(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Judges 8:22–28, “Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you. And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey. And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels’ necks. And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house. Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.”
Gideon had defeated the Midianites, who were also Ishmaelites, so the people understood that he was a godly man and they asked him to be their ruler. In the recent past they had been ruled by the Midianites and had no rulers of their own. Gideon had been in contact with the Lord and won a great victory in the Lord’s power so he told them that they belonged to the Lord and the Lord would rule them. Gideon then asked the people to give him the golden earrings that they had taken, as spoil, from their enemies. It is very hard for anyone to believe in the one true God, who is invisible so Gideon decided to make a priestly garment out of gold. He broke the second commandment when he did this but felt that he should. Once Gideon had made a representation of the Lord God he and his people began to believe that the symbol the used to represent the Lord was actually the Lord and they started to worship the ephod, the golden priestly garment, rather than the Lord Himself.
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