Acts 7:47 - Printer Friendly

Stephen, the Jewish Christian deacon, is defending himself against charges that he blasphemed Moses, God, the Mosaic law, and the temple, and that the man he follows, Jesus, claimed He would destroy the temple and abolish the Law (Acts 6:8–15). Stephen is tearing down their argument logically. In this section he points out that Moses had nothing to do with the temple. Solomon built it.

When the Israelites reached the Promised Land, the tabernacle settled in Shiloh. The tabernacle was a tent, built according to God's strict specifications, that served as the center of worship for the Jews (Exodus 25—27). When David became king and made Jerusalem his capital, he brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem and set it in a tent (2 Samuel 6:17). Shortly after, he asked God if he could build a temple—a permanent structure where the priests could offer sacrifices and God could be present.

Surprisingly, God told him no. Despite calling David the man after His own heart, God told David, "You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth" (1 Chronicles 22:8). God went on to say David's son Solomon would build the temple (1 Chronicles 22:9–10). Solomon did build the temple (1 Kings 5—8). And God accepted it, saying, "I have consecrated this house that you have built, by putting my name there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time" (1 Kings 9:3).

The temple was not built until more than four hundred years after God gave Moses the plans for the tabernacle. God blessed the temple, but He didn't need it. Even more ironically, the temple was not built by Abraham or Moses or David but by Solomon. The structure designed to identify the proper way to worship God was built by the first king who drifted from God and worshiped idols and foreign gods (1 Kings 11:1–8).

Solomon built a house, but God inhabits eternity and dwells with "him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit" (Isaiah 57:15).

Acts 7:44–50 points out that while God accepted the temple, He never asked for it and it can't contain Him. Jews from northern Africa and modern Asia Minor have accused Jesus-follower Stephen of blaspheming Moses, the Mosaic law, and the temple (Acts 6:8–15). Stephen has already proved that the patriarchs worshiped God without a temple, the Law, or even a homeland (7:2–16). Even Solomon, who built the temple, knew it couldn't contain God. Moses, the Law, and the temple have effectively become idols to the Jews.

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.