Married Conspiracy
“Woe to those who
go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in
darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?” (Isaiah 29:15).
Most
of the early Christians were on one accord and followed the teachings of the
apostles. They shared their personal possessions with the less fortunate and
met the needs of those in their midst. The apostles taught them about the
resurrection of Jesus, and the people gave what they had in response to the
Holy Spirit’s leading. The apostles did not preach for personal gain but for
the salvation of souls. The Bible says, “There were no needy persons among them. For
from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money
from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to
anyone as he had need” (Acts 4:34-35). The people freely sold some of
their possessions and gave the money that was made to the needy. As a result of
their free-will giving, everyone’s needs were met amongst them.
One
of the couples who promised to sell their property for that cause was a man
named Ananias and his wife Sapphira. They sold a piece of property that they
owned, but prior to giving the money to the apostle, Peter, they decided to secretly
withhold a portion for themselves. Therefore, they conspired to lie not only to
the apostle, but to Jehovah El Roi. However, Jehovah El Roi had seen their deception
and told Peter what the couple had done. The Bible says, “Then Peter said, “Ananias, how
is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit
and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?” (Acts
5:3). The property already belonged to them, and they were not
obligated to sell it or give away any of the proceeds until they made a vow to
do so. When one makes a vow to God, you are required at that point to keep it. The Bible says,
“When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no
pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow
and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest
to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at
what you say and destroy the work of your hands? Much dreaming and many words
are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God” (Ecclesiastes 5:4-7). Could the couple
have felt pressure to sell their property because everyone else was doing it?
Possibly so. Nevertheless, no one made them make a vow to the Lord to give Him
all the proceeds from the land. This vow was of their own choosing, but once it
was made before the Lord, He expected them to keep it.
Peter
let Ananias know that what he had done was against the Holy Spirit. After being
rebuked by Peter, Ananias fell dead. When some time had passed, and Ananias had
not returned, his wife, not knowing what happened, came to look for her
husband. Peter asked Sapphira if the money that he had received was the full
price for what they had received for the property. At this moment, she had the
opportunity to tell the truth. Unfortunately, she stuck to the lie that she and
her husband had conspired to tell. As a result of thinking that they could fool
Jehovah El Roi, she too fell dead and was buried beside her husband. The Bible says, “At
that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and,
finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband” (Acts
5:10). As we see from this story, there is nothing that can be hidden
from Jehovah El Roi.
We
must be careful to do what is right in the sight of Jehovah El Roi, for no
conspiracy will go unnoticed. He never twists our arms to make us make vows to
Him, but whenever we do, He expects for us to keep them. Remember, this
happened in the New Testament at the start of the early church, so that was not
an Old Testament story as some may view God as not meaning business today. He
knows the thoughts and deeds of man; therefore, no one can pull the wool over
His eyes. He sees all, He knows all, and will judge all. Jehovah El Roi pays
that much attention to His children because He cares and loves us. We are his
creation and because He created us, nothing will ever go unnoticed in His
sight.
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