Gideon’s golden ephod seems to have been a good idea gone bad. After a striking, against-all-odds victory over the Midianites, Gideon turned down an offer to become king over all Israel. He humbly refused this offer because he knew that it was not God’s intention for Israel to have a king like the surrounding nations. God was their King! God’s Law said, “You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6), and Gideon rightly responded to the people, “I will not rule over you…the Lord shall rule over you” (Judges 8:23). That was the good news. The bad news was that Gideon requested a “small” financial reward for his services—just one gold earring per person from the victory spoils taken from the enemy. Not much, but it led to a big problem for Gideon and the nation! The desire for gold always leads to problems (1 Timothy 6:9).
The people honored Gideon’s request and gave him more gold than he asked for—about 43 pounds of gold. That’s a lot of gold! He had the gold molded into an ephod, and set it up for all to see in his home town of Ophrah. Now why did Gideon want a golden ephod? An ephod was one of the cloth garments worn by the high priest under his breastplate. Gideon wasn’t a priest. Ephods were not his responsibility. Did Gideon secretly desire to be a priest? Did he have a guilty conscience about taking the gold, so he decided to “put it into a good cause”? Did he create the ephod with good motives, as a memorial to the Lord’s victory over the enemy? Was the ephod meant to remind Israel that it was a nation of priests led directly by God? After all, it wasn’t a golden crown, but an ephod.
Although Gideon’s motive for making a golden ephod may have had good, the results were disastrous. The golden ephod became a trap to Gideon and his family, and became an object of idolatrous worship for all Israel! What went wrong? The answer is obvious. Gideon may have had good intentions, but his idea was not in line with Scripture. Only the priests were to be involved with ephods and Gideon was not a priest. Furthermore, ephods were not to be made of gold, and they were not to be used or kept in places like Ophrah, but only in association with the Tabernacle. Gideon certainly knew this, but he must have reasoned that since his motive was good, a little deviation from the strict letter of God’s Law would be OK. However, good motives must always be combined with biblical methods. Whenever we stray from the Word of God there will be bad fallout.
Beware of Golden Ephods
Beware of golden ephods! Golden ephods can be projects or ministries or anything that is done “for the Lord,” but is out of line with His Word. Whether it be elaborate buildings or fund-raising projects or even ideas for new ministries, beware of creating a golden ephod! The motives behind golden ephods may range all the way from a genuine spiritual desire to serve the people of God to secret selfish agendas. So be careful! Make sure the ideas line up with Scripture. Otherwise, in the future that golden ephod could become a pitfall for you and God’s people.
Remember, too, that a biblical beginning is not enough. Any service for the Lord can become a golden ephod. Take, for example, ministries or churches that no longer proclaim the gospel and teach the Word of God. They may have started out on a solid biblical foundation, but over the years they have strayed from Scripture. They have become golden ephods. Their assets have grown and their buildings may be impressive, but the ministries or churches themselves have become “objects of worship,” and are maintained because of the worldly human desire for positions of power and pride. They are an obstruction to the spiritual growth of God’s people, and a pitfall for those who don’t know Christ.
Some institutions for Christian education or biblical studies have become golden ephods. Established many years ago with the good motive of training future teachers and leaders of God’s people, they have not only departed from biblical standards, they have even undermined the Word of God by denying its inspiration and authority. False doctrine is disseminated by professors who may even question the deity of Christ. These golden ephod institutions have become wealthy, heavily-endowed spiritual disasters, a trap and snare not only for their students, but for all the people of God.
The Golden Ephod Syndrome
Could your church or ministry become a golden ephod? The answer is obvious. Any church, institution, ministry, magazine, evangelistic group—any service for the Lord can become a golden ephod if it departs from the Word of God in its purpose, principles, ideas and methods of operation. Be on guard! Satan’s golden ephod ideas always look good- but they lead to spiritual disaster! New biblically-based methods or ministries that are scriptural can be used by God and greatly benefit God’s people, but great caution must be taken to keep the ministry on biblical track, and prevent the insidious creep towards a golden ephod. Be careful that the desire for “a few golden earrings” doesn’t ensnare you, your church or your service for the Lord into the golden ephod syndrome. Unfortunately, administrators, pastors, trustees, church members, presidents, evangelists and project supporters can become so enamored with their ministries that they will go to almost any lengths to preserve them, even when they have departed from their original purpose and become golden ephods. Remember, once a golden ephod is created and established, it is almost impossible to remove it!
The biblical narratives of the bronze serpent and the golden ephod were “written to teach us” (Romans 15:4). It’s a serious sin to distort the worship of God and to obstruct the growth of His people by creating, treasuring or maintaining bronze serpents or golden ephods.
David R. Reid
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