After that, the Israelites said to Gideon, "Be our ruler - you and your descendants after you. You have saved us from the Midianites."

Gideon answered, "I will not be your ruler." But he went on to say, "Let me ask one thing of you. Every one of you give me the earrings you took." (The Midianites, like other desert people, wore gold earrings.)

The people answered, "We'll be glad to give them to you." They spread out a cloth, and everyone put on it the earrings that he had taken. The gold earrings that Gideon got weighed over forty pounds, and this did not include the ornaments, necklaces, and purple clothes that the kings of Midian wore, nor the collars that were around the necks of their camels. Gideon made an idol from the gold and put it in his hometown, Oprah. All the Israelites abandoned God and went there to worship the idol. It was a trap for Gideon and his family.

Judges 8:22-27

Have you ever tried to help, and just made things worse with what you did? When Gideon set up the ephod in Oprah, it drew the people's attention away from worship of the LORD and led them into idolatry. He may have had good intentions, but he made the mistake of acting without consulting the LORD. Be careful not to allow your eyes to leave our loving, holy God, otherwise it will lead you and others astray.

Good intentions are no substitute for obedience.

Our Daily Bread - January 18, 2003