Gideon's Ephod

Judges 8

²² Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Be our ruler! You and your son and your grandson will be our rulers, for you have rescued us from Midian.”
²³ But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The Lord will rule over you! ²⁴ However, I do have one request - that each of you give me an earring from the plunder you collected from your fallen enemies.” (The enemies, being Ishmaelites, all wore gold earrings.) ²⁵ “Gladly!” they replied. They spread out a cloak, and each one threw in a gold earring he had gathered from the plunder. ²⁶ The weight of the gold earrings was forty-three pounds, ₁ not including the royal ornaments and pendants, the purple clothing worn by the kings of Midian, or the chains around the necks of their camels. ²⁷ Gideon made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family.
²⁸ That is the story of how the people of Israel defeated Midian, which never recovered. Throughout the rest of Gideon’s lifetime - about forty years - there was peace in the land.