“He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest. Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!””
Acts of the Apostles 5:2-4 NLT
Does this remind you of another man in the Bible who lied and “kept back” something from the spoils of plunder?
In Joshua 6:18, the Israelites were told to not keep for themselves anything that had been set apart for the Lord. However a man name Achan, from the tribe of Judah, stole some of the items that were set apart and the Lord was very angry about this.
Something very interesting about these two passages, the one from Acts and the one from Joshua, is the word nosphizō which is an uncommon word, but it is used in both these passages. It means to put aside for oneself, to keep back in dishonest or secret way. When Achan kept back what he had stolen he was put to death and so were Ananias and Saphirra.
Peter points out to Ananias that his sin was lying about the full amount. That he was lying to the Holy Spirit and to God. And then Saphirra came a few hours later and lied also.
I am also reminded of Adam and Eve when I read this. Greed – made both couples hide their lies. This made me wonder if I’ve hidden (or tried to hide) things from the Lord.
Definitely something to think about and pray into.
The thing that stood out to me the most is that that one word nosphizō connected the dots between Achan and Ananias. It is continuity between the OT and NT. The way the two work together to reveal the full truth for us. You’ve got to love how, Jesus does that, right?!?
Until next time with Jesus’ help let’s be less messy and choose what’s better.