until midnight. Then he got up and grabbed the doors of the city gate
together with the two posts and tore them down. He lifted them
onto his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill. (Jdg 16:1–3).

Samson was a boundless person. He saw himself as bulletproof. He feared no man, se Fear of Man. But he also didn't fear God as he should. Samson was a man governed by his passion. He had learned nothing from his past mistakes.

His gift from the Lord was physical strength, but he always used it
for his own purpose. He used it for himself to get what he wanted. That he would
use it according to God's will was something that Samson never understood. 
We can do the same thing and use what God gives us, not for God, but for ourselves. We can live our lives as theoretical Christians and practical atheists at the same time, believing in God but living our lives as if God doesn't exist. Samson lived liked that.

Some time later he fell in love with a woman named Delilah. The rulers
of the Philistines went to her and told her to entice him to reveal his secret
of his great strength and how they could overpower him so that they could
bind him and subdue him. Each of them would give her 1100 shekels of silver.
Delilah asked Samson about this. Samson answered her that if anyone tied him
with seven fresh bowstrings that hadn't been dried, he would become as weak
as everyone else. Then the rulers of the Philistines brought with her
seven fresh bowstrings that hadn't been dried, and she tied him with them.
With men hidden in the room, she shouted to him that the Philistines were upon him. But he snapped the bowstrings as easily as a string snaps when it comes near
a flame. So the secret of his strength wasn't discovered. Then Delilah said to Samson that he had made her a fool; he lied to her. She asked him to tell her
how he cold be tied. He said that if someone tied him securely with new ropes
that had never been used, he would become as weak as any other human being.
So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden
in the room, she called out to him that the Philistines were upon him.
But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads. Delilah then
told Samson that he had made a fool of her and and lied to her. She wanted to know how he could be tied. He replied that if she wove the seven braids of his head
into the fabric on the loom and tightened it with the pin, he would become as weak as any other man. So while he slept, Delilah took the seven braids of his head,
wove them into the cloth, and tightened it with the pin. Again she called out to him that the Philistines were upon him. He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom with the fabric. Then she asked him how he could say he loved her, when he wouldn’t confide in her. This was the third time he had tricked her
and he hadn’t told her the secret of his great strength. With such nagging
she urged him day after day until he was sick to death of it. (Jdg 16:4–16).

Samson was so blinded by his sin that he thought he was untouchable.

So he told her everything. No razor had ever been used on his head
because he had been a Nazirite dedicated to God from his mother’s womb.
If his head was shaved, his strength would leave him, and he would become
as weak as everyone else. When Delilah saw that he had told her all,
she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines that they should return again;
he had told her everything. So the rulers of the Philistines came back
with the silver in their hands. After putting him to sleep in her lap,
she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair 
and began to subdue him. And his strength left him.
Then she called that the Philistines were upon him. He awoke from his sleep,
but he didn't know that the Lord had left him. Then the Philistines seized him, put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him
with bronze shackles and set him to grind grain in the prison. (Jdg 16:17–21).

Samson had broken every aspect of the Nazirite vow. Samson's strength wasn't
in his hair. His hair was a symbol of the vow he made before God. Every time Samson did something amazing it was because the Spirit of the Lord 
came upon him. It speaks about the empowering work of the Holy Spirit,
through which Samson was given physical strength to do what he did.
The reason he lost his strength was because the Lord left him.

But the hair on his head started growing back after it was shaved. 
(Jdg 16:22).

The visible sign of the Nazirite vow slowly began to return. However, Samson
was in total slavery as a result of his giving in to sin. He was enslaved by his sin.

Now the rulers of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon
and to celebrate and say that their god had delivered their enemy Samson
into their hands. When the people saw him, they praised their god. They called Samson out of prison to perform for them. When they placed him among the pillars, Samson told the servant to put him where he could feel the pillars that supported
the temple, so that he could lean against them. The temple was crowded
with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about 3000 men and women who saw Samson perform. Then Samson prayed to the Lord to remember him. He asked God to strengthen him
and let him take revenge on the Philistines for his two eyes with one blow. Then Samson reached for the two central pillars on which the temple stood.
He sat down against them, with his right hand on one and his left hand on the other, and said he wanted to die with the Philistines. Then he pressed with all his might, and the temple came down upon the rulers and all the people in it. Thus
he killed many more when he died than while he was alive. Then his brothers and all his father’s family went down to get him. They brought him back
and buried him. He had led Israel for twenty years. (Jdg 16:23–31).

