Today our Saturday Spotlight is
Dorcas
Written by: Granny Jo
Does anyone KNOW anyone named Dorcas?
We’re going to meet a woman by that name today. If you’d like to follow the Bible story, we’ll be in Acts, Chapter 9.
Acts 9:36 Now there was in Joppa a disciple (i.e., a believer in Jesus) named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. [Tabitha is her Jewish name; Dorcas is her name in Greek; both mean “gazelle”—a graceful creature of the deer family.] The Bible doesn’t tell us how or when she became a Christian.
On a previous trip to Jerusalem, had she heard Jesus teach & believed Him to be the long-awaited Messiah? We can ask her when we get to heaven. What we DO know is that she was full of good works and acts of charity. She was well known in the town & loved by all.
On the seacoast at Joppa, about 12 mi. NW of Lydda, Jerusalem is 25 miles to the SE of us, Joppa was ancient Israel’s only port city on the Mediterranean Sea.
In Solomon’s time, it was from Tyre (in the north) that the “cedars of Lebanon” were floated down to Joppa, then hauled over the coastal range to Jerusalem for the building of the temple (2 Chro 2:16).
We’re probably most familiar with Joppa as the port from which the reluctant prophet Jonah boarded a ship to head west, away from Nineveh, where God had told him to go (Jonah 1:3).
Joppa is an ancient city, bustling with trade in the Near East.
The text says, she made tunics & other garments –which would all be stitched by hand, for there were no Singer sewing machines yet. It only takes a little “holy supposing” to imagine she added a bit of embroidery or smocking to the garments. We women do like to add a touch of beauty to our clothing.
Good works and acts of charity is how the Bible describes her ministry among the many widows & (by inference) orphans in Joppa.
It leaves us to wonder, had many of the men of Joppa gone to sea. . .& never returned? The Mediterranean Is still notorious for sudden violent storms.
No clue is given in the Scriptures of Dorcas’ own personal situation. Was she a widow herself? Did she live with family? Was she a self-supporting single woman (like Lydia, who we meet later on in Acts, who ran a garment business in Philippi)? What we DO know is that she was beloved by everyone in town—which is indicated by her godly character & her generous nature.
Then vs. 37 says: In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. Her sudden death was a tragic loss to the whole community.
Acts 9:39 When he (Peter) arrived, they took him to the upper room (where Dorcas’ body had been washed and laid out for viewing, as was the custom of the day). The many widows gathered around Peter, showing to him the garments Dorcas had made.
The Scripture goes on to say, “Peter put them [the widows] all outside [of the room], & knelt down & prayed; & turning to the body he said, ‘Tabitha, arise.’ And she opened her eyes, & when she saw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand & raised her up. Then calling all the saints & widows (evidently not all the widows were believers), [Peter] presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa.
Of course it did! It was the talk of the town!
As if raising Dorcas to life were not enough proof of God’s power & purpose, the paragraph includes an even greater miracle: “. . .and many believed in the Lord.” Many lost souls were regenerated & another local church was born!
We see God in the process of using sickness–and even death–to work all things together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. [Rom 8:28]
But wait! Before we close the story, look at the last sentence: vs. 40. And he [Peter] stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner.
Do you see the beautiful providence of God here? Restoring Dorcas to life was only a stepping stone in the greater job God had in store for Peter. By obeying the leading of the Holy Spirit, Peter had left Jerusalem for Lydda, where he found “great opportunity for service” in healing Aeneas. Then, in answer to the distress call from the folks in Joppa, he is able to be of service to God again, raising Dorcas back to life. Completely unaware of the next destination God has in mind for him.
On the way to the destination, there are great opportunities for service.
As believers in Jesus, our ultimate destination is heaven. On our way, are we watching for opportunities for service wherever we are? Are we looking for ways to present the love and grace of Jesus to those who are in distress? We may not be involved in restoring anyone’s physical life, but we all are called to tell the Good News of eternal life in Jesus Christ. There are great opportunities for service all around us.
As Dorcas was making garments for the widows, don’t you suppose she also prayed for them?… & with them? You may not be proficient as a seamstress, but we can all be pray-ers. May we have eyes to see & the will to serve those whom God has put in our path on our way to destination.
Granny Jo shared with us about Dorcas at our Quarterly Refresh on July 25th.?
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