Sapphira
Sapphira and her husband are only mentioned this one time in the Bible, but it is powerful and will leave you thinking. Sapphira is an example of what happens to you when you lie. God hates lies. “Lying lips are abomination to the Lord, but they that deal truly are his delight” (Proverbs 12:22). This should be a lesson to us all.
According to the Bible, Sapphira was married to Ananias, they were both members of the early Church of Christ in Jerusalem. Let’s read about them. “But a certain man named Ananias with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things, And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him, And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye hath agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out, Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.” (Acts 5:1–11).
What powerful words and they still hold today. Sapphira will be remembered for lying to God. I do not want to be remembered for lying to God. God will not strike us down for lying today but we will be punished when we die and go to Hell. Even liars will go to Hell. (Revelations 21:8).
Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit about money. They did not have to give all the money for the land they had sold to the church. They could have given what they wanted. The church did not demand it all, it was up to the individual.
Even if Ananias had lied, his wife Sapphira did not have to do so. She made a choice that led to her death. This goes to show that we are all responsible for our actions and as such will be accountable for them when we die. This also shows a wife does not need to follow or obey her husband when it goes against God. She needs to only follow and obey him in the Lord. Colossians 3:17–18, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.” God does not like to see the death of anyone who has sinned.
According to Wikipedia, Raphael did a painting called The Death of Ananias. Ambrosius Franchen the Elder did a painting called The Death of Sapphira and there is a panel on the late 14th century Brescia Casket of Ananias and Sapphira.
The death of these two people served as an example to both believers and non-believers in the early church that God hates lies and hypocrisy. God loves the person but hates the sin. Before we say anything, we need to make sure it is the truth. We can deceive man but not God. God knows us better than we know ourselves. We need to be careful when we speak. The difference between us and them is that when we lie, we can immediately ask God to forgive us and not have to worry we will die immediately like Ananias and Sapphira,
