In this passage, Gideon leads his forces against the Midianites, who are camped in the valley near the hill of Moreh. The Lord then directs Gideon - twice - to reduce the size of his army. With a remnant of 300 men, Gideon now faces an opposing force with camels that are more numerous than the grains of sand on a beach. Yet the Lord enables Gideon to achieve a great victory, as the Midianites begin fighting each other; the Ephraimites join Gideon in pursuing the fleeing Midianites, and they kill Oreb and Zeeb - two Midianite leaders.
It is apparent that God engages in psychological warfare in this passage. In verse 13, He causes one Midianite to have an ominous dream; in verse 14, He causes another Midianite to interpret that dream by linking it with His impending victory. Not only this, but He throws the Midianite forces into a panic; possibly He causes them to believe that Gideon has more than 300 men at his disposal. Indeed, the Lord Himself has numerous weapons at His disposal, including shock and fear.
2. Zebah and Zalmunna
In this passage, the men of Succoth refuse to support Gideon in his pursuit of Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian. The men of Peniel also rebuff Gideon, and so he vows revenge on Succoth and Peniel. He then leads a successful ambush of Zebah and Zalmunna, routing their forces. Next, he exacts his revenge on Succoth and Peniel. The passage closes by noting that Gideon kills Zebah and Zalmunna, and he takes the ornaments that hang on their camels' necks.
This is a rather brutal and nasty passage that I had trouble reading. In particular, I definitely did not envy the fate of the men of Succoth; getting beaten with whips made of desert thorns and briers sounds painful and reminds me of a certain Mel Gibson film. Also, I definitely empathized with Jether, the son of Gideon, who he commanded to kill Zebah and Zalmunna. If I had been in Jether's shoes, I would have lacked the strength to draw my sword and stab both of these kings to death.
3. Gideon's Ephod
In this passage, the Israelites encourage Gideon to be their king after his great victory over Midian. Gideon refuses, though, and he states that the Lord will be their king. Yet he then asks each of them to give him an earring from their plunder of Midian. With these earrings he makes an ephod and places it in his hometown of Ophrah; the Israelites end up worshiping this ephod.
It is clear that Gideon, in spite of his victory over Midian, did not remove the inherent sinfulness that plagued the Israelites. They looked to him - instead of God - as their leader, and they were so depraved that they even worshiped the (mere) ephod that he had made.
4. Gideon's Death
In this passage, it is noted that Israel enjoys peace for 40 years after Gideon's victory over Midian. Gideon ends up having multiple wives who bear him 70 sons; he even has a concubine who bears him a son, Abimelech. Gideon then dies - which precipitates Israel's return to the worship of false gods. The passage closes by noting that after Gideon's death, Israel forgets his work in delivering them from Midian; thus, they fail to show kindness to his family.
It should be noted that Abimelech will play a starring role in the next chapter...
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