God has defeated the Midianites through Gideon, and 40 years of peace follow. When Gideon dies, the Israelites return to their spiritual adultery by worshiping the images of Baal. Instead of an external oppressor, God punishes his people from the inside, the son of Gideon, Abimelech. God himself becomes deliverer, and for the first time, the people begin to see the real problem: they are sinning against God.