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Chapter 8 continues the story of Gideon and the 4th. period of disobedience. At the beginning of the war with Midianites, Chapter 7, Gideon assembled 32,000 men from the armies of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali. Here in Chapter 8 the Tribal leaders of Ephraim want to know why Gideon did not send for them when the war started. Well, Gideon uses Psychology. He phrases them for the work which they did in capturing the 2 Midianite Generals, and they calm down.
Then Gideon continues his chase after the Midianites with 300 very tired and hungry troops. He crossed the Jordan to the east bank and went to the city of Succoth in the inheritance of Gad. He asked the men of the city for food for his troops, but they refused because they doubted Gideon's ability to defeat the Midianites with 300 tired and hungry troops. "If we feed you and you fail, the Midianites will return and destroy us. This made Gideon very angry and he promised them that when he got through with the Midianites he would be back and tear their flesh off with the thorns of the briar bush.
So he left Succoth and went over to Penuel, about 5 miles and he got the same answer there. By this time 15,000 Midianites had reached Karkor near Jog-be-hah. Gideon caught up with them and routed the entire force. He captured their two kings and took them back to Succoth where he killed, as he had promised, 77 of their political leaders with thorns and briars. Then he went to Penuel and killed the entire male population.
With the defeat of the Midianites, Israel wanted to make Gideon their king, but he refused because God was their king. All that Gideon asked for was the gold earrings that had been taken from the Midianites. They agreed and the total weight was 1,700 shekels of gold ($25,000). Gideon took the gold and made an ephod. (Similar to the one the priests wore on their chests encrusted with 12 semi-precious stones.) This one was pure gold and much to heavy to be worn so he hung it upon a wall in his home in Ophrah, but people began worshipping it and it became an evil thing.
Gideon had many wives that lived in Ophrah and he had one concubine that lived in Shechem. The Concubine presented him with a son named Abimelech. Gideon died an old man about 1140 B.C. and the people soon forgot all that the Lord had done for them. Gideon was the 4th. Judge of Israel and this ends the 4th. Period of Disobedience. From this point on the Periods of Disobedience and the reigns of the Judges becomes a little confused. We have 3 Periods of Disobedience and 8 Judges left in the Book of Judges.
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