Sunday, April 9, 2023

Robert W. Wall on Acts 7:48 and God not dwelling in temples made with hands

  

Stephen’s contrast between Solomon, who builds a “House for God” (v. 47) and a God who “does not dwell in houses made with human hands” (7:48) is the very hub of the prophet’s criticism of his accusers (see 17:24-25). Read in the context of Acts, his intent is not to criticize the Temple per se, since it continues to function as a worship center for the faith community (see 2:46; 3:8; 5:12). Nor does Stephen demonize Solomon (or even Herod) for building a Temple to worship God; in fact, Solomon merely realizes his pious father’s heartfelt petition when building the Temple (v. 47; cf. 2 Sam 7:2-7). Stephen’s implied criticism is rather of any theological claim that domesticates God’s transcendence, whether this obtains to the legalisms of observing an oral Torah or following a priestly protocol for purification. That is, God does not inhabit “houses” bound by space and time, since “the prophet says ‘Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool’” (7:49).

 

Stephen’s use of Isa 66:1 LXX to conclude his retelling of the Temple’s history repeats earlier references to Israel’s idolatry in the wilderness, when “our ancestors” built an idol sacrifice by “the works of their hands” (v. 41; cf. “made with human hands,” v. 48) and turned from God “to worship the host of heaven” (v. 42; cf. “heaven is my throne,” v. 49). This intertext clarifies the primary subtext of Stephen’s speech, which does not polemicize against religious institutions (Temple, Torah) but again an unrepentant people who persist in refusing to believe the word of God’s prophets (see v. 39)—Moses, Messiah, his apostolic successors, and now Stephen. (Robert W. Wall, “The Acts of the Apostles,” in The New Interpreter’s Bible, 12 vols. [Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002], 10:128-29)