Judges 8:27

Gideon made an ephod thereof Not of all of it; for then it would have been too heavy for use; but of part of it, the rest being probably employed about other things appertaining to it; which elsewhere are comprehended under the name of the ephod, as Judges 17:5. Put it in his city Not as a monument of the victory, for such monuments were neither proper nor usual; but for religious use, for which alone the ephod was appointed. The case seems to be this: Gideon having by God's command erected an altar in his own city, Ophrah, (Judges 6:24,) for an extraordinary time and occasion, thought it might be continued for ordinary use; and therefore as he intended to procure priests, so he designed to make priestly garments, and especially an ephod, which was the chief and most costly; which, besides its use in sacred ministrations, was also the instrument by which the mind of God was inquired and discovered, 1 Samuel 26:6; and it might seem necessary for the judge to have this at hand, that he might consult with God upon all occasions. Israel went a whoring Committed idolatry with it; or went thither to inquire the will of God, whereby they were drawn from the true ephod, instituted by God for this end, which was to be worn by the high-priest only. Which thing became a snare An occasion of sin and ruin to him and his as the next chapter shows. Though Gideon was a good man, and did this with an honest mind, and a desire to set up religion in his own city and family, yet here seem to be many sins in it: 1st, Superstition and will- worship, worshipping God by a device of his own, which was expressly forbidden: 2d, Presumption, in wearing, or causing other priests to wear this kind of ephod, which was peculiar to the high-priest: 3d, Transgression of a plain command, of worshipping God ordinarily but at one place and one altar, Deuteronomy 12:5; Deuteronomy 12:11: 4th, Making a division among the people: 5th, Laying a stumbling-block, or an occasion of idolatry, before that people, whom he knew to be too prone to it.