The story of Ananias and Sapphira has always intrigued me a little. I’m sure at some point in my childhood the story was told to discourage lying. Sapphira means, “precious gem of the deep blue” in Hebrew. She and her husband sold property and devised a scheme to lie about the proceeds from their property sale. They gave the money to the church, but said they were giving the entire amount of the sale. When actually, they kept some back for themselves.
Their story begins in Acts 5:1-4, ”But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.”
So what was the big deal? The couple sold some property and gave part of it to the church. This is done all the time, but why was this particular action sinful behavior? Ananias and Sapphira wanted to be like Barnabas who had given everything to the work of Christ. It was a calculated deceitful act. There was no demand made of them to give the entire proceeds of the sale. It was their choice to say that they were doing that.
Let’s pick up the story in Acts 5:5-11, “When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.”
This was considered an act of disobedience to the Holy Spirit. Saphhira was given a chance to tell the truth, but she chose not to. According to Herbert Lockyer in the book “All the Women of the Bible, ““Had they brought nothing to Peter there would not have been any blame. Their sin consisted in surrendering a part as if it had been the whole, and keeping back the other part for themselves. They wanted to give the impression that their all was on the altar, when it was not, and thus they became guilty of sacrilege in the attempt to obtain the reputation of saintliness with the reality of sacrifice. It was an effort to serve God and mammon. Theirs was ‘the double mind”–the heart divided between the world and God which James describes in 1:8; 4:8). Their money was their own to keep, or give in part or wholly. “Whiles it remained, was it not thine own?” Their deceit came in trying to represent themselves as completely sacrificial as Barnabus, but in the attempt they acted a lie.”
Satan is always trying to get us to sin. We are never safe from his influence. Yes we can resist, but the temptations are all around us. According to www.gotquestions.org, “The case of Ananias and Sapphira illustrates the fact that even believers can be led into bold, flagrant sin. It was Satan that had filled their hearts to lie in this way (Acts 5:3) and “to test the Spirit of the Lord” (verse 9). Covetousness, hypocrisy, and a desire for the praise of men all played a part in their demise.”
“The sudden, dramatic deaths of Ananias and Sapphira served to purify and warn the church. “Great fear seized the whole church” (Acts 5:11). Right away, in the church’s infancy, God made it plain that hypocrisy and dissimulation were not going to be tolerated, and His judgment of Ananias and Sapphira helped guard the church against future pretense. God laid the bodies of Ananias and Sapphira in the path of every hypocrite who would seek to enter the church.”
“The sad story of Ananias and Sapphira is not some obscure incident from the Old Testament regarding a violation of Mosaic Law. This occurred in the first-century church to believers in Jesus Christ. The story of Ananias and Sapphira is a reminder to us today that God sees the heart (1 Samuel 16:7), that He hates sin, and that He is concerned for the purity of His church (1 Corinthians 11; 1 John 5). As Jesus told the compromising church in Thyatira, “All the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds” (Revelation 2:23).”
There are lessons for us in this story. The obvious one is to always tell the truth. Be honest with what we are doing and why. However, it goes deeper than that. It is tempting to embellish stories just a little. It is easy to think we are a little more important than we actually are. Our integrity matters to the world. We are expected to be better. The world honestly expects us to be perfect, but we are not.
We need to be praying for God to reveal motives that are not in line with His will for us. Ask God to search your heart and reveal anything that needs rooted out. Confess that immediately. We do not need to give Satan any stronghold in our lives.
Let me know what you think.