Samson had received several benefits from God:

• Godly parents.
• A calling of his life to live his life for God.
• An amazing physical strength as a gift from God.

Despite all this, he ignored God and simple lived a life to please himself. He was
a man of faith (Heb 11:32–34), but became blind and a slave to his enemies. 
God had a purpose for his life, but he didn't try to find out what it was.
We need to take the time and ask God what his purpose is for our lives. All of us have gifts and talents that we can use for God. It's never too late to do so. 

For information on other judges, see The Book of Judges.

Jephthah the Judge

The Israelites again did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served Baals,
the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and Philistia. (Jdg 10:6).

Because the Israelites forsook the Lord and no longer served him, he became angry with them. He sold them into
the hands of the Philistines and the
Ammonites, who shattered and crushed them. For 18 years they oppressed
all the Israelites on the east side
of the Jordan in Gilead, the land
of the Amorites. The Ammonites 
also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim; Israel was in great distress. (Jdg 10:7–9).

Then the Israelites cried out
to the Lord, confessed their sin:
they forsook their God
and served Baals. The Lord replied
that he would no longer
save them. (Jdg 10:10–14).

The Israelites then said that the Lord could do with them what he thought best,
but they needed to be rescued. They got rid of their foreign gods and began 
to serve the Lord. The Lord could bear Israel's misery no longer. (Jdg 10:15–16).

That the Israelites got rid of their foreign gods indicated that this time
it was a godly sorrow, a true repentance. To repent is to turn
and go the other way. It literally means a change of mind.

Idolatry seems to crop up at times of easiness. Disobedience always comes out
after a time of rest. This results in the Lord opening up difficult times for the people. After a period of hardship, the people begin to cry out to the Lord.
We as Christians can act in the same way.

When the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, the Israelites gathered and camped at Mizpah. The leaders of the people of Gilead told each other that whoever took the lead in attacking the Ammonites would be head of all
who lived in Gilead. (Jdg 10:17–18).

Jephthah, a Gileadite, was a mighty warrior. His mother was a prostitute. His father had a legal wife who bore him sons. When they grew up, they said that he won't inherit their common father, and drove Jephthah away because he was the son
of another woman. Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a gang of scoundrels gathered around him and followed him. (Jdg 11:1–3).

Some time later, when the Ammonites were fighting Israel, the elders of Gilead
went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. They asked him to be their commander, so that they could fight the Ammonites. He would then be the head of all those
who lived in Gilead. The Lord was witness to this promise.
Jephthah became head and commander over them. (Jdg 11:4–11).

Then Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king asking why he attacked
his land. The king replied that they wanted to get back the land that the Israelites had taken from them. Jephthah said that it was the God of Israel who had driven
the Amorites from his people Israel. Whatever the Lord had given them
they would possess. (Jdg 11:12–28).

The Ammonites wanted back the land that had been given to the tribe of Reuben,
the tribe of Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh, see Joshua.

Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead. From there he advanced against the Ammonites.
Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: If the Lord gave the Ammonites into his hands, everything that came out of the door of his house to meet him when he returned triumphant from the Ammonites would be the Lord’s, and he would offer it
as a Burnt Offering. Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hand. When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah,
his daughter came out and celebrated the victory. Besides her he had neither son
nor daughter. When he saw her, he tore his clothes and wept and told her that
he had made a vow to the Lord that he couldn't break. She said he would keep his promise. But she asked for two months to roam the hills and weep with her friends, because she would never marry. He let her go for two months. After the two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin. From this came the Israelite tradition that every year the young women of Israel would go out for four days to commemorate her. (Jdg 11:29–40).

