Importantly, the text does not say God killed them. They dropped dead. That's all the author of the book of Acts is willing to say. … I wonder if this is not so much a statement about what God did or didn't do, but rather that there is some theology going on here that says: when the community brings together their possessions in common, they have no needy among them. And when somebody lies and withholds from the community, it kills not just the community, but the withholders themselves. God doesn't need to get involved. God doesn't need to do any smiting. God doesn't need to reach down and stop someone's heart. It's actually the very act of withholding which is deadly.