Sabbath Devotional :: The Seller of Purple

*“She Worketh Willingly With Her Hands” by Elspeth Young*
*Image Source*

One of my favorite stories in the scriptures is the story of Lydia, or the woman from Lydia. Lydia was a region of Turkey (Asia) and the apparent place of origin of the woman referred to in Acts 16:14, now living in Philippi, Macedonia. She sold “purple”, which meant she was a business owner and could have sold dye, fabric, and/or finished garments. The type of “purple” she sold was the kind used by the highest courts in Rome and also symbolic of royalty. She had a household, meaning she was the head of a group of people living in her house, although the scriptures are not specific about whom she allowed to lived under her roof. It could have been family, employees, and/or friends.

Lydia kept the sabbath day by going to a river bank outside her city to pray with other women. Philippi had no synagogue and some assume that she was a Jewish proselyte who worshiped there with other Jewish women. If that is true, she has been looking for truth for some time and her heart has been open to and touched by truth already.

One day, a group of men (Paul, Luke, Silas and Timothy) appeared on the river bank, ready to discuss and preach the Word of God. They had been asked to come to Macedonia by a man in a dream. Acts 16 says:

12 And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days.

13 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.

14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.

She attended to what Paul said: she heard the Word and it found a place in her open, prepared heart. She recognized truth and received a testimony. Lydia was Europe’s first Christian convert as she entered into the waters of baptism, but she did not go alone:

15 And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

Lydia turned and shared the gift of truth and baptism with her whole household. It was a beautiful beginning to the church in Philippi which grew so much that the book of Philippians was written to that congregation.

When she had heard and attended to the Word, she housed and fed the missionaries (and not just this once — several times in Acts), thus exemplifying her conversion by becoming a doer of the word, and not a hearer only.

We claim purple as one of our colors here in MWEG. It symbolizes the coming together of red and blue, and also the royal nature of Christ our Savior. Today, let it also remind you of a woman who had an open, generous heart. Lydia was a woman of good works, industrious and faithful. She spent her time working on the fabric of royalty, which can be symbolic of the daily tasks and long-term goals you and I have for building up the Kingdom.

Lydia’s receptivity to truth allowed her to play a part in a great work. Her actions were all within her reach — nothing miraculous — just a willingness to be baptized, share the gospel within her circle, and provide temporal care for others (albeit at some risk). It may have seemed relatively simple to her, but it was her sincerity, dedication, and generosity that allowed her works to be the basis for establishing the church in Macedonia.

Lydia was what we all hope to be: an instrument in the Lord’s hands right here, right now, right where we are, with these very people. All it took was an open heart. And maybe some purple.