No man can tame the tongue (James 3:7–10, Proverbs 12:18). 
The Lord deplored the thought of human sacrifice 
(Lev 18:21, 20:1–5, Deu 12:31, Jer 7:31, Jdg 21:25).
According to the Mosaic Laws, a vow of this kind could be replaced 
by an animal sacrifice (Lev 5:4–6, 27:1–8), see Sin Offering
in Moses; Part 14: Sacrifice System. But apparently Jephthah wasn't aware of this.
He had also gained the victory without having to make this vow. For detailed information, see the video Why did Jephthah Sacrifice His Only Daughter to the Lord?

Jephthah's boldness and leadership ability were ultimately not balanced by wisdom. He foolishly made this devastating vow to the Lord (Proverbs 20:25, Num 30:2
(3 in some translations)). We are not to take an oath at all
(Mat 5:33–37, James 5:12).

The Ephraimites asked Jephthah why he went to fight the Ammonites 
without calling for them. They should burn his house down over him because of that. Jephthah replied that he and his people were engaged in a great struggle with the Ammonites, and though he called them, they didn't deliver him from their hand. When he saw that they wouldn’t help, he fought the Ammonites,
and the Lord gave him the victory over them. (Jdg 12:1–3).

The Ephraimites had previously made a similar complaint to Gideon,
see Gideon and Abimelech. Now they did it again. Gideon solved it by flattery.
Jephthah handled it badly and it ended in a battle between his clan and the Ephraimites, a battle that should have been avoided, they were all Israelites.

Jephthah called together the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim.
The Gileadites struck them because the Ephraimites had said that the Gileadites
were renegades from Ephraim and Manasseh. The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim. Whenever a survivor of Ephraim asked to come over, the men of Gilead asked him whether he was an Ephraimite. If he said no, they asked him to say "Shibboleth".  If he said "Sibboleth" because he couldn't pronounce the word correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan.
42,000 Ephraimites were killed at that time.  (Jdg 12:4–6).

They died because of jealousy and pride.

Jephthah led Israel for six years until he died (Jdg 12:7). 

For information on other judges, see The Book of Judges.

Gideon and Abimelech

Gideon:

The Israelites did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. Because Midian's power 
was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves, and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other eastern peoples invaded the country. They encamped
in the land and destroyed the crops as far as Gaza and didn't spare anything alive
for Israel, neither sheep, nor cattle, nor donkeys. Midian impoverished
the Israelites so that they cried out to the Lord for help. The Lord sent
a prophet to Israel, who said that that the Lord had warned them for worshipping
the gods of the nations around them, but they hadn't listened. (Jdg 6:1–10).

When it says that the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, it means
that they began to worship the gods of the Canaanites. God had left these people as a test to see how willing the Israelites were to obey him. It resulted again and again that the Israelites adopted the pagan ways of the peoples around them. The Israelites were unfaithful to the Old Covenant under
which they lived. This is an example for us Christians living under the New Covenant of what happens when we compromise God's Word. Eventually we will see
ourselves in bondage. This also happened to the Israelites for seven years.

The angel of the Lord, who is also called the Lord, appeared to Gideon and said
that the Lord was with him and that he was a mighty warrior. The Lord said so
he would go in the strength he had and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Gideon replied that his clan was the weakest in Manasseh, and that
he was the least in his family. The Lord replied that he would be with him 
and that he would strike down all the Midianites without leaving anyone alive.
Gideon replied that he wanted a sign. Gideon prepared a young goat
and unleavened bread and offered them to him. The angel of God
touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff
that was in his hand. The fire consumed the meat and the bread,
and the angel of the Lord disappeared. Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it: "The Lord Is Peace". (Jdg 6:11–24).

Since the angel of the Lord also is called the Lord, it must be someone in the Trinity. It was probably the pre-incarnated Jesus Christ, see Jesus – I AM. Gideon wanted
a sign to believe. He didn't think highly of himself or his clan to be used by God.

That same night the Lord told him; to take the second bull from his father’s herd,
the one seven years old, to tear down his father’s altar to Baal and to cut down
the Asherah pole beside it. Then he would build an altar to the Lord on top
of this height. He would use the wood of the Asherah pole that he had cut down
and offer the second bull as a burnt offering. Gideon took ten of his servants
and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was afraid of his family 
and the people of the city, he did it at night rather than during the day.
In the morning the people asked each other who had done it. When they examined it, they were told that it was Gideon. The people of the city demanded that his father took his son out and that he must die because of what he had done. But his father replied that if Baal is truly a god he could defend himself. (Jdg 6:25–32).

