I have been thinking lately about why Apostle Peter refused to bring back to life Ananias and Saphira his wife, and literally watched them being knocked out one after the other by the Holy Ghost. I have also been thinking like “why couldn’t Apostle Peter pleaded on their behalf and probably pray to God to have mercy on them and then bring back to life again”. I want to also believe that if Apostle Peter had done that, Ananias and Saphira could have had a second chance to live; they would have learnt a vital lesson of their lives from the incident. But all these scenarios I felt as the ideal did not happen; rather, the couples died and they became a form of example for others after them.
But come to think of it, Ananias and Saphira own the property they sold. The prerogative of how much they wanted or planned to give to God through the church from the proceed of the sale relied solely on them. Why should God be angry at them and eventually killed them? In the process of pondering on this matter, the Holy Spirit gave me an answer. He said Ananias and Saphira did not die because of how much they gave or did not give; but they died because they broke a spiritual principle and order that God had put in place in the early church. That principle as it were is tagged “Unity or Oneness”.
If you read the preceding chapter of Acts 5, (Acts 4: 34-37) the bible recorded that as many as owned lands and houses sold them and brought the proceeds to church so that the Apostles could distribute among the brethren. Notice from that passage that they brought everything and not part of it. From here, we cannot totally rule out the fact that Ananias and Saphira had partook of other peoples’ generosity toward the church. I want to believe God was pleased with this system adopted by the early church because truth be told, that is how a church should be and function. A church is a family of God and things are meant to go round in the family.
Forget what we have today in our modern churches, they are clear departures from how the Apostles started out. It amazes me nowadays how modern day churches own millions and billions of monies stashed up in their various accounts and there are many people in the same churches that cannot even feed on one good meal daily. Many churches now even boast of building schools (primary, secondary and Universities) that their members cannot afford their fees. I do not want to sound like a judge here, but I want to believe many churches today are as guilty as Ananias and Saphira.
So, the early church witnessed dramatic miracles and increase within a short period of time because there was unity. I even thought the early church would witness a dramatic reduction in number as a result of what happened with Ananias and Saphira; but that was not the case. Acts 5:14 says more people even came afterwards to join the church, and many more people believed. So, what possible lessons can one learn from that story of Ananias and Saphira? I think you should figure it out! God bless.
