April 2: Judges 7:1 – Judges 9:21

Gideon's Three Hundred Men – Judges 7

• Gideon and all the soldiers with him camp beside the spring of Harod, with the camp of Midian to the north of them. God tells Gideon that he has too many men with him, and if they overcome the Midianites, they will think they did it by their own hand. He tells Gideon to tell the men that whoever is fearful should return home. 22,000 return home, leaving 10,000 with Gideon.
• God again tells Gideon there are too many people with him. He tells him to take the men down to the water and have them drink. Any who lap with their tongue, like a dog, will be set aside and anyone who kneels to drink will be set aside. Those who lapped with the tongue numbered 300, and God tells Gideon to take them with him to fight the Midianites. The others are sent home to their tents.
• That night, God tells Gideon to take his servant Purah and go to the camp of the Midianites. At the outpost of the armed men, they see that the Midianites and Amalekites are many. They hear two men talking about a dream where a cake of barley tumbled into the camp and struck a tent so it turned upside down. The dreamer's comrade tells him that the dream depicts Gideon and that God has given them over to him. As soon as Gideon hears this, he worships God.
• Gideon gathers his 300 men into three companies and tells them that when they come to the outskirts of the camp, they are to do as he does. When he blows the trumpet, they are to blow their trumpets and shout, "For the Lord and for Gideon!"

Gideon Defeats Midian

• Gideon's men go to the outskirts of the camp, blow their trumpets and smash their jars, and shout. All in the Midianite and Amalekite army run. The men of Napthali, Asher, and Manasseh pursue them. The men of Ephraim are called in to "capture the waters". They kill the kings, Oreb and Zeeb, and bring their heads across the Jordan to Gideon.

Gideon Defeats Zebah and Zalmunna – Judges 8

• The men of Ephraim accuse Gideon of not calling them in for the initial fight against Midian. Gideon's flattering response that God gave the kings over into their hands, not his, and they are pacified.
• Gideon and his 300 men pursue Zebah and Zalmunna, two other kings of Midian. When they reach Succoth, they request food from the townspeople, but the townspeople tell them they must catch the kings before they will give them food. Gideon moves on to Penuel, and the townspeople there give him the same answer. Gideon tells them that when he returns in victory, he will tear down their tower.
• Gideon captures the two kings, then returns to Succoth and demands that a young man write down the names of the 77 officials and elders of the town. He punishes the elders of the town with thorns and briers and tears down the tower in Penuel, killing all the men in the town.
• Gideon asks the two kings what the men at Tabor who they killed looked like, and they tell him they looked like Gideon. Gideon tells them they were his brothers and that if they hadn't killed them, he wouldn't kill them.
• Gideon tells his young son, Jether, to kill them, but he doesn't draw his sword (he is a young man). Zebah and Zalmunna tell Gideon to kill them himself, and he does.

Gideon's Ephod

• The men of Israel tell Gideon to rule over them along with his son and grandson. Gideon tells them to have God rule over them. He then requests all the golden earrings the men had taken as spoils, and they give them over as well as crescent ornaments, pendants, and purple garments worn by the Midianite kings and collars worn on the necks of their camels. From these Gideon makes an ephod (ornate ceremonial garment). He puts it in his city, and all of Israel "whores" after it. The land rests for forty years.

The Death of Gideon

• Gideon returns home and has seventy sons by his many wives. One son by his concubine is named Abimelech. Gideon dies and is buried in the tomb of his father. Right away, the people of Israel turn to other gods, making Baal-berith their god.

Abimelech's Conspiracy – Judges 9

• Gideon's son Abimelech goes to his mother's relatives in Shechem and tells them to ask the leaders what would be better—to be ruled by seventy sons of Gideon or one son (Abimelech). They agree that it would be better to be ruled by Abimelech and give him seventy pieces of silver from the house of Baal-berith. 
• With the money Abimelech hires worthless and reckless men to help him kill all his brothers. They murder all but Jotham, Gideon's youngest son, who hides himself. All the leaders of Shechem come together and make Abimelech king.
• Jotham goes the the Shechemites and tells them a fable depicting noble trees in the forest each rejecting kingship, which is then accepted by a lowly bramble bush. He tells them if they acted in good faith in making Abimelech king, then they should rejoice in Abimelech and let him rejoice in them. But if not, let fire from Abimelech devour the Shechemites and let fire from the Shechemites devour Abimelech. Jotham then flees to Beer and lives there.