Rahab And Your Scarlet Cord
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“Now the men had said to her, ‘This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on them. But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.’ ‘Agreed,’ she replied. ‘Let it be as you say.’ So she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.” Joshua 2:17-21 (NIV)
This is one of the most powerful stories of grace and redemption in the Bible. It starts out like a business trip gone bad, though, when the two spies Joshua sent into Jericho find themselves in the house of a prostitute named Rahab. Before you jump to conclusions, it’s important to know that Rahab’s house was built upon the great wall of Jericho and harlots like Rahab kept rooms for rent to travelers who may come to the city for business. It wasn’t uncommon for strangers to be seen coming in and out of her house. But these two strangers were scouts. They were witnesses of the Most High God sent out by Joshua to bring a report back before Israel would plan their attack to take the city. I think it’s fascinating that the Old Testament name for Jesus is Joshua. Like these two scouts, Jesus sends His followers into the world to be a witness for Him. Jericho is a picture of a fallen world, kidnapped by an enemy, the god (little “g”) of this age, called Satan or the devil. When man chose to sin, our world fell into the hands of the evil one who seeks to steal, to kill and to destroy. But God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, on a rescue mission to reclaim this fallen world and save all those who would come to Him by faith. When these two spies made it to Rahab’s home, she recognized them. They were not like other men, so she hid them from the King of Jericho. Then she told the spies, “‘I know the LORD has given you this land.’ … ‘We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. For we have heard how the LORD made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed. No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.’” Joshua 2:9-11 (NLT)
What a testimony of faith! Despite how morally unfit Rahab may have been, she wanted to be saved and she desperately wanted her family to be saved. She begged the two spies, “Now swear to me by the LORD that you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you. Give me some guarantee that when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families.” (Verses 12-13 NLT)
The men agreed and said it will be our lives for yours and they made this promise to her in verses 17 to 21, “Now the men had said to her, ‘This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on them. But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.’ ‘Agreed,’ she replied. ‘Let it be as you say.’ So she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.”
The scarlet cord would identify her house for protection when Israel invaded the city. The color of the cord is significant because it reminds us of the blood of Jesus that saves and protects us from the judgment to come, just as the blood of the lamb slain on the night the death angel came to Egypt before the exodus. It was called a Passover Lamb. In the same way, the scarlet cord marked the house of Rahab protecting all who were inside. Rahab let the men down from the window of her house with that rope and kept it in the window from that moment on. This would be a sure sign of the covenant they had made with her.
It's important to note that Rahab and her family were saved by faith in God and not the scarlet cord hanging out the window. She tied that cord there by faith. Then she risked it all and told all her family to get into the house. They would only be saved if they were in the house when Joshua came with his army to take the city. What a picture of the church in our fallen and sinful world today. One day our Joshua, the Lord Jesus Christ, is going to return to reclaim the world He made and died to redeem. When He returns only those who have trusted in His sacrificial blood will be redeemed. That is the church today. Are you in the house? Have you put your faith in Jesus Christ to save you from the