Acts 7:39

39 "But our ancestors did not want to obey Moses. They rejected him and wanted to go back to Egypt.

Acts 7:39 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 7:39

To whom our fathers would not obey
But often murmured against him, and were disobedient to him, and to the oracles he delivered to them, and so to God, whose oracles they were:

but thrust him from them;
as one of the two Hebrews did, when he interposed to make up the difference between them; and which was an emblem and presage of what that people would afterwards do; ( Acts 7:27 )

and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt;
they wished themselves there again, they lusted after the fish, the cucumbers, the melons, leeks, onions, and garlic there; and went so far as to move for a captain, and even to appoint one to lead them back thither again.

Acts 7:39 In-Context

37 This is the same Moses that said to the people of Israel, 'God will give you a prophet like me, who is one of your own people.'

38 This is the Moses who was with the gathering of the Israelites in the desert. He was with the angel that spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and he was with our ancestors. He received commands from God that give life, and he gave those commands to us.

39 "But our ancestors did not want to obey Moses. They rejected him and wanted to go back to Egypt.

40 They said to Aaron, 'Make us gods who will lead us. Moses led us out of Egypt, but we don't know what has happened to him.'

41 So the people made an idol that looked like a calf. Then they brought sacrifices to it and were proud of what they had made with their own hands.