Gideon did it at night because he was afraid for his family. This shows
that he wasn't strong in himself but depended on the Lord's strength.
God uses what is weak and makes it strong in him.

All the Midianites, Amalekites, and other eastern peoples joined forces
and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.
The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, he blew the trumpet,
and called the Abiezrites to follow him. He sent messengers
throughout all Manasseh and called them to arms,
and also to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali,
so that they also went up to meet them. (Jdg 6:33–35).

Gideon said to God that if he wanted to save Israel by his hand as God had promised, behold: He would put a a fleece of wool on the threshing floor.
If there was only dew on the skin and all the ground was dry, then he
would know that he would save Israel by his hand. That happened too.
Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew,
a bowlful of water. Then Gideon said to God that he would allow him one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground
be covered with dew. That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry;
all the ground was covered with dew. (Jdg 6:36–40).

This shows a bit of Gideon's character. He wanted to be absolutely sure that God really wanted to use him to save Israel from the Midianites. Gideon who was a man who fought against fear and unbelief, a man of mediocrity for the most part,
was called by God to be powerfully used to save Israel. Gideon wasn't a strong man in himself and not in his own eyes, and therefore God could use him for his purpose.

Early in the morning, Gideon and all his men men gathered together with
the Midianite camp north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. The Lord told Gideon that he had too many men. Israel would boast to God if he delivered Midian into their hands, and would say that it was their own strength that rescued them from the Midianites. He who trembled with fear should therefore turn back
and leave Mount Gilead. 22,000 men left, while 10,000 remained. But the Lord told Gideon that there were still too many men. Gideon should separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog laps from those who kneel to drink. 300
of them drank from cupped hands and lapped like dogs. All the others knelt down to drink. The Lord told Gideon that he would deliver the Midianites into his hands with the 300 men. Everyone else would go home. Gideon did so. (Jdg 7:1–8).

When you fight a battle for the Lord, you must walk in faith and not in fear.
In this case it should be clear that it was the Lord alone who rescued Israel.

During that night the Lord said to Gideon to go down to the camp
of the Midianites, because God would deliver them into their hands.
If he was afraid to attack, he would first go down to the camp
with one of his servants and listen to what the Midianites said. 
Afterwards he would be encouraged to attack the camp.
Gideon and his servant went down to the outposts of the camp.
The Midianites, the Amalekites, and all the other eastern peoples
had settled in the valley. Gideon arrived just as a man told a friend his dream which was interpreted as God had given the Midianites and the entire camp 
into Gideon's hands. When he heard the dream and its interpretation,
he bowed down and worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out
that the Lord had given the camp of the Midianites into their hands. (Jdg 7:9–15).

Gideon was afraid to attack and therefore went to the Midianite camp.

After dividing the 300 men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside. When he and all who were with him blew their trumpets, then all the camp would blow their trumpets and shout:
"For the Lord and for Gideon." They did so. They blew their trumpets and broke
the jars that they had in their hands. They took hold of the torches in their left hands and held in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, shouting:
"A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!". While each man kept his position
around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.
When the 300 trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men in the whole camp
to turn against each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah 
as far as the border of Abel Meholah. Israelites from Naphtali, Asher, 
and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites. (Jdg 7:16–23).

The power of the Lord is made perfect in weakness. It means that when
we are weak in ourselves, then we are strong in the Lord. (2 Cor 12:9–10).

Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, telling them
to come down against the Midianites and block all access to water in their path
as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. They did so, and they also captured
two of the leaders of the Midianites; Oreb and Zeeb, and killed them. They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon. (Jdg 7:24–25).

Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon why he didn’t call for them when he went
to fight Midian. He answered them that God gave Oreb and Zeeb into their hands.
What could he do, compared to what they did.
Then their resentment against him subsided. (Jdg 8:1–3).

Gideon used flattery to calm them down. A gentle answer turns away wrath (Proverbs 15:1). Instead, he could have explained that 32,000 men showed up
for the first battle, but God wanted it to be only 300; it was God's will, not his choice. God wanted all the glory of the battle and not share it with anyone else.

