In the first eleven verses of acts 5, i am told the story of ananias and sapphira, who fell dead when it was discovered that they did not turn in all of their money after selling their land. i guess i should clarify that i know it was not because they withheld some money that they died, but because they were deceitful. but still, i have some questions:1. was there a rule that said one had to give all their money from the sale of property?
2. why was death the consequence?
3. how did the church continue to exist after this instance? verse 11 says that "great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events." would i have been running for the hills?
4. who were ananias and sapphira? what was their background?
5. wasn't capital punishment more a characteristic of the god of the old testament?
i read some online commentary that said the story of ananias and sapphira is analogous to the story of achan after the battle of jericho for two reasons: 1. both situations impeded the progress that god was trying to make with his people, and 2. both dealt in dishonesty that made a mockery of the holy spirit and god's omniscience. i can certainly see both those angles, but don't humans do that daily? (i mean, i don't, but i assume everyone else must :-) where is the consistency? dare i ask for consistency?
acts 5 is really cool and there are so many more things i could comment on aside from ananias and sapphira. what a great collection of statements, characters, and events.
abuch out.
