But you must not make an agreement with the people who live in this land. You must destroy their altars.’ But you did not obey me. How could you do this?
This is what the Lord says: “I was fair to your ancestors, so why did they turn away from me? Your ancestors worshiped useless idols and became useless themselves.
It is time for judgment to begin with God’s family. And if that judging begins with us, what will happen to those people who do not obey the Good News of God?
So the Lord became angry with the Israelites. He said, “These people have broken the agreement I made with their ancestors. They have not listened to me.
Gideon used the gold to make a holy vest, which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. But all the Israelites were unfaithful to God and worshiped it, so it became a trap for Gideon and his family.