Gideon and his 300 men, exhausted but continuing the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it. He told the men of Sukkoth to give their troops bread;
they were worn out, and he still pursued Zebah and Zalmunna.
But the officials to Sukkoth wouldn't give them bread. Then Gideon answered 
that when the Lord had given Zebah and Zalmunna into his hand, he would tear
their flesh with the thorns and thistles of the desert. From there he went up to Peniel and made the same request to them, but they gave the same answer. Gideon told them that when he returned in triumph, he would demolish their tower. (Jdg 8:4–9).

The officials of Sukkoth and Peniel were probably unsure of the outcome of the battle and wanted to remain neutral. If the Israelites lost, they didn't want to be accused
of helping them.

Zebah and Zalmunna were at Karkor with a force of about 15,000 men, all that remained of the armies of the eastern peoples; 125,000 swordsmen had fallen. Gideon attacked the unsuspecting army. Zebah and Zalmunna fled
but he pursued them and captured them, and threw their entire army into a panic. Gideon returned from battle. He captured a young man from Sukkoth 
and questioned him, and the young man wrote down the names
of the 77 officials of Sukkoth, the elders of the city. Gideon took these elders
and taught the men of Sukkoth a lesson by punishing them with the desert thorns and briers. He also pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the city.
Gideon told Jether, his eldest son, to kill Zebah and Zalmunna.
But Jether didn't draw his sword, for he was only a boy and was afraid. 
Zebah and Zalmunna told Gideon to do it himself, and he did so. (Jdg 8:10–21).

Gideon killed all these Israelites in Peniel because of his fury and anger. 
He brought revenge into play that went way beyond what these people deserved.
He started so humble when God called him, and have now become
an executioner. Gideon no longer followed God's will but his own agenda
or revenge, see Love and not revenge in The Sermon on the Mount.

The Israelites asked Gideon to rule over them, he, his son, and his grandson, because he had saved them from the hand of Midian. But Gideon told them
that he wouldn't, that the Lord would rule over them. Instead, Gideon had a request for them, that each of them gave him an earring from their share
of the plunder. So they did. The weight of the gold rings came to 1700 shekels
(over 40 pounds or 20 kg) of gold. Gideon also took the ornaments,
the pendants, and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian.
Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his city.
All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it,
and it became a snare for Gideon and his family. (Jdg 8:22–27).

It wasn't Gideon who had saved them, he was just a tool.
It was the Lord who had saved them.
But because the people believed that it was Gideon who had done it,
they wanted his family line to become kings in Israel.
Gideon did the right thing and declined the offer.
But Gideon then embraced a king's lifestyle.
He took advantage of the generosity of the people because of the victories.
The ephod that he made was much more than a high priestly garment.
It became something pagan that the people worshiped.
Gideon's actions also affected his family badly.

Gideon who had been so anointed and used by God so powerful made
such big mistakes at the end of his life. Anointing doesn't guarantee stability
in the walk with Jesus Christ. The anointing of the Holy Spirit is great
and tells us that God is great but says nothing about the character
of the anointed. God uses all kinds of people to do his will,
because he is a God of grace, see for example Balaam and Balak.
God uses people who are weak, small, uneducated, and unpopular.
Just because God chooses someone to do something powerful,
it doesn't mean that this person's walk with the Lord is even good.

Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and didn't raise his head again. During Gideon’s lifetime, the land had peace for 40 years. (Jdg 8:28).

This was the last time in The Book of Judges that they had such peace.

Gideon had 70 sons of his own, for he had many wives. His concubine who lived
in Shechem also bore him a son whom he named Abimelech. (Jdg 8:29–31).

Having several concubines was a status symbol of power and authority in the East
at that time, and was among kings. Gideon even had a concubine in Shechem 
which wasn't an Israeli city but a Canaanite city. He rejected the title of king,
but wanted the prestige, wealth, women, pleasure, and power of a king.

Gideon died at a good old age. No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites
again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They made Baal-Berith their god
and didn't remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hands
of all their enemies on every side. They failed to show any loyalty to Gideon's family
despite all the good he had done for them. (Jdg 8:32–35).

