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Lydia of Thayatira – Seller of Purple Cloth to a Founding Member of a Church
Who is Lydia? – Background:
In Acts 16:14a, we are given several pieces of information about Lydia. We are told her name , her profession (in dealing purple cloth), her place of origin the city of Thyatira, and that she was a “God-worshipper.” We read that she was at the prayer meeting on the river bank along with other women. She was obviously sincere in her religious observances but was not born again. In those days only men were allowed to form a synagogue (minimum of 7 men needed to form a synagogue) and women were denied entry. From the Bible commentators we learn that these group of women who were ardent worshippers of Yahweh, used to meet outside of the city at the river bank every Friday to worship the Lord.
We read from the scripture of Acts 16: 14-15, “A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one who worshiped God, heard us; whose heart the Lord opened to listen to the things which were spoken by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and stay." So she persuaded us.”
If we look at the origins of her name, Lydia, is derived from the name of a place, probably where she originally belonged to. They were called Lydians. Some scholars suggest that the name “Lydia” may be an ethnic appellation that designates her place of origin, as Luke indicates she was originally from Thyatira, a city in a place called Lydia. If it is an ethnic appellation it would indicate that at one time Lydia was a slave who had been freed. However, two first- or second century inscriptions attest to women of status who used the name Lydia, making the assumption of former servile status somewhat conjectural. “Lydia” may have been just one of her names, and there is some speculation that either Euodia or Syntyche—two female co-workers of Paul named in Philippians 4:2-3—might be Lydia.
Why the “Seller of Purple” became prominent in this scripture portion?
Purple cloth was very expensive. The reason it was so costly was that it was difficult to make. According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia on purple-making: The dye for the cloth came from a shellfish. Purple dye had to be gathered drop by drop from the veins of certain shellfish found only in this area of the Mediterranean. The little bit of juice was white while it was in the veins of the fish, but when it was exposed to the sun, the liquid changed into bright purple and red colors. It took thousands of seashells to make a yard or two of purple cloth. The gland secretes one drop of the liquid. One. Drop. It typically took about 10,000 shells to make a small amount of usable dye. Huge mounds of murex shells have been excavated from all around the Mediterranean.
Though purple dye can be made from the madder plant, the only true purple colorfast dye known at that time was produced by the murex snail, a marine mollusk. Debates continue as to whether Lydia used the Madder plant or the Murex, but either way, making purple dye was a difficult, costly, and time-consuming process. As a result, purple dye was purchased by royalty, elites, and the very wealthy, who used it to stripe a border of the hem of their garment, as the Senators did in Rome to their togas.
In Matthew 19:23 we read that “And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven”. But Lydia encourages us to serve him with everything that we have. Only when we keep Jesus at the centre of everything, and by incorporating ethical business practices we can bear testimony and gain access into his kingdom. We must never forget that we are an instrument created by God in his image and we need to be a blessing to others when we are blessed.
Understanding of the ways and works of the God through Lydia’s life story:
In today’s context, the impact and her contribution to bringing many into salvation goes beyond her name. One thing that’s evident from this scripture portion and about the life of Lydia is that, she is the chosen one for the work of God to get manifested. In Acts 16:7, we read that the Holy Spirit of God has restrained Paul from going to Asia and to preach his word. Then Paul has a vision of a man from Macedonia begging him to come and help them. In response to this vision Paul along with Timothy and Silas headed to Macedonia. During this journey they went to Philippi, a Roman colony and spent many days there. This is where Lydia had a personal encounter with Jesus and his salvation through Paul.
Now that we have some context about Lydia, let’s look at her life and how best she has responded to the calling for which she has been called for and stood out in the biblical history for the witness she bore among the gentile using all her capabilities and with unwavering faith in the Lord.
Lydia was a seller of purple, she was a businesswoman who sold luxury textiles dyed purple. As we read in the above passage it was only the wealthy and elite who wore garments dyed in purple or trimmed with purple, or had soft furnishings in their homes. Lydia had a successful business which made her wealthy and is thriving in the men’s market place. What really made Lydia succeed in her business?
We notice that Lydia was Smart, Resourceful, Diligent and highly skilled. What makes us assume these traits of Lydia? In those days, women were treated as second class citizens and didn’t have any place in man’s world. Business was for men and women helped their men back home but not in the market place. Creating a place for herself in a man’s world and also proving to be wealthy reflects her traits.
When Paul penned the triple exhortation—“Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord” Romans 12:11, we do not know whether he had his hospitable convert, Lydia, in mind. She certainly exemplified these three virtues, and grace can be ours to emulate them (Zondervan, n.d.).
God will honour our business and all the work of our hands only if we honour him and give him the first place by keeping Him as our object of worship. Many a times we rob the glory that is to be given to God by focusing on the monetary gains and unethical ways of business practices only to succeed.
Reflect on the above triple exhortation what are we doing to practice these in our day to day lives and business dealings?
Lydia is an epitome of Diligence and has the hunger for the Lord. Though she belongs to a family that worships other Gods she was following Jewish faith and spent her time in fellowship and prayers. God chose Lydia as a vehicle to spread his gospel in a gentile land. We read in Acts 16:15 that “When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us”. God opened her heart and she willingly received Him not only into her heart, but also into her home, her life, and her region. God will do His work through his chosen ones. Paul must have wondered in his spirit when his whole plan of going to Asia got changed. But he trusted the ways of the Lord and in completely surrendered to the will of God. We can experience the power of God only when we trust his His way and not seek validation in his His works. Through Lydia, Paul was able to establish a church in Philippi. To do this work, God changed the direction of Paul and brought Lydia to salvation.
In the triple exhortation, Paul says be fervent in Spirit. Lydia bore the testimony and led many others including her family to Christ. There is a well-known saying that “your walk talks louder than your talk talks”. We can trust the conduct and faithful ways of leading life, in short, her Integrity must have encouraged many to come to Christ. Most of us lead a secular life bearing no testimony. Lydia was not saved by good deeds, because no-one is saved in through good deeds (see Romans 3:20; Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5). It is true, however, that faith without deeds is dead (James 2:20), and where there is true faith there will be deeds to demonstrate the reality of that faith. Lydia’s open home was the evidence of her open heart. Zacchaeus’ restitution was the evidence of his conversion (Luke 19:8); the jailer who arrested Paul and Silas got baptized when he saw the wonders of the God and the integrity of Paul & Silas (Acts 16:33-34). Our Faith must be demonstrated by deeds. Through Lydia, her entire household including her servants have been baptized. Using her influence in her elite circle, we can assume that she might have preached the gospel to them and bore his testimony relentlessly both at work and at home.
Conclusion:
Lydia was, first of all, a consecrated Christian, then a conscientious business woman who continued to sell her purple dyes for the glory of God. In those days women cared for local congregations and were strategic players at the forefront of the expanding Christian mission. A church was established in Philippi because of Lydia’s open heart and her open home, and it grew because of her dedication, initiative, courage, diligence, integrity and last but not the least her ministry. She used her wealth to serve the Lord and the servants of the God. Lydia is a perfect example of how one must use their gifts and resources for the glory of the Lord and to be a living testimony that can drive many to experience the Salvation.
