The supernatural victory God had given His people elevated Gideon into national recognition. Some of the men of Israel invited Gideon to be their king and to begin a dynasty of rulers (v. 22). Perhaps they were from the northern and western tribes, had participated in the battle, and were present at the execution of Zebah and Zalmunna.
Gideon wisely refused their flattering offer, but he failed to give credit to Yahweh for the victory (cf. ch. 5). God had made provision for an Israelite king in the Mosaic Law (Deut. 17:14-20). Evidently Gideon believed Israel was better off under the current arrangement of judgeships whereby Yahweh, Israel's true king, would raise up deliverers like himself when He saw fit (v. 23). This was a wise decision, and it was in harmony with God's will.
However, Gideon perceived in his popular appreciation by the Israelites an opportunity to do something that he undoubtedly believed would be a help to his people. Unfortunately it became a spiritual snare to them. He decided to make an ephod (cf. 17:5; 18:14-20; Exod. 28:6-35).
". . . there are three possible alternatives [concerning what this ephod was]: that it was a garment after the pattern of the high-priestly ephod but with an unusual degree of gold ornamentation; that it was a replica of the high-priestly garment made of pure gold; or that it was a free-standing image [cf. 1 Sam. 2:28; 14:3]."181
"The narrator does not reveal the nature of the image, but it seems most likely that he [Gideon] has reconstructed the shrine to Baal he earlier had torn down at Yahweh's command (6:25-32). . . . Instead of himself, an image of God, clothed with the Spirit of Yahweh (6:34), Gideon created his own image and clothed it with pagan materials."182
Gideon made this ephod from some of the jewelry the Israelites had taken from the Midianites. The writer called them "Ishmaelites"(v. 24), a term that described loosely any trading nomadic group (cf. Gen. 37:25, 27, 28; 39:1).183
The grateful Israelites willingly donated a large quantity of gold jewelry, ". . . between 40 and 75 pounds' weight, depending on whether the light or heavy shekel was employed."184Gideon took this gold and had it fashioned into an ephod, which he displayed publicly in his hometown of Ophrah. Even though Gideon had professed to reject kingship, he was behaving more and more like a king (cf. Deut. 17:17).
Whatever this ephod was, it became an object of worship and a spiritual stumbling block to the Israelites (v. 27). Thus Gideon became the first official sponsor of idolatry in Israel. He was doing what was right in his own eyes (cf. 17:6; 21:25).
". . . the expression and all Israel played the harlot after it there(RSV) suggests that the form of worship inspired by his ephod was Canaanite in origin."185
"It is . . . probable that Gideon put on the ephod and wore it as a priest, when he wished to inquire and learn the will of the Lord. . . . The germs of Gideon's error, which became a snare to him and to his house, lie unquestionably . . . in the fact that the high-priesthood had probably lost its worth in the eyes of the people on account of the worthlessness of its representatives [cf. 1 Sam. 1:3; 2:22], so that they no longer regarded the high priest as the sole or principal medium of divine revelation; and therefore Gideon, to whom the Lord had manifested himself directly, as He had not to any judge or leader of the people since the time of Joshua, might suppose that he was not acting in violation of the law, when he had an ephod made, and thus provided himself with a substratum or vehicle for inquiring the will of the Lord. His sin therefore consisted chiefly in his invading the prerogative of the Aaronic priesthood, drawing away the people from the one legitimate sanctuary, and thereby not only undermining the theocratic unity of Israel, but also giving an impetus to the relapse of the nation into the worship of Baal after his death. This sin became a snare to him and to his house."186
"Perhaps it is easier to honour God in some courageous action in the limelight of a time of national emergency than it is to honour Him consistently in the ordinary, everyday life, which requires a different kind of courage. Gideon, who came through the test of adversity with flying colours, was not the first nor the last to be less successful in the test of prosperity."187
"I would even suggest we go ephod-making in the way we ignore God's provision of the Lord's covenant meal as the means of Christian renewal. We plan, organize, and concoct revivals,' seminars, retreats, or encounters, or we pressure congregations to come forward and rededicate their lives to Christ. All the while we neglect what God has provided: the Lord's Supper."188
The final verse in this pericope (v. 28) draws the account of Gideon's defeat of the Midianites to a close. The land rested from oppression and war 40 years following his victory (ca. 1180-1140 B.C.). This is the last period of peace that the writer of Judges mentioned.
