Acts 16:13

"And on the Sabbath day we went forth without the gate by. river side, where we supposed there was. place of prayer; and we sat down, and spake unto the women that were come together"On the Sabbath day" As Paul's custom was, he went looking for Jewish people to preach to (Acts 17:2). "Without the gate by. river side" Evidently no Synagogue existed in town. "There had to be at least ten family heads (ten Jewish men) in. community to have. synagogue. Where fewer Jews than this lived, they often had. meeting place near any body of water suitable for their many ceremonial washings" (Reese pp. 575-576). "River side" "The little river Gangites river was one mile west of the town" (Robertson p. 250). Reese notes, "Back of the information in this verse may be. fact of contemporary history. Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome (Acts 18:2), since Philippi was. colony, that expulsion order would likely have been honored there too. When the missionaries made inquiry, they would have been told, 'There aren't may Jews here anymore, but you might find some meeting out by the river side'" (p. 576). "The women that were come together" This is quite. compliment to these women, including Lydia, for despite the lack of any spiritually minded male Jews they did their best to remain true to what they knew about the Scriptures. Once again we are reminded of the truth that. person who really wants to serve God, will not let discouraging circumstances stop them. We see this in the case of Lydia, and we also saw it in the cases of Cornelius and the Eunuch. People who love the truth, find the truth, despite the obstacles (John 7:17).