Was Lydia a worshiper of God before her conversion? 14.

      According to what religion did she worship?

      What was her habit on the Sabbath day? 13. Who united with her in this worship? 13. What women do you suppose these were? Ans.--Most likely women of the Jewish faith like herself, who assisted her in business.

      What was Lydia's business? 14. Purple what? Ans.--Purple cloths, an article for clothing highly prized and very costly.

      Was Lydia at home in Philippi? 14. How far was Thyatira from Philippi? Ans.--About three hundred miles, and on the other side of the Ægean sea. What had brought her so far from home? Ans.--To sell her goods which were manufactured and dyed in Thyatira, a city noted for the skill of its inhabitants in dyeing.

      What kind of a city was Philippi? 12. What its meant by saying it was "a colony?" Ans.--It was inhabited by Italians, who had been colonized there by Augustus Cæsar. He took away the lands of many Italians to give them to his soldiers, and sent the dispossessed owners to other countries, where he gave them other lands.

      Why did not the women go to the synagogue on the Sabbath instead of going to the river bank to pray? Ans.--There seems to have been no synagogue there.

      As the Romans did not stop business on the Sabbath, how could she afford to do it? What does this show in regard to her faithfulness? What, excuse could she have made [61] for neglecting the Sabbath worship, and continuing her business?

      When she heard Paul preach what did the Lord do for her? 14. What is meant by opening her heart? Ans.--This is an expression for the idea that some narrow or selfish feeling has been removed and a nobler one put in its place. If Lydia's heart needed opening, there was of course something wrong in it; was it that she was totally depraved? If you knew a woman as good as she would you not think that her heart is right?

      Is any one's heart right whose life is not right? Comp. Matt. xv: 18, 19. What, then, was the matter with Lydia's heart? Ans.--It was, like the hearts of nearly all pious Jews, full of Jewish prejudice, such as tempted her to reject the gospel which presented an entirely different Savior from the one they expected. In what, then, did the opening consist?

      It is said that the Lord opened her heart; (14) is it said that he did so by a direct operation of the Spirit? What had the Lord to do with Paul's preaching? Where would Paul have been at this time, if he had had his own way? 6, 7. Who prevented him from going to Asia and Bithynia, and why? How and where did Paul first learn that God wanted him in Macedonia in preference to those other countries? 8-10. What enabled the ship to sail in a "straight course?" 11. What had the Lord done, then, which led Luke to emphasize the fact that the Lord had opened Lydia's heart?

      What did she do as soon as her heart was opened? 14.

      Does this mean that she listened, or had [62] she listened before? 13, 14. What is one of the things she attended to? 15.

      How much did Lydia at first lack of being a Christian?

[FBL 61-63]