Israelites Press Aaron to Make the Golden Calfby KandD
7:41Acts 7:41
And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
The verse records that in those days Israel made a calf, offered sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. It belongs to Stephen's review of Israel's history. That review traced the chosen people of God from Abraham down through generation after generation in the national records of Israel to Solomon.
Stephen gave it as his defense before the council in answer to the charges of blasphemy against him, selecting the most impressive points of history to vindicate his cause. He spoke it in a clear, thrilling voice that rang through the council hall and held the assembly entranced and spell-bound. The survey showed thorough knowledge of the Jewish system and economy and of its spiritual interpretation now made manifest through Christ.
Through this history Stephen rebuked leaders whose outward religious observance covered corrupt hearts and who rejected Christ. The calf episode shows that the law Israel trusted for salvation had not kept the people from idolatry. It was Spirit-directed testimony to his judges, and its time, place, and circumstances, and the resistance of his hearers, give it its full and urgent significance.
This witness ended in Stephen's stoning, in which Saul participated by consenting and taking part. Saul was a rabbi, statesman, and member of the Sanhedrin zealous to suppress Christianity, who continued in threatenings and slaughter against the disciples until he was stopped near Damascus on the way there by Jesus in a light from heaven, and was converted and called Paul.
The verse records that in those days Israel made a calf, offered sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. It belongs to Stephen's review of Israel's history. That review traced the chosen people of God from Abraham down through generation after generation in the national records of Israel to Solomon.
Stephen gave it as his defense before the council in answer to the charges of blasphemy against him, selecting the most impressive points of history to vindicate his cause. He spoke it in a clear, thrilling voice that rang through the council hall and held the assembly entranced and spell-bound. The survey showed thorough knowledge of the Jewish system and economy and of its spiritual interpretation now made manifest through Christ.
Through this history Stephen rebuked leaders whose outward religious observance covered corrupt hearts and who rejected Christ. The calf episode shows that the law Israel trusted for salvation had not kept the people from idolatry. It was Spirit-directed testimony to his judges, and its time, place, and circumstances, and the resistance of his hearers, give it its full and urgent significance.
This witness ended in Stephen's stoning, in which Saul participated by consenting and taking part. Saul was a rabbi, statesman, and member of the Sanhedrin zealous to suppress Christianity, who continued in threatenings and slaughter against the disciples until he was stopped near Damascus on the way there by Jesus in a light from heaven, and was converted and called Paul.