Acts 7:46-50

 

Acts 7:46 (KJB)

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

 

(2 Sam 7:2 KJV) That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. David had desired to build a permanent place for the Ark of the Covenant but God had prohibited him from doing so because David had been a man that shed much blood during his lifetime, however God would allow Solomon to build the Temple . (1 Chr 22:7-8 KJV) And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God: {8} But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.

 

Acts 7:47 (KJB)

But Solomon built him an house.

 

(1 Ki 5:3-5 KJV) Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet. {4} But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent. {5} And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name. Solomon was a man of peace and God commissioned him to build the Temple where the Ark of the Covenant would have a permanent place to dwell. In fact the name Solomon means “peaceable or peaceful.

 

Acts 7:48 (KJB)

Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,

 

(1 Ki 8:27 KJV) But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? Solomon’s temple was not the permanent place for the dwelling of God on earth. It had symbolized the presence of God among His people. Solomon realized this as he spoke the words in 1 Kings 8:27. God is greater than the universe He created and no small building could ever hold His being.

 

Acts 7:49 (KJB)

Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?

 

(Isa 66:1 KJV) Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? In Isaiah, God speaks of His magnificence and asks Isaiah what type of house could be built for me since Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. Then He asks where is the place of His rest? God never wearies so He would never need a place to reside. (Isa 40:28 KJV) Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. Psalm 121 states the same principle. (Psa 121:4 KJV) Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The temple would not be a place where God would reside but where He would meet His people and give them guidance. The Temple was also a foreshadow of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Acts 7:50 (KJB)

Hath not my hand made all these things?

 

(Isa 66:2 KJV) For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. Then Stephen borrows the first part of this verse that God proclaims the fact that He was the one who made all these things. God refers to the universe and the earth and all that it contains. (Psa 24:1 KJV) A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. Psalm 24:1 also states that God is owner of all those who dwell upon the earth, which means He owns not only the believers but also those who do not believe and that He can direct circumstances in the lives of both believers and non-believers to His glory.

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