Acts 7:45Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

"This was so until the days of David," he says. Therefore until that time there was no temple, though the nations had already been driven out. Of them he says, "whom God drove out before the face of our fathers."

He said this again in order to prove that there was no temple then. But why do I say that there were so many wonders and still no temple? There was even the first tabernacle, but there was not yet a temple.

Stephen expresses the same reverence for the temple. It was built by God's special favor toward David, though the actual accomplishment of the work belonged to Solomon (vv. 46-47).

Yet, by pointing out that in the promised land the Israelites had only the tabernacle until David (v. 45), Stephen wishes to show the nonessential significance of the temple in the work of worship. Then he states this thought directly and confirms it by the word of the prophet Isaiah (vv. 48-50).

"Whom God drove out" means not by the people's own power, but by God. The driving out (cf. Ex 34:24; Deut 11:23) means the conquest of this land in general. Some of its inhabitants were destroyed, some departed into other lands, and some were enslaved.

"So it was," that is, the tabernacle, as the place of God's dwelling, remained among the people until David, inclusively.

Those who did not know the greatness of the holy thing and touched it carelessly received admonitions. These were intelligible not only to contemporaries, but also to later generations, ending with those seated in the Sanhedrin. For this reason Saint Stephen reminded them of this matter.

The great king also took the liveliest part in the transfer of the chief holy object of the tabernacle, the ark of the covenant. He leapt and rejoiced before it. For this he was reproached by his wife Michal, who for this did not receive great mercy from God.

The sons of the fathers who served the tabernacle could not fail to remember all this. They heard speech about the carrying of the tabernacle through the promised land, from the times of Joshua to King David.

"The tabernacle was carried in the wilderness and did not stand in one place. It is called the tabernacle of witness for no other reason than the wonders and commandments. Yet neither it nor they had a temple. Therefore until that time there was no temple, although the pagan nations had been driven out.

"There was the first tabernacle, but there was not yet a temple. David prayed to find grace before God. He prayed and did not build the temple. Therefore the temple is not something of primary importance."