Acts 7:39 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt,

NIV: But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.

NASB: Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him; on the contrary they rejected him and turned back to Egypt in their hearts,

CSB: Our ancestors were unwilling to obey him. Instead, they pushed him aside, and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.

NLT: But our ancestors refused to listen to Moses. They rejected him and wanted to return to Egypt.

KJV: To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,

NKJV: whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt,

Stephen has argued that God chose the Israelites as His people outside of the formally-established nation of Israel (Acts 7:2, 34). Later, he will show they worship a temple that could never hold God (Acts 7:44–50) and that they reject God's prophets (Acts 7:51–53), up to and including Jesus. In this section, Stephen reminds them that the Mosaic law which they claim to revere so faithfully has always been a stumbling block to their people.

Here, Stephen is giving the account of the forty days when Moses climbed Mount Sinai to receive the Law from God while the Israelites below pushed Aaron to make a golden calf to worship. It seems the Israelites "turned to Egypt" by worshiping the Egyptian god Apis, which was associated with fertility. Apis took the form of a bull with a solar disk and vipers between his horns. The bull god was not unique to Egypt. Moloch, the Canaanite god, took the form of a bull; the ancient Akkadians had Gugalanna, the "Bull of Heaven;" and even today, rooftops in Peru often have small statues of bulls on either side of a Christian cross.

The Israelites also longed for the food (Numbers 11:5; 20:3–5) and water (Exodus 17:1–3) they had in Egypt. Moses promised the Israelites he would lead them to freedom and blessing if they only followed him. His successor, Jesus (Acts 7:37), promises the same to Stephen's audience. Stephen's accusers claim to honor the law Moses gave (Acts 6:11) when they really follow in the footsteps of the Israelites who rejected that Law.

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.