Gideon made an ephod— As the people in the height of their gratitude had offered Gideon the kingdom, he justly concluded that they could not refuse him an inferior petition; he asked therefore, and they readily gave him, such of their spoils as were necessary to the making of an ephod. By referring to Exodus 28:6 we shall find an account of the ephod appropriated by God to the use of the high-priest. This of Gideon, most likely, was made according to the pattern of that in Shiloh; and as the presents here given are evidently too numerous for the construction of an ephod only, it may be thought that the word ephod is here used for all the appendages of the ephod, the whole sacerdotal dress and service, which Gideon improperly instituted at Ophrah, and which drew all Israel a whoring thither after it; i.e. abandoning the worship of God in Shiloh, and unfaithfully attending this false and unallowed service. Some, however, think, that this ephod was formed by Gideon with the best design, merely as a triumphant emblem of the victory granted to him by God. See Spencer de Leg. Heb. lib. 3: cap. 3 sect. 5.
REFLECTIONS.—Though Gideon met with so ill a reception from the men of Penuel and Succoth, he met with a more honourable one from the rest of Israel.
1. They offer him the government, and to make it hereditary in his family. So affected were they by the greatness of their deliverance, that they thought no returns adequate to the deserts of their captain. Note; They, who have seen the Lord Jesus appearing for their salvation, cannot but with hearty choice say unto him, Come and reign over us.
2. Gideon modestly and piously declines the proposal; though he would serve them as a judge, he will not rule over them as a king: this would be to change the established government, which was a theocracy; and therefore neither his sons, any more than himself, may assume such authority. Note; The ambition of exalting a family is a great snare; but a true patriot, who means not himself but the public, will decline rather than seek honours, satisfied with the consciousness of his own integrity, and desiring not to rule, but to serve his country.
3. Though he declined their offer, he has a request to make to them. He asked the golden ear-rings of their spoil, to which he added what fell to his own share of jewels and fine garments; and with these he made an ephod, either designed for a memorial of his victory to be preserved in Ophrah, or conceiving that, as God had ordered him to build an altar, and had accepted his sacrifices, he might continue it to minister before him, and ask advice and direction from God, though not of the order of Aaron; and perhaps, as Shiloh lay in the tribe of Ephraim, who had disobliged him, he the rather fell on this method to prevent his going up to the altar of the Lord there. But, however honestly it was meant, it proved a dangerous snare, leading Gideon, and his own house, into a breach of God's commands, and proving a temptation to Israel, always too prone to idolatry. Note; (1.) In God's worship we must carefully adhere to his word, avoiding all superstition. (2.) What may be indifferent or innocent to one man, may, to a weaker brother, be a dangerous snare. (3.) From small beginnings arose all the present horrid idolatry of the church of Rome.
4. After Gideon's victory the land had again rest for forty years, during which time he judged them, and kept them, it is to be hoped, in the ways and service of God. Note; It is a great mercy to any people to have the lives of faithful ministers long spared among them.