Today is the 28th day of April. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I'm Brian. It's great to be here with you today.

Every day, it's great to be here together as we gather and take another step forward in the scriptures.

Our next step forward leads us back into the book of Judges. We have been working our way through the story of the judge named Gideon, which we will continue today.

Judges, chapter 8, verse 18, through 9, verse 21.

He asked Ziba Anzalmuna, what kind of men did you kill at Teibor? They were like you. They said, each resembled the son of a king.

So he said, they were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.

Then he said to Jether, his firstborn, get up and kill them. The youth did not draw his sword, for he was afraid because he was still a youth.

Ziba Anzalmuna said, get up and strike us down yourself, for a man is judged by his strength.

So Gideon got up, killed Ziba Anzalmuna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.

Then the Israelites said to Gideon, rule over us. You as well as your sons and your grandsons for you delivered us from the power of Midian.

Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.

Then he said to them, let me make a request of you. Everyone give me an earring from his plunder.

Now the enemy had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites. They said, we agree to give them. So they spread out a cloak and everyone threw an earring from his plunder on it.

The weight of the gold earrings he requested was 43 pounds of gold in addition to the crescent ornaments and ear pendants, the purple garments on the kings of Midian, and the chains on the necks of their camels.

Gideon made an ephod from all this and put it in Ophra, his hometown. Then all Israel prostituted themselves by worshipping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.

So Midian was subdued before the Israelites and they were no longer a threat. The land had peace for 40 years during the days of Gideon.

Jeroobale, that is Gideon, son of Joe Ash, went back to live at his house. Gideon had 70 sons, his own offspring since he had many wives.

His concubine, who was in Shekham, also bore him a son and he named him Abimalek. Then Gideon, son of Joe Ash, died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joe Ash in Ophra of the Abbeyezerites.

When Gideon died, the Israelites turned and prostituted themselves by worshipping the Bales and made Bale Berith their God.

The Israelites did not remember the Lord their God who had rescued them from the hand of the enemies around them.

They did not show kindness to the house of Jeroobale, that is Gideon, for all the good he had done for Israel.

Abimalek, son of Jeroobale, went to Shekham and spoke to his uncles and to his mother's whole clan saying,

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