The Lord says, “What did your people of long ago find wrong with me? Why did they wander so far away from me? They worshiped worthless statues of gods. Then they themselves became worthless.
You must destroy all the nations the Lord your God hands over to you. Don’t feel sorry for them. Don’t serve their gods. If you do, they will be a trap for you.
So the Lord became very angry with the Israelites. He said, “This nation has broken my covenant. I made it with their people of long ago. But this nation has not listened to me.
I said to you, “I am the Lord your God. You are now living in the land of the Amorites. Do not worship their gods.” But you have not listened to me.’ ”
So he sent a prophet to Israel. The prophet said, “The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, ‘I brought you up out of Egypt. That is the land where you were slaves.
Gideon made an object out of all the gold. It looked like the linen apron the high priest of Israel wore. Gideon placed it in Ophrah. That was his hometown. All the Israelites worshiped it there. They weren’t faithful to the Lord. So the gold object became a trap to Gideon and his family.