THE MIDIANITES PUT TO FLIGHT.
"Yes, we will willingly give them," the people said. And they spread out a large garment and threw into it all the earrings and chains they had, and with them purple garments and many more beautiful things. Gideon made them into an ephod like Aaron's ephod; and this he took into his own city Ophrah. The ephod Gideon made in remembrance of his victory. After Gideon was dead, the Israelites again forgot God, and worshipped idols.
DEATH OF ABIMELECH.
ABIMELECH.
Gideon had many sons, but they were not like him. The name of one was Abimelech. He was a most ambitious man, and aspired to be king. He went to Shechem and asked to be made king over that city. The men of Shechem were pleased with Abimelech, and they attended to what he said, and gave him much gold, promising to make him king.
Then he went home to Ophrah, and, cruel, ambitious man that he was, he called his brothers together and killed them,—all but the youngest, named Jotham, who hid himself and escaped. Now, why did Abimelech kill his brothers? It was because they might wish to reign too, and he was determined to reign alone.
The men of Shechem made Abimelech king. But the people in that city soon grew tired of their king. He was cruel and greedy and unjust. They rebelled, and refused to obey Abimelech. So Abimelech came and fought against them and conquered them. Some of the Shechemites escaped to an idol temple, and hid there. But Abimelech and his soldiers cut down the boughs from the tree and put the boughs under the place where the people were hid, and set it on fire; so that the people were all burned to death.
Then Abimelech went to a city named Thebez, and tried to take it. The people in Thebez had gone up to a high, strong tower. Abimelech was under the tower fighting against it, when a woman on the top of the tower took a large mill-stone and threw it down upon Abimelech's head. Abimelech was severely crushed by the stone. When he knew he must soon die, he cried to a soldier near him, "Thrust thy sword into me and slay me; for I will not let the people say that a woman killed me." So the soldier thrust his sword into him, and Abimelech fell down dead.