LYDIA: PRAYERFUL ENTREPRENEUR

When we first meet Lydia, she is at a “house of prayer” located near the river just outside a Roman colony at Philippi in north-eastern Greece.

Lydia is originally from Thyatira (in modern-day Turkey), a city famous for its artisan guilds and expensive "Tyrian purple" dye—made from the secretions of sea snails. 🐌...

Lydia is an entrepreneur, and like Tabitha, she works with fabrics. She is "a dealer in purple cloth" which is worn primarily by the Roman elite due to its high cost. (Sea snail secretions don't come cheap!)

Photo credits are listed below.

SIDENOTE: Lydia is also a God-fearer. Although she is not a Jew by birth, she regularly worships the God of Sarah, Rebekah, Leah, and Rachel at the local house of prayer.

🎬 MEANWHILE, BACK IN SYRIA

As the apostles adjust to life post-resurrection and get busy sharing the good news, they are joined by someone who has spent months hunting them down to arrest them. This religious leader has a profoundly unsettling experience during one of his “hunting trips,” and it completely upends his life. He even changes his name from Saul to Paul.  

Paul takes a few years to research the Scriptures on his own and wrap his head around what it means to accept Jesus as the Christ (see Acts 9:3-19 and Galatians 1:15-18). He then changes his devotion from protecting Judaism to promoting The Way—the name given to the early Christian movement in the Roman Empire.

Along with his companions, Paul travels throughout Judea, Phoenicia, Syria, Asia Minor and Greece spreading the news about Jesus Christ and His teachings on love, acceptance, inclusion, and servant leadership.

On his second “missionary journey” to Asia Minor (ca. AD 49), the apostle Paul has a vision that he’s being summoned to Macedonia (see Acts 16:9-10); therefore, he and his companions—including Luke, Timothy, and Silas—travel west and eventually arrive in Philippi.

Philippi is a cosmopolitan city situated on a hill overlooking the Aegean Sea with the Via Egnatia—a Roman road that connects Europe and Asia—running right through it.

Via Egnatia at Neapolis (near Philippi), Photo credits are listed below.

As is his practice on the Sabbath, Paul and his team make their way to the local synagogue or—if there aren’t enough Jews to establish a synagogue—a “house of prayer.” Upon arrival, the men are greeted by the women who have gathered there to pray, and Lydia is one of them.

🎬 AND NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING…

On the Sabbath when Paul and his team show up at the “house of prayer,” the women are stunned to see so many new folks visiting on the same day. It’s clear they have something to share, and the women decide to hear them out. The Lord opens Lydia's heart to hear the truths taught by Paul, and she responds by being baptized—both she and the members of her household.

✨ Lydia is the first convert to The Way in Europe! ✨

A modern Greek Orthodox outdoor chapel on what is said to be the site where Lydia was baptized. Photo credits are listed below.

And because she is a woman with means, Lydia persuades the men to stay at her house while they are there. Thanks to her hospitality and generosity, Paul does not have to work to support himself in Philippi.

Unfortunately, while they are there, Paul and Silas are brutally beaten and thrown in jail. Once they are released, they immediately return to Lydia's house where they encourage her and the others to stay strong and keep the faith. Then, they continue on their journey.

We know that even after their departure, the nascent community of faith in Philippi continues to grow. They met in Lydia's home, and Paul's letter to Lydia and the other Christ followers in Philippi is preserved in the Epistle to the Philippians. 

👉 You can read Lydia's story in Acts 16:11-15.

Philippi has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. You can learn more about its importance and view additional photos here:

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1517/gallery/

Additional Resources:

• All the Women of the Bible by Edith Deen (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1955), p. 168.

• "Women of Philippi," Women’s Bible Commentary, 3rd Edition. Edited by Carol A. Newsom, Sharon H. Ringe, and Jacqueline E. Lapsley. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012), p. 543.

Photo Credits:

• Photo by Eye for Ebony on Unsplash
• "A modern Greek Orthodox outdoor chapel on what is said to be the site where Lydia was baptized" by Ian W. Scott - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0.
• "Fabrics dyed by different species of sea snail" by U.Name.MeDerivative work: TeKaBe - This file was derived from: Purple Purpur.jpg:, CC BY-SA 4.0.
• Via Egnatia in Kavala (Neapolis) By Philipp Pilhofer - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0.

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