Nougat 5

So yesterday, one of the Google headlines featured an article on this premise; ‘Roman dye from snails discovered in the UK for the first time’ ( https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjje132jvygo covers the full details). From the onset, the article grabbed my attention as the archaeological aspect intrigued. As I read the article, however, I felt that it was yet another clue into biblical historicity. It pointed to a key, though sometimes overlooked figures in the early church. Consider Today’s Holy Nougat, which offers a bit of insight on Lydia.

‭Acts 16:14 NIV‬

[14] One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.

Lydia of Thyatira

We often speak of women being the first to see the resurrected Christ, and that is so. We also brag on the Samaritan woman at the well as the first evangelists. But how familiar are we with Lydia of Thyatira, Paul’s first convert in Acts.

Our Nougat offers some very key facts: her city of origin; her profession; her faith background and her humility. Let’s examine these in more detail:

Based on some background reading I’ve done, it is possible that we don’t actually know her name. It is believed that Lydia refers to her Persian heritage. Otherwise, Lydia is affiliated with beauty or royalty. What we realize, therefore, is that regardless of her real name, Lydia was a noble woman, a Persian, who was likely to have been exceedingly beautiful.

Aside from her Persian heritage, her ‘city’, Thyatira, was famous for its indigo trading and was also a major cultic site for the worship of Apollo. Its success in indigo was reflected by the guilds dedicated to honing different crafts in the city. Thyatira is considered to have been strategically located on a trade route between Pergamos and Laodicea and was by the Hermus River. Interestingly, in some scholarly spaces, the word Thyatira is cited as having the same root as a daughter.

Lydia, a daughter of nobility, the beautiful one from the indigo trade capital, was among the guild members in the trade. It’s worth noting that many assume Lydia to have been a trader of indigo harvested from the madder tree root. Yet, the weekly gathering by the river on the sabbath suggests that the guilds harvested snails for the dye. (The Google feature supports that hypothesis.) It could also be that she traded both.

As a trader, Lydia may have been deeply vested in the entire process of manufacturing, including the end product of purple clothes. But it’s also feasible that she was involved only in the dye extraction, either from roots or snails. Both yielded high profits. (The article cited suggests that indigo was more precious than gold). Lydia was a businesswoman and a very successful one.

So Paul, while in Philippi, Paul and his team gathered at the city gate (the equivalent of a city centre) on the sabbath (see verse 13). As there was no Jewish temple or Christian church there at the time, adherents met by the river (and one assumes it is the Hermus River). Lydia was among those gathered in worship. And she was worshipping God.

Siblings, for a rich person to be open to the move of God’s Spirit, to the extent that s/he worshipped and obeyed God, tells us about her faith. She had mastered humbling herself before God and was able to receive God’s servant. Moreover, by God’s Spirit, she was able to discern what was good and godly.

Whether rich or poor, we can benefit from this woman’s faithfulness. She spent time honing her faith with other believers. Lydia didn’t allow herself to be encumbered by her trade or her social status. She simply sought peace with her God. May we, like Lydia, be receptive to the leading of God’s Spirit, regardless of our origins, class, or profession.

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May all we seek be found in Christ