The Ephod That Became a Snare
22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, both you, your son, and your son’s son also; for you have saved us out of the hand of Midian.” 23 Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you. Yahweh shall rule over you.” 24 Gideon said to them, “I do have a request: that you would each give me the earrings of his plunder.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25 They answered, “We will willingly give them.” They spread a garment, and every man threw the earrings of his plunder into it. 26 The weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold, in addition to the crescents, and the pendants, and the purple clothing that was on the kings of Midian, and in addition to the chains that were about their camels’ necks. 27 Gideon made an ephod out of it, and put it in Ophrah, his city. Then all Israel played the prostitute with it there; and it became a snare to Gideon and to his house. 28 So Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they lifted up their heads no more. The land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon. 29 Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. 30 Gideon had seventy sons conceived from his body, for he had many wives. 31 His concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech. 32 Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. 33 As soon as Gideon was dead, the children of Israel turned again and played the prostitute following the Baals, and made Baal Berith their god. 34 The children of Israel didn’t remember Yahweh their God, who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side; 35 neither did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, that is, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shown to Israel.
Gideon refuses a crown with exactly the right words, then asks for gold and makes something Israel prostitutes itself to.
Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, both you, your son, and your son’s son also; for you have saved us out of the hand of Midian.”
Israel offers a dynasty, and the reason given is the salvation — the people credit the man, which is the exact error the reduction to three hundred was designed to prevent Judges 7:2.
Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you. Yahweh shall rule over you.”
The refusal is theologically perfect, and it is the best sentence Gideon ever speaks. Kingship here would be a rival to God's own rule, which is how Samuel later reads Israel's demand for a king 1 Samuel 8:7 1 Samuel 12:12. Had the chapter stopped there, Gideon would stand with Othniel.
Gideon said to them, “I do have a request: that you would each give me the earrings of his plunder.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)
The next verse begins with a request, and the pivot is one of the most quietly devastating in Scripture. He declines the throne and asks for the gold — seventeen hundred shekels of it, along with crescents, pendants and purple Judges 8:26. A man may refuse an office and keep everything the office was for.
Gideon made an ephod out of it, and put it in Ophrah, his city. Then all Israel played the prostitute with it there; and it became a snare to Gideon and to his house.
An ephod was priestly equipment, used for seeking God's guidance Exodus 28:6 1 Samuel 23:9–10. So this is not a Baal image; it is a legitimate object made of plunder, set up in Gideon's own town rather than at the sanctuary, by a man of the wrong tribe. The result is the word Scripture reserves for idolatry — Israel played the prostitute with it.
That is the sharper warning. Gideon's career began by pulling down his father's altar Judges 6:25–27 and ends by erecting a shrine of his own, and the second was done with better materials and better intentions. It became a snare to his household — the very word the angel had used of the nations' gods Judges 2:3.
So Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they lifted up their heads no more. The land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.
The formula closes the cycle Judges 3:11 Judges 5:31, and it is the last time this book will use it.
30 Gideon had seventy sons conceived from his body, for he had many wives. 31 His concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.
He refused a dynasty and lived like one — many wives, seventy sons, and a household that will destroy itself in the next chapter. The name of the son by the Shechem concubine means my father is king, which is either the ambition Gideon disclaimed or the ambition somebody kept for him.
As soon as Gideon was dead, the children of Israel turned again and played the prostitute following the Baals, and made Baal Berith their god.
As soon as — the pattern is now running without any interval at all Judges 2:19. Two things are recorded as forgotten: Israel didn't remember Yahweh their God, and neither did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal Judges 8:34–35. Ingratitude toward God and toward the man who saved them arrive together, and the second is the opening of the story of Abimelech.
settled What this mark means