Why did Paul send Dial and Timothy to Macedonia?

This is part two of the continuing saga of the apostle Paul and his horrifying body odor. You may remember how we explained that the reason John-Mark left Paul and Barnabas near the start of their first mission because he couldn't stand Paul's smell. By the end of the trip, Barnabas agreed, and the pair split up. When Silas agreed to partner with Paul, Barnabas warned him to stock up on soap. Silas chose to take Dial—which Paul ignored.

During Paul and Silas' trip they met a young man named Timothy in Lystra (Acts 16:1). He lived with and was trained by his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5). As anyone else in that position would affirm, when a young man is raised by his mother and grandmother, he learns a certain standard of grooming that is not necessarily compatible with a man who does not bathe. During the rest of that trip, Timothy enjoyed the freedom of bathing—or not—whenever he wanted. During Paul's third trip, however, Timothy grew wearing of the ever-present stench. It got so bad he developed stomach problems that plagued him the rest of his life (1 Timothy 5:23).

One night in Ephesus, while checking his pack, Timothy found several bars of Dial soap that Silas had given him earlier in the trip. Timothy left Paul muttering about the Corinthians and snuck to a deserted spot by a river. After a good scrubbing, he felt like a new man. He felt so good, he unthinkingly returned Paul and exulted in his lack of grime. He then made the fatal mistake of offering Paul some of his soap.

Already irritated, Paul blew up. He threw the soap out the door of their tent and raged about how "cleanliness is next to godliness" is not found in Scripture and it is God who makes us clean, not works.

This display terrified Timothy. The next morning, when Paul realized what his outburst had done to the sensitive young lad, he tried to make amends. Eventually, Erastus offered to take Timothy to Macedonia where they could set things up for Paul's arrival (Acts 19:22). Paul reluctantly agreed, and Timothy packed up his Dial and left.

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