From Strength to Strengt Great Fear
From Strength to Strength: Great Fear
Correlation: Joshua’s 5000 in ambush and the 5000 men in prayer
o Joshua 7 & 8
o Jewish NT view of scripture is very pattern oriented
o The Mention of 5000 men
§ God had made ready the church for the attack of the evil one
§ The Ambush = Prayer
o Here’s the Pattern of spiritual struggle for us
§ When attacked we should ambush the enemy with Prayer
Acts 5:1-11
5:1 “Ananias” The full Hebrew name would have been Hananiah, which means “YHWH has graciously given” or “YHWH is gracious.”
kept back” This same word (nosphizomai) is used in the Septuagint (LXX) of Joshua 7:1 to describe the sin of Achan.
- F. F. Bruce has made the comment that Ananias was to the early church what Achan was to the Conquest.
- This sin had the potential of hurting the entire church.
“Satan…Holy Spirit” This shows the presence of the two spiritual forces which are active in our world and in our lives.
- Eph. 2:2–3 are listed the three enemies of post-Genesis humanity:
- (1) the fallen world system;
- (2) a personal tempter; and
- (3) our fallen nature.
“You have not lied to men but to God” It was not that they kept part of the money, but that they lied to make themselves look spiritual. Notice that even a kind, generous act, which is done with a bad motive, is a sin. Notice that the Holy Spirit mentioned in v. 3 here is called God. [1]
great fear. See v. 11. They were afraid about the seriousness of hypocrisy and sin in the church. That fear extended beyond those present to all who heard about the divine judgment (v. 11).
Fear of what?
- The seriousness of Hypocrisy and sin in the Church
- The people learned that death can be the consequence of sin.
- 1 Peter 3:10 (HCSB) For the one who wants to love life and to see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit,
- 1 Peter 4:17 (HCSB) For the time has come for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?
- Evil had entered the Garden again
- Moses - Korah
- Joshua – Achan
- Church – Ananias
wonders … signs. Cf. 4:30; 5:12; 14:3; 15:12. “Wonders” is the amazement people experience when witnessing supernatural works (miracles). “Signs” point to the power of God behind miracles—marvels have no value unless they point to God and His truth. Such works were often done by the Holy Spirit through the apostles (5:12–16) and their associates (6:8) to authenticate them as the messengers of God’s truth.[2]
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LXX Septuagint
[1]Utley, Robert James Dr. Vol. Volume 3B, Luke the Historian: The Book of Acts. Study Guide Commentary Series, Page 78. Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International, 2003.
[2]MacArthur, John Jr. The MacArthur Study Bible. electronic ed., Ac 2:19. Nashville: Word Pub., 1997, c1997.