7 MORE Good Lessons from 7 MORE Bad Bible Characters (Pt. 7: Sapphira)

All right everyone!

We’re now on the final part of this series!

It’s my hope and prayer that you’ve been blessed by this series as we went over various lessons from various Bible “villains” from the New Testament such as Herodias, Judas, Felix, and Caiaphas!

Now, let’s dive into Part 7 and dig into another deeply convicting lesson from one of the New Testament’s biggest bad girls:

SAPPHIRA!!!

Who Was Sapphira?

In Acts 5:1, we learn a couple things about Sapphira:

But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession.

(Acts 5:1)

So, Sapphira was the wife of Ananias (who, as we learned in Part 6, chose to NOT give God everything). Another thing that we learn about Sapphira is her name.

The root word where Sapphira’s name comes from is the Hebrew word caphar (סָפַר) and it means “to count, recount; record, decline, speak; to polish.”

In today’s lesson, we’re gonna look into how a tiny decision Sapphira made caused her to not only lose her life, but even disabled her from truly living up to what her name means.

What was that tiny decision?

Let’s dive in and find out in today’s blog post!

She Saw It!

In Acts 5:2, this is what we read:

And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

(Acts 5:2, emphasis added)

What does it mean that Sapphira was “aware” of what her husband did?

The Greek word for “aware” in Acts 5:2 is synoraō (συνοράω) and it means “to know in one’s mind; to see completely.”

So, Sapphira SAW completely and KNEW completely what her husband was doing.

She SAW with her own eyes and KNEW in her own heart and mind that her dear hubby Ananias was NOT honestly giving EVERYTHING to God.

But what did she do about it?

Did she take her husband aside and recounted to him the faithfulness of God in their lives?

Did she gently talk to him about how such actions went against God’s law?

Did she try to polish out her husband’s sinful choice by encouraging him with the promises of God’s Word?

Or…….did she just decide to not really do anything and go along with Ananias’ lie?

Sadly, Sapphira chose the latter, and paid the fatal consequence of it.

How does this apply to us?

When Silence Turns Yellow

The senior pastor at my church said something that really struck me:

“It’s true that silence is golden. But there are times where silence is just yellow.”

-Pastor john T. anderson-

And for Sapphira, the situation with Ananias was one of those times where silence wasn’t the best thing to follow after.

How does this apply to us?

Are you, dear reader, in a situation where choosing to stay silent isn’t the best choice?

Maybe, like Sapphira, you completely see and completely know that a loved one is doing something wrong, and you feel convicted to say something, but you still choose to stay silent.

Or, you completely know and completely see yourself sitting in the middle of an intense gossip ring, and you feel convicted to say something, but you stay silent.

Yes, silence is golden. But during times where a line is ultimately drawn in the sand, silence turns yellow.

Just like what happened to Sapphira.

Be A Daniel, Not A Sapphira

This whole lesson reminds me of two statements Ellen White once wrote:

“Dare to be a Daniel, dare to stand alone!” Have courage to do the right. A cowardly and silent reserve before evil associates, while you listen to their devices, makes you one with them. “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters.”

(Temperance pg. 189)

Let not one who believes the truth, be silent now. None should be careless now; let all urge their petitions at the throne of grace, pleading the promise, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do” (John 14:13). It is a perilous time now.

(Selected Messages Book 2 pg. 370)

Friends, right now is the time to no longer be like Sapphira, but to be like Daniel, and stand for what’s right! Now we are to recount the love, care, and faithfulness of God to those in our lives who are acting like Ananias, and encourage them to stand for Jesus too!

A Prayer To Stand

If, dear reader, you’ve felt convicted by the Holy Spirit for acting like Sapphira, and choosing to silently sit on the sidelines instead of taking a stand for God and pointing others to His love and truth, I wanna appeal to you to simply pray:

I’d like to conclude this blog post with two things.

One is a song that I hope and pray will deepen the conviction in your heart to seriously stand for what’s right and not stay silent when, like Sapphira, you’re “aware” of wrong being done.

The second thing that I wanna conclude this blog post with is a printable list that contains various practical ways to help you stand for truth–especially in conversations where there’s wrongful things being spoken such as gossip, crude jokes, and any other sort of negativity being conversed over.

Amen! Maranatha!