In Acts 5, we touch on a dramatic story. To grasp it fully, let us begin by reading the end of the previous chapter...
Now the whole group of those who believed was one in heart and mind. No one would say anything he owned was his own, but they had everything in common. With great power the emissaries were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Yeshua, and abundant favor was upon them all. No one among them was needy, for all who were owners of lands or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds and set them at the feet of the emissaries. And the proceeds were distributed according to the need each one had.
Now Joseph, also called Barnabas by the emissaries (which is translated Son of Encouragement), was a Levite and native of Cyprus. He sold a field that he owned and brought the money and laid it at the feet of the emissaries.
Acts 5...
On the other hand, a man named Ananias together with his wife, Sapphira, sold a property. He kept back some of the proceeds, with his wife’s full knowledge, and brought part of it and set it at the feet of the emissaries. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, it was your own, wasn’t it? And after it was sold, wasn’t it at your disposal? How did this deed get into your heart? You haven’t lied to men but to God.” As soon as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and died. Great fear came upon all who heard about it. The young men got up and wrapped him in a shroud, then carried him out and buried him.
After an interval of about three hours, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter responded to her, “Tell me if you sold the land for this much.” She said, “Yes, for that much.” Then Peter said to her, “How did you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who buried your husband are at the door—they will carry you out, too!” Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came back in, they found her dead and carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came over the whole community and all who heard these things. (Acts 4:32-37; 5:1-11 TLV)
As one commentary explains, “So knit together were the hearts of the people that they held all their possessions loosely and willingly shared them with one another, not because they were coerced but because they loved one another. Those who sold land and houses gave of their profits to the apostles, who distributed the gifts to those in need. Two members of this group were Ananias and his wife, Sapphira; they also had sold a field. Part of the profit from their sale was kept back by the couple, and Ananias only laid a part of the money at the apostles’ feet. However, Ananias made a pretense of having given all the proceeds. This show may have fooled some, but not Peter, who was filled with the power of the Spirit. Peter knew instantly that Ananias was lying and exposed his hypocrisy then and there. Ananias fell down and died. When Sapphira showed up, she, too, lied to Peter and to God, saying that they had donated the entire proceeds of the sale of the land to the church. When her lie had been exposed, she also fell down and died at Peter’s feet.
“It can be easy today to gloss over the holiness of God. The sudden deaths of Ananias and Sapphira served to purify and warn the church against future pretense” (Source).
With a firm grip on this story, let’s reach for another story. The story we’ll reach for is set in Leviticus 10.
There we pick it up:
Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his own censer, put fire in it, laid incense over it, and offered unauthorized fire before Adonai—which He had not commanded them. So fire came out from the presence of Adonai and consumed them. So they died before Adonai. Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what Adonai spoke of, saying:
To those who are near Me
I will show myself holy.
Upon the faces of all the people
I will be glorified.”
Then Aaron kept silent.
Then Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, “Come near, carry your relatives away from the front of the Sanctuary to outside of the camp.” So they drew near and carried them, still in their tunics, outside of the camp, as Moses had said.
Holding these stories side by side, a menorah pattern is formed where one story shines light on the other story. We can see how the two sides have balancing branches connected in symmetry:
Reading Leviticus 10, we must note that Nadab and Abihu must have been very respected individuals within their community. After all, they were the sons of the High Priest. They had dined with God alongside the 70 elders (Exodus 24:9). They had free access into the Tabernacle. They were no small characters, both well on their way to impressive legacies. Nevertheless, when Nadab and Abihu came to offer unauthorized fire––“strange fire”––they were struck down immediately.
Now this is worth some thought. Why exactly were they struck down? One thought is that they simply entered the Holy of Holies without authorization. This reasoning is sound because we read in Leviticus 16, “Then Adonai spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they approached the presence of Adonai and died. Adonai said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holiest Place behind the curtain . . . so that he would not die.” There is another line of thought, though, that asserts Nadab and Abihu were intoxicated when they went into the Tabernacle. This thought also seems valid because right after the event, we read, “Adonai spoke to Aaron saying: ‘Do not drink wine or fermented drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you go into the Tent of Meeting, so that you do not die’” (Leviticus 10:8-9). It may have been that Nadab and Abihu were drinking, got to talking, thought they had a good idea, decided to bring a spur-of-the-moment incense offering to God, and, well, crossed the line that ended their lives. While both of these readings make sense, I think another reason rings through either way. If I may elaborate...
