(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)
“Then he said to me, “The north rooms and the south rooms, which are opposite the separate place, are the holy rooms, where the priests who are near to Yahweh shall eat the most holy things. There they shall lay the most holy things, with the meal offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering; for the place is holy. When the priests enter in, then they shall not go out of the holy place into the outer court until they lay their garments in which they minister there; for they are holy. Then they shall put on other garments, and shall approach that which is for the people.””
(Ezekiel 42:13-14)
“But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, and kept back part of the price, his wife also being aware of it, then brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the price of the land? While you kept it, didn’t it remain your own? After it was sold, wasn’t it in your power? How is it that you have conceived this thing in your heart? You haven’t lied to men, but to God.” Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and died. Great fear came on all who heard these things. The young men arose and wrapped him up, and they carried him out and buried him.”
(Acts 5:1-6)
There was a difference between ordinary things and holy things. There was also a difference between most holy things and holy things. God is not a gatekeeper, but there are divisions and there is a reason for them. Unless a person was a priest, they were forbidden to touch the clothes the priests used when serving. Those clothes had a higher level of ritual purity. When one is dealing with righteousness, you could not be profane. Ordinary and holy don’t mix. It’s why we need a saviour. It’s why we need Messiah. We need HIM to provide us with the righteousness we do not have in and of ourselves – no matter how ‘good’ we are. We need that righteousness to interact with the Lord.
The same God of the Old Covenant exists within the Renewed Covenant. Holy things are still holy. The difference is that Holy Spirit lives within us and the blood of Jesus’ sacrifice has washed us clean, making us righteous when we rest in Him. The early church were not REQUIRED to give all their possessions. God wants joyful givers. He isn’t demanding anything because there is no Law covering giving while trusting in Jesus BUT the principles are still valid and we can receive the benefit of them if we do it. However, this man Ananais wanted the status of having given. He wanted the appearance of generousity and his wife agreed. They didn’t have to sell their land. They could have given any amount. Instead, they held back some money while swearing they were giving all – claiming holy behaviour while being deceitful. They touched the holy with the profane and got the consequences of their actions. Just like in the Old Covenant. God is love. But God is truth. You cannot claim God’s blessing with deceit.
Summary
We have a responsibility to be honest. With ourselves and with the Lord. We cannot claim to be pure when we are not. There is no shame in having made a mistake. There are consequences. We have to learn what the right behaviour is. But we can be forgiven if we repent. We shouldn’t put on a huge show and try to claim to be what we are not. Hypocrites do that. We are called to be better. Not claiming to be more than we are. Not claiming holiness that we do not have. We are called to rely on Jesus, trust God for our needs, do as He asks, but not try to be proud or take all the glory. God gets the glory. I often say if it was a good idea that I had, it was God’s idea – and then I thank Him for it. He will provide. We can receive. But we need to be honest and try not to be what we are not.
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