Tuesday Acts 7:44-50

Stephen recounts the history of the temple.

Click here for an online Bible. Acts 7:44-50

Stephen really starts poking the religious leaders in the eye here. He quickly reviews the history of the temple. God gave Moses the instructions for building the tabernacle. It was the portable shelter for the ark of the covenant. It was the place were Moses went in to meet with God. Solomon built the permanent temple with God’s permission.

Stephen is not criticizing the temple or the worship associated with the temple. He is criticizing the attitude adopted by the people. The Jews did not teach that God lived in the temple, but people had seemed to adopt that idea. This is what Stephen is denouncing. God does not live in houses build by people. From His vantage point, the earth is like His footstool.

This idea is nothing new, the people had the same attitude about the ark of the covenant. They believed that it was endowed with power from God. When the war with the Philistines was not going well, they brought the ark out to the front lines and to their embarrassment, it was captured by the Philistines.

The same problem exists today. How many times have you heard a church building referred to as the “house of God?” How many times have you heard parents tell their children not to run in God’s house? We often adopt the attitude that we are going to church to meet God. Two problems there. One – it reduces God to being in a location. Two – we don’t go to church, we are the church.

Our faith is not in religion, it is in God. Our faith is not centered on a building, it is centered on a person – Christ.