This week is the final of five lessons in the unit in the Sunday School Lesson Standard: The Call of Women. This week’s lesson focuses on a woman of Philippi, Lydia. There is substantially more to Lydia than what appears in this brief passage. Join me on this journey of discovery.
Genesis 1:21 NASB
21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and
Psalms 104:24-25 NLT
24
O Lord, what a variety of things you have made!
In wisdom, you have made them all.
The earth is full of your creatures.
25
Here is the ocean, vast and wide,
teeming with life of every kind,
both large and small.
The wonder and majesty of God’s creation is matchless, as is His love. His wisdom knows no bounds. The Bolimus Brandaris, commonly known as the Murex sea snail is a mollusk about the size of a man’s fist. They play a key part in today’s narrative.
Acts 16:11 NASB
11 So after setting sail from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and on the following day to Neapolis;
Last week, I briefly covered what could be thought of as the second leg of Paul’s second missionary tour. To review, after the Apostolic Council at Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabus traveled some 7500 miles (California to New York and back again plus another 1500 miles) down (note to self) to Antioch. After Antioch, Paul traveled approximately twice that distance to Troas, and then 500 miles across the Aegean Sea to Neopolis and finally to Philippi. I included all of the above information in order to have my readers (you) consider the elements of distance and time in exploring Paul’s journey. The entire mission extended over a two or three-year period. Important information going forward.
Acts 16:12 NASB
12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony; and we were spending some days in this city.
Paul’s first stop on this tour was the city of Philippi, notable for its gold mines and springs. Because of its beauty and wealth, it was popular with the elite of Roman society. During the time surrounding Paul’s visit, Rome was colonizing the area through a process called centuriation, by which retired soldiers and others were given land. In this way, Rome extended its reach into Asia Minor.
Act 16:13 NASB
13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were thinking that there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled.
Paul customarily would have gone to a local synagogue when he arrived in a new city. Apparently, Philippi did not have one. According to Jewish custom, a minimum of ten families headed by men was required to form a quorum, the minimum amount of people to start a synagogue. Barring that, Jews would have found a local body of water near which to worship. The local body of water would then be available for ritual washing. Providentially, Paul found such a place. A place where women were gathered in prayer.
Acts 16:14 NASB
14 A woman named Lydia was listening; she was a seller of purple fabrics from the city of Thyatira, and a worshiper of God. [a]The Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.
Among the women Paul spoke to, he encountered someone unique, Lydia. Though she is only mentioned briefly in Scripture, she is to become a premier figure in the early church. If we unfold a few of the details given here, we reveal some aspects of her eventual rise in influence.
Scripture tells us that Lydia was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira. That is no small accomplishment. You could rephrase the above sentence to say Lydia was a seller of Tyrian Purple, a particularly dark hue of purple make from ink developed from the mucus found in the tips of the shells of the Murex sea snail (pictured above). Most cloth, in that day, was dyed with any variety of colors, including purple, developed mostly from various plant roots. However, Tyrian purple was manufactured specifically in Thyatira. That had been the case for some 1200 years and would continue to be so for another 1400 years. The sea snails, from which came this particular hue of purple, were only found in the area surrounding Thyatira. The dye developed from these sea snails had a couple of distinct features. It was a much darker hue of purple than what could be developed from plant roots. It was also colorfast, which meant that it didn’t fade over time. In fact, it is said that with the passage of time, that particular ‘brand’ of purple only became more splendid, more brilliant. Because it was made from the mucus found in the tips of the shells, thousands, perhaps millions of Murex sea snails were required to make a substantial amount of Tyrian purple dye or ink. Subsequently, Tyrian Purple was extremely expensive.
Tyrian Purple, also called Royal purple, was thought to be so beautiful that it was favored for use with royalty and in priestly orders. Literally worth its weight in silver. It was so expensive that it threatened to disrupt the economies of the various governments including Rome’s and thus it became necessary to apply what would become known as sumptuary laws which were put in place to strictly limit who could purchase any fabric made with Tyrian Purple dye. By the 4th Century CE, Tyrian Purple could only be worn by the Emperor. It became so identified with the office of the Emperor that the word ‘purple’ became a metonym for the office of Emperor. Thus when a new Emperor took office, it was often said that he ‘donned the purple’. By the ninth century, a child born to the Emperor was said to have been born 'in the purple'.
So then, it’s reasonable to assume that Lydia was not just wealthy, but that she was extremely wealthy. Her wealth and influence could be compared to a Bill Gates or a Jeff Bezos in our day. The coveted Tyrian Purple cloth that she sold brought a hefty price and protection from the most influential members of Roman society. She was powerful, virtually untouchable. She was being ‘sheltered’ by God until her appointed time.
