What would have happened if Paul had not gone to the riverside on that Sabbath?
Lydia, the seller of purple, would never have heard the Word. The riverside meeting on that Sabbath was a divine appointment, not an accident, orchestrated by the sovereign God, for He is in control from start to finish. She was there at the right time from her perspective, but God was behind it.
Les explains that in Acts 16, on the Sabbath Paul went out of the city by a riverside where prayer was customarily made, sat down, and spoke to the women gathered there. Lydia, a seller of purple from Thyatira who worshipped God, heard them, and the Lord opened her heart. Les points out that had Paul not come to that particular riverside park on that particular Sabbath, Lydia would never have heard the Word. From her viewpoint she was accidentally in the right place at the right time, but Les emphasizes that behind it all is the sovereign God, just as when people today say they accidentally ran across his program—it is not accidental; the Lord is in it from start to finish.
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.
More Questions
What did Paul do on the Sabbath day in Philippi?
On the Sabbath (the Jewish seventh day), Paul and his companions went out of the city to a riverside place of prayer, that is, a devotional gathering.
Where did Paul and Silas go on the Sabbath in Philippi and why?
On the Sabbath — the Jewish seventh day — Paul went out of the city to a riverside where prayer was customarily made, that is, a place of devotion.