Acts 7:46 - Printer Friendly

ESV: who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

NIV: who enjoyed God's favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

NASB: David found favor in God’s sight, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the house of Jacob.

CSB: He found favor in God's sight and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

NLT: David found favor with God and asked for the privilege of building a permanent Temple for the God of Jacob.

KJV: Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.

NKJV: who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob.

In the time of the Old Testament, pagan religions had temples, but they also were free to worship outside their temple; the Bible calls these areas "high places." When God brought Israel out of Egypt, He wanted to focus their worship, keeping it separate from the influence of false faiths (Leviticus 17:7). To do so, He gave very specific instructions on how to worship and how the place of worship—the tabernacle—should be made.

The tabernacle served as the Israelites' temple from the time of Moses until Solomon. It was a tent made of fabric and hide panels, hung from frames and surrounded by a courtyard defined by a wall of fabric and frames. God ordained it, and He presented Himself to the priests there. For years, it sat at Shiloh (Judges 21:19; 1 Samuel 1:3, 21) until David settled his capital in Jerusalem. After David was made king, he brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem and built a tent for it (2 Samuel 6:17). Before long, David realized God had blessed him with a house and rest from his enemies, but the ark still resided in a tent. David asked God, through the prophet Nathan, if he could build a temple for it. God told him no, but his son could (2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 28:1–8).

As Stephen defends himself against disrespecting the temple (Acts 6:8–15), he points out that although God allowed the temple, He wasn't desperate for it. When David offered to build it, God waited an entire generation (Acts 7:45–47). Both David (Psalm 11:4) and Isaiah (Isaiah 66:1–2) affirmed that God cannot be confined to a building made with human hands. When dedicating the newly built temple Solomon proclaimed that "heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain" God, much less the temple he had built (1 Kings 8:27).

In addition, David, the greatest monarch of Israel and the man after God's own heart, asked to build God a temple around 1,100 years after God told Abraham to leave Haran. God did not allow David to do so. Instead, God promised to establish David's house forever. He also said David's son could build Him a temple. The temple was not essential for the existence or identity of the nation of Israel, nor for proper worship of God.

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.