NOTES for Суд 8:1-35
Unfortunately, resistance to the Lord appears not only in the camp of the pagans. The war against the invaders is still continuing, but internecine conflicts are already beginning among the Israelites themselves. In essence, a considerable number of the Israelites became like the pagans and began once again to fall away from the Lord during Gideon's own lifetime; after his death, the process merely reached its conclusion.
When Gideon dealt harshly with his Israelite opponents, he acted in accordance with the customary mores of his time. But when he refused to rule over the people, he acted contrary to those mores, and Gideon's humility was revealed in this deed. Gideon's piety was also manifested when he donated the spoils of war for an ephod, a priestly garment. Alas, the shrine in Ophrah for which the ephod was made later became pagan. Apparently sacrifices to Baal were offered in this ephod, which is why disapproval sounds in this part of the biblical narrative.