Acts 7:48-50

We worship God, by whom all things were made, not the things that He created!

Acts 7:48-50

48 “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says:

49 ‘Heaven is My throne,

And earth is My footstool.

What house will you build for Me? says the Lord,

Or what is the place of My rest?

50 Has My hand not made all these things?’

Stephen upbraids the Jews with the idolatry of their fathers, to which God gave them up as a punishment for their early forsaking him. It was no dishonour, but an honour to God, that the tabernacle gave way to the temple; so it is now, that the earthly temple gives way to the spiritual one; and so it will be when, at last, the spiritual shall give way to the eternal one. The whole world is God’s temple, in which he is every where present, and fills it with his glory; what occasion has he then for a temple to manifest himself in? And these things show his eternal power and Godhead. But as heaven is his throne, and the earth his footstool, so none of our services can profit Him who made all things. Next to the human nature of Christ, the broken and spiritual heart is his most valued temple. Matthew Henry Commentary.

It was David’s desire to give God a permanent dwelling. The danger of David’s request was that some might identify the presence of God with one place, as if God were confined to that location. God honored David’s desire by permitting his son Solomon to build such a house and by filling it with the Shekinah glory, a demonstration of His presence. But God did not live in the temple. The Creator cannot be confined by anything He has made. His presence fills all that He has made. Solomon understood this when he dedicated the temple. In his speech, Stephen emphasized that God could not be confined to temples made with hands. NKJ Bible.

Solomon who built it—recognized that no physical building could contain Yahweh, the Lord of heaven and earth. The implication is that the religious leaders are the ones who have misunderstood the true nature of the temple. Faithlife Bible.

1 Kings 8:27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!

2 Chronicles 2:6 But who is able to build Him a temple, since heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I then, that I should build Him a temple, except to burn sacrifice before Him?

Isaiah 66:1 Thus says the LORD:“Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest?

Isaiah 66:2 For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist,”Says the LORD.“But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.

Matthew 5:34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne;