Day 1035: It's not where, but how. - Acts 7 vs 36 - 50

38 “This is the one (i.e. Moses) who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. 39-41 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 42-43 But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship; and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.'”

44-47 “Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David, who found favour in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48-50 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things?’” Acts 7:36-50 English Standard Version

Stephen had been accused of teaching that Jesus was going to destroy Jerusalem's temple and change the customs Moses had delivered to Israel. In his defence he takes them back to their 'track record' with Moses. What wonderful thing had Moses done for them? (vs 38)

They regarded all that Moses had taught – as recorded in the first five books of the Old Testament - as 'living oracles'. Stephen perhaps made a subtle point there, because Jesus was seen by Christians as 'the word of God who became flesh'. This makes Stephen's next statement very important. What had Israel's response been to the living oracles Moses had brought to them? (vs 39-41)

They had rejected Moses. Because he took a long time on Mt Sinai, they had raced back to idol worship. They demanded that Aaron, Moses' brother, make them a golden calf to offer their sacrifices to. That initial rebellion became a pattern over the years that followed. So God gave them over to their desires for pagan worship. They worshipped idols, and things like the sun and moon. And because of such idolatry, God gave them up to exile in Babylon.

Stephen then, in vs 44-47, brought the subject back to the temple building which they regarded as so sacred. Initially, the temple wan’t a building of precious stones, but a movable tent designed according to a pattern God had shown to Moses. The tent had been with them when the man named Joshua brought them triumphantly into the land God had promised to Abraham. It wasn't till the days of King David that the idea of ‘building a temple’ came to mind, and even then, it was King Solomon who eventually built it. So the temple building was not Moses' idea. What was the important implication this led to? (vs 48-50)

A grand temple buillding wasn't something God had asked for, or something He needed. Temples were often built on a raised site, and when Jesus was asked by a Samaritan woman whether the 'correct mountain for worship' was in Jerusalem or in Samaria, He replied that the time had arrived when true worshippers of the Father wouldn't depend on a mountain in Samaria or Jerusalem, but would worship the Father in the Spirit, and in truth. Those are the kind of worshipers the Father is looking for. “God is spirit”, said Jesus, “and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit, and in truth.” (John 1:21-24) Stephen had brought his accusers to the great misconception in their lives. It's a misconception of many people even today. It's not buildings and rituals that God seeks, but worship that is in the Spirit, and in truth.