For information on other judges, see The Book of Judges.

Abimelech: 

Abimelech, son of Gideon, went to his mother’s brothers in Shechem and asked them whether it was better for them to be ruled by all 70 of Gideon's sons or by him who was their flesh and blood. The inhabitants of Shechem were then inclined
to follow him. They gave him 70 shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith,
and he used it to hire ruthless scoundrels, who became his followers. (Jdg 9:1–4).

Abimelech went to his father Gideon's home in Ophrah and murdered
his 70 brothers. But Jotham, Gideon's youngest son, escaped by hiding.
Then all the inhabitants of Shechem gathered to crown Abimelech king. 
When Jotham learned this, he asked them from distance if they were being fair
to Gideon and his family by making Abimelech king. They had revolted
against his father’s family, murdered his 70 sons and made Abimelech,
the son of his female slave, king over the people of Shechem because
he was related to them. If they hadn't acted fair, fire would come out
of Abimelech and consume them, the inhabitants of Shechem,
and fire would come out of them and consume Abimelech.
Then Jotham fled because he was afraid of his brother Abimelech. (Jdg 9:5–21).

It was a mass execution of his 70 brothers. The reason was to eliminate 
any competition for the role of power and leadership that Abimelech wanted.
The people of Shechem supported this only because Abimelech was one of them.

After Abimelech had ruled Israel for three years, God stirred up
animosity between Abimelech and the people of Shechem so that they acted treacherously against him. God did this so that the crime against Gideon’s
70 sons would be avenged on their brother Abimelech and on the people of Shechem, who had helped Abimelech kill his brothers. In opposition to him
these inhabitants of Shechem set men on the hilltops to ambush
and rob all who passed by, and this was reported to Abimelech. (Jdg 9:22–25).

Gaal moved with his clan into Shechem, and its inhabitants put their confidence
in him. They held a festival in the temple of their god. As they ate and drank,
they cursed Abimelech. When Zebul, the governor of the city, heard what Gaal said, he was very angry. Under cover Zebul sent messengers to Abimelech, saying that
Gaal and his clan were stirring up the city against him. He and his men should come and advance towards the city. When Gaal and his men came out against them,
they should seize the opportunity to attack them. Abimelech and all his troops moved off and took up hidden positions near Shechem. When Gaal saw them,
he went out to fight them. Gaal led out the inhabitants of Shechem 
and fought Abimelech. Abimelech pursued him as far as the entrance of the gate,
and many were killed as they fled. Then Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his clan out of Shechem. (Jdg 9:26–41).

This means that Abimelech defeated Gaal and his followers.

The next day the inhabitants of Shechem went out into the fields, and this
was reported to Abimelech. He took his men and laid an ambush in the fields.
When he saw the people coming out of the city, he rose to attack them.
Abimelech and the bands with him attacked them in the fields
and struck them down. All that day Abimelech pursued his attack
against the city until he had taken it and killed its people.
Then he destroyed the city and scattered salt over it. When the inhabitants
of the tower of Shechem heard this, they entered the stronghold of the temple
of El-Berith. Abimelech and his men then set branches against the stronghold
and set it on fire with the people still inside. All the people in the tower of Shechem died, about a thousand men and women. (Jdg 9:42–49).

Shechem wasn't rebuilt until two centuries later.

Then Abimelech went to Thebez and besieged it and captured it. Inside the city, however, there was a strong tower, to which all the men and women of the city
had fled. They had locked themselves in and climbed onto the tower roof. Abimelech went to the tower and attacked it. But as he approached the entrance
to the tower to set it on fire, a woman of Thebez dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull. He hurriedly shouted to his armor-bearer
to kill him, so that they couldn’t say that a woman killed him. His servant did so. When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they went home.
Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech had done to his father
by murdering his 70 brothers. God also made the people of Shechem pay
for all their wickedness. Jotham's curse came upon them. (Jdg 9:50–57).

This shows how futile this kind of ambition for power, wealth, and status is.
God returned their wickedness to them. What a man sows he shall also reap 
(Gal 6:7–9). We as believers must be careful to not neglect the moral implications
of the decisions we make, and the people we listen to and acknowledge. 

For information about other judges, see The Book of Judges.