Today’s reading might at times seem monotonous, at other times tedious, and at other times, just plain confusing (what is a chapiter anyway?). But when you look at Stephen’s sermon in Acts 7, we see a stark contrast in Israel from Exodus 32 to I Kings 7. 

       In I Kings 7, Solomon is building the house of God (after spending 13 years building his own house). The amount of intricacies and details described in this passage is astounding! The weight of the brass furniture was so extensively heavy that it’s remarked that they didn’t even bother to weigh it! The stone blocks that were used were approximately 12’x15’. Even a thin block of that size would be VERY heavy. They imported the highly coveted cedars of Lebanon. To say that the temple over which Solomon saw the construction was impressive would be an understatement.  

        Not only did Solomon take the preparation of the temple very seriously, he also took very seriously the dedication of the temple. Down to the minutest detail, everything had to be perfect. This was to be the permanent house of God (as opposed to the moveable tabernacle) and as such it deserved to be treated with the utmost respect, and dignity! 

        In Acts 7, Stephen is laying out, in sermon format, a legal argument against Israel. He recounts key moments in their history when they rejected God (culminating with Jesus). In verses 40-41, Stephen recounts how they made preparations for worship. They too used gold and skilled craftsmanship, but instead of being out of obedience and love for God, it was out of a desire to have God more tangible to them. I’m not sure what more they really wanted. After all, God was leading them with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, he had brought them through the Red Sea on dry land and buried Pharaoh’s army, he provided fresh water out of a rock, he provided food for them when there was no food. But all of this was not enough for them, they still wanted more. 

       When we want more than what God gives us, we put ourselves in the place of God. In essence, by creating the golden calf in Exodus 32, they weren’t even really worshipping the calf. They were worshipping themselves, and the god of their own imaginations. 

        In 2022, you probably won’t see a golden calf, but are there other things that take the place of God’s deserving worship in your life? What stands between you and being in church on Sunday? Oh, sure, there’s the big ones like sports, hobbies, etc., but what about the more subtle things? Does time with family take precedence over being in the house of God? If something isn’t to your liking, do you just skip church? Is the comfort of staying home and watching a service preventing you from obeying the command of Hebrews 10 to “[assemble] yourselves together”? You may not have a physical golden calf, but all these things and more can be just as egregious as the Israelites at the base of Mount Sinai.  

         So how should we prepare for worship? First, prepare your heart. If you walk in sin all week and then show up to church on Sunday, don’t expect to offer acceptable worship to God. Second, prepare your mind. If you have a million other things going on on Sunday, especially Sunday morning, your mind is likely to be distracted during worship. Third, prepare your body. That may mean going to bed earlier on Saturday night. It also means actually getting your body TO church for worship! And if we were to summarize those three things, it would be this: prepare your temple. I Corinthians 6:19-20 say, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”  

         Solomon put a lot of time into preparing the temple, but now YOU are the temple of God. Does the way you live your life demonstrate the serious devotion and honor that Solomon showed for proper worship? If not, evaluate your life to see what might need to change so that God’s temple can be wholly dedicated to Him.