Envision two mounds of incense on a table in front of you. Both look exactly the same. Both weigh exactly the same. Both come from the same container, and both share the same ingredients. When the mounds of incense are lit on fire, both smell exactly the same. Their fragrance is identical in every way. And yet, when brought before God as an incense offering, one is a sweet smelling aroma in God’s nostrils but the other He finds nauseating. How can this be? What is the difference?
Motive. The motive of the person bringing the offering makes all the difference. If the motive is wrong, the fire of the incense is strange, unauthorized, and unacceptable. But if the motive is pure and done in subservience to God’s Word, then the incense offering is a beautiful gift. This speaks to a principle, which is: intent precedes content, especially in God’s eyes. In the case of Nadab and Abihu, the motive was inappropriate, so their offering was struck down. And because the offering and the offerer are one and the same, the offerers were struck down as well.
What is incredible is that God has a depth of discernment such that He can discern a difference between two fires. For the common man, fire is fire is fire; fire is all the same. But in God eyes, there is fire and then there is strange fire. He can discern the very essence of the thing. If we look over at Acts 5, it is Peter who exhibits such a depth of discernment. How so? Because Peter has been filled with the Holy Spirit! With God in him, Peter now has the ability to see into the very essence of a thing. He senses the motive behind Ananias and Sapphira’s offering. He smells strange money, as it were. So the offering is struck down along with Ananias and Sapphira themselves. (Because again, the offering and the offerer are one and the same. Notice the two of them fall dead next to their offering at Peter’s feet, hinting at the connection between offering and offerer.)
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch adds another insight. Commenting on Leviticus 10, he writes, “The fact is that when the entire nation was privileged to witness a revelation of God’s closeness, Nadab and Abihu felt the need to make a separate offering of their own. This shows that they were not moved by the true spirit of priesthood. For in Judaism the priests are completely identified with the nation. They have no standing in their own right. The whole essence of the priest is that they stand in the midst of the people, and this accounts for their standing before God. Thus, in their very “drawing near,” Nadab and Abihu were at fault” (Hirsch Chumash, Vayikra, pg. 292).
In Acts 5, we see a community who was privileged to witness a revelation of God’s closeness (at Pentecost). It is noteworthy that Acts 4 specifically mentions a Levite who had brought an offering to the feet of the emissaries which was accepted. The Levite had the means to help others, the desire to serve others, and he did so: he sold his field and gave the money. This is a perfect picture of what a priest does for his community. A priest comes forward and offers himself (in the form of whatever he has) to the community. It’s a position of leadership by service. This Levite in Acts 4 is the ideal representation of what it means to be a priest in God’s community. But then there’s Ananias and Sapphira. These two wanted to be seen as “priests,” as leaders who have surrendered their identity to the community, but then again, they wanted to separate a little bit for themselves. They sought a standing in their own right. Ananias and Sapphira were not moved by the true spirit of giving. By withholding some of the money and then lying about it, they are like Nadab and Abihu who transgressed the code of community. And so, although they were anxious to play the role of priest, their motive violated the very essence of what it means to be a priest.
Since we can’t have a menorah without fire to light it, let’s conclude with one more remark. It says in Leviticus 10 that the fire of God consumed Nadab and Abihu. Well what came upon Peter and the disciples when the Holy Spirit entered into them on Pentecost? Fire. “Tongues like fire spreading out appeared to them and settled on each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them to speak out” (Acts 2:3-4). Notice that Ananias and Sapphira fall dead immediately after Peter speaks to them. The text even calls attention to this as it says, “As soon as Ananias heard these words...” The words were an expression of the Holy Spirit, the One who had empowered Peter’s speech. So again, it is the fire of God that consumes Ananias and Sapphira just as it did Nadab and Abihu.
To the community of believers, God is saying in no uncertain terms:
“To those who are near Me
I will show myself holy.
Upon the faces of all the people
I will be glorified.”