Paul didn’t know any of that. Nor could he have. He only knew that he had come to the river looking for a place to worship and people to worship with. What Scripture tells us is that he found just that person in Lydia. She too was a worshipper of God. And the Bible says that ‘God opened her heart’. That’s worth repeating. God opened Lydia’s heart.
This may cause some to reflect on their feelings about wealth. The fact of the matter is it takes finances to build a church. For all intents and purposes, God set the table for Paul and his co-laborers in the Gospel to have success in building His Church on a new continent. Yes, they encountered plenty of opposition, but God. There is no failure in God. Whatever He starts He is able to see it through to completion. Everything about Paul’s encounter with Lydia has Providence written on it. Imagine the resources of a whole industry, an entire corporation, if you will, set up and awaiting the arrival of God’s servant Paul, placed at his disposal by another of His servants, Lydia.
Acts 16:15 NASB
15 Now when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
Lydia is the head of her household, she has no husband, nor is she a servant, rather she leads her entire household. And apparently, she leads them with grace and love because when she gets baptized, they all follow her example and follow her into God’s loving arms. Lydia then invites Paul and his compatriots to stay with them. Paul responds affirmatively to her hospitality. He and his companions stay with Lydia for several weeks, teaching her and her household the Gospel of the Kingdom.
We won’t go into detail with the next many verses, as they are not integral to today’s lesson. To summarize briefly, Paul and Silas encounter a demon-possessed woman who harasses Paul. He responded by casting out the demon, which relieved her of the spirit divination. Because of this turn of events, her business managers took Paul and Silas to court, where they are beaten by the local officials and thrown in prison. But God! Paul and Silas praised God in the Philippian jail and God delivered them out of the jail by His mighty hand. In the process, the jailer and his entire household were saved. Paul and Silas were released from prison. That’s where we pick up the final portion of Lydia’s story…
Acts 16:40 NASB
40 They left the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brothers and sisters, they [a]encouraged them and departed.
After leaving prison, Paul and Silas returned to Lydia’s home. Scripture does not imply that they had to be reingratiated into her home, but rather, Scripture implies that they were simply returning to base. You see, Lydia’s house was now a full-fledged church. The first church established in Greece. Soon after, Paul and his companions left Philippi, but they left the church in more than capable hands. They left the church in the hands of its pastor; Lydia.
So then, in this set of lessons, we have seen the entirety of the five-fold ministry offices filled by capable, Spirit-filled women. We have seen women as Prophetesses (Anna and Philip’s daughters), Evangelists (the Samaritan woman), Apostles (Mary Magdelene and Priscilla), Teachers (Priscilla), and finally Pastors (Lydia). Thus, women have played pivotal roles in the advancement of God’s Kingdom and will continue to do so until the day of Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:38 NASB
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is [ak]neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
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1 Corinthians 1:10 NASB
10 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all [f]agree and that there be no [g]divisions among you, but that you be [h]made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.
In His first letter to the church at Corinth, Paul pleaded with the congregants to resolve the divisions that had developed among them. He understood that a church divided would be an ineffective church. The remainder of the lesson below should serve to humble all of us as we take them to heart.
1 Corinthians 1:26-29 NASB
26 For [aa]consider your calling, brothers and sisters, that there were not many wise according to [ab]the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the [ac]insignificant things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29 so that no [ad]human may boast before God.
In the verses above, Paul makes it clear that there are no ‘BIG I’s’ and ‘little you's, but that none of us was chosen to His kingdom by virtue of our intellect, our wisdom, or our own might. In fact, he rescued each of us from our weakness, our ineptitude, and our utter failure and depravity so that no man or woman could boast before Him.
In light of the last several week’s lessons, we are once again admonished not to let our cultural leanings, our patriarchial tendencies divide us. Women have played an integral role in the church since its inception and continue to do so. When we can’t see or accept that, it is to our shame. That’s Paul’s message to the Corinthians and those same words bear the same weight for us today.
1 Corinthians 1:30 NASB
30 But it is [ae]due to Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, [af]and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
Beloved, always remember that we are saved by Grace: God’s Unmerited Favour. We did nothing to earn it. We did not deserve it. It is a most glorious and precious … gift. Never forget that. God gets all of the Glory!
1 Corinthians 1:31 NASB
31 so that, just as it is written: “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Selah
wb
A very well written story. Thank you!
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