What is the meaning of Acts 7:39? But our fathers refused to obey him • “Him” is Moses, God’s chosen deliverer (Exodus 3:10). • Their refusal was deliberate; they had witnessed miracles yet still hardened their hearts (Psalm 106:7–13; Hebrews 3:16). • Stephen links their disobedience to the current council’s resistance to the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51). • Obedience is inseparable from faith; ignoring God-appointed authority is ignoring God Himself (Romans 13:1–2). Instead, they rejected him • Rejection of Moses began early—“Who made you ruler and judge over us?” (Exodus 2:14). • Complaints in the wilderness echoed that same spirit (Numbers 14:2; Exodus 16:2). • To reject the mediator is to reject the LORD who sent him (1 Samuel 8:7; John 12:48). • Stephen uses this to show the Sanhedrin their pattern of rejecting every messenger, culminating in the Messiah (Acts 7:52). In their hearts turned back to Egypt • Outwardly they walked toward Canaan; inwardly they craved Egypt’s comforts (Exodus 16:3; Numbers 11:4–6). • The “heart turn” preceded the golden calf episode (Acts 7:40–41), proving idolatry starts within (James 1:14–15). • Egypt represents bondage to sin; longing for it denies the freedom God provides (Galatians 5:1; 2 Peter 2:20–22). • Followers of Christ must guard against nostalgic attraction to the old life (Luke 9:62; Philippians 3:13–14). summary Acts 7:39 highlights Israel’s history of hard-hearted rebellion: they refused obedience, rejected God’s chosen leader, and inwardly yearned for the bondage they had been rescued from. Stephen uses their ancestors’ example to convict his listeners—and all readers—of the danger of resisting God’s gracious deliverance and turning back to worldly slavery instead of moving forward in faithful obedience. |
    |