2024_11_27 Insight Post- Rusty Coram
This week’s reading- Acts 16:12-15, Acts 16:40, Philippians 1:1-10
Lydia’s story is fascinating and leaves me with a lot of questions. Was she married? A widow? Did she have children? Prior to Paul and Silas coming to Philippi, had she heard about Jesus? What official role, if any, did she have in the church she helped start?
Lydia was an influential woman for sure. Her fabric business would have put her in the upper class financially. Purple dye was very expensive. According to historian Simon Kristmaker, “the purple dye applied to fine linen was obtained from the secretion of shellfish (mollusks) that live in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. Since approximately eight thousand mollusks were required to produce one gram of purple dye, purple cloth was extremely expensive.” [New Testament Commentary – Acts]
Lydia was not only wealthy, but she was hungry to learn about God. She wasn’t born a Jew but learned from them about God and was a Gentile God-fearer similar to other non-Jews like Cornelius (see Acts 10). I love how we see God revealing Himself to anyone open to Him! Lydia becomes the first follower of Jesus in Philippi, and immediately, she invites her whole household to join in. Later, we see a new church started in Philippi and can easily conclude that it met in her home.
As a Gentile, Lydia was not seen as a true Jew. As a woman, she lived in a society that accorded her less value than a man. But Lydia didn’t let her being a Gentile or a woman keep her from being fully devoted to Jesus and pursuing Him with all of her heart and influence. Regardless of how society values us, we can know that in God’s eyes, there are no second-class citizens. All of us have been created in His image and all of us are in need of His forgiveness. When we choose to accept His invitation, we immediately become His children with equal value. Praise God!
Rusty Coram
Senior Pastor