Acts 7:41 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands.

NIV: That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and reveled in what their own hands had made.

NASB: At that time they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands.

CSB: They even made a calf in those days, offered sacrifice to the idol, and were celebrating what their hands had made.

NLT: So they made an idol shaped like a calf, and they sacrificed to it and celebrated over this thing they had made.

KJV: And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

NKJV: And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

Stephen is comparing the Jews in Jerusalem who refuse to see the truth about Jesus to the Israelites at Mount Sinai who refused to accept the truth about God.

Weeks after their escape from Egypt, the Israelites had gathered around the base of Mount Sinai and trembled in fear in the presence of the God who had rescued them (Exodus 19:16–19). When Moses spent forty days on the mountaintop receiving the Law from God, however, the people grew restless and demanded Aaron, the man God had chosen to be His high priest, to make an idol. Aaron did so, and the people proclaimed, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!" (Exodus 32:4). Aaron built an altar in front of it and declared a feast the next day (Exodus 32:5–6).

The irony is intense. While the Israelites were worshiping the calf, God was giving Moses instructions on how to build the tabernacle, the implements for worship, and the sacred articles for the priests who would lead the worship (Exodus 25—31). God even ordained two artists, Oholiab and Bezalel, to make the more intricate pieces by hand (Exodus 31:1–11).

Multiple generations later, the Jews do not worship pagan gods. They do not make idols of living things and claim to revere them (Romans 1:21–23). Instead, they effectively worship the Law, the man who gave them the Law, and the temple. Like the golden calf, the temple was made with human hands, in cooperation with the high priest. As the Israelites had looked back to their past in Egypt for something to worship, so the Jews look back to the golden ideal of worship at the temple. Both groups missed that God was calling them to more: a renewed relationship with Him and a greater faith that would lead to greater freedom.

Acts 7:39–43 records Stephen reminding his accusers that the Jews they claim to follow have a long history of idolatry. Stephen, a Jewish deacon of the early church in Jerusalem, is defending himself against false charges that he disrespects Moses, the Mosaic law, and the temple (Acts 6:8–15). He shows that throughout history, God has met the Jews without the Law, which the Israelites never satisfactorily followed, or the temple, which God allowed but never requested. Like those long-ago Israelites, Stephen's accusers have fallen into idolatry, although instead of foreign gods, they worship Moses, the Law, and the temple.

Stephen is a Greek-speaking Jewish Christian and one of the first deacons in the church in Jerusalem (Acts 6:1–7). He's also a skilled apologist and has been debating Jews from outside Judea about the proper place of the Mosaic law and the temple (Acts 6:8–15). His opponents cannot counter his arguments so they resort to lies. They tell the Sanhedrin that Stephen wants to destroy the temple and repeal the Mosaic law. Stephen counters that his accusers don't respect Moses or the Law, and the temple isn't necessary to worship God. This enrages the mob, and Stephen is stoned, becoming the first Christian martyr.

Chapter 7 is one of the pivot points of the book of Acts. Until recently, the early church has seen favor from the people and indifference from the Sanhedrin. Now, the Sanhedrin has beaten the apostles and ordered them not to preach about Jesus (Acts 5:40), and the people are starting to realize how different Christianity is. In Jerusalem, a Hellenist Jewish Jesus-follower named Stephen has been in a debate with other foreign Jews who finally accuse him of wishing to destroy the temple, like Jesus (Acts 6:8–15). This is Stephen's defense, which leads to his death and the introduction of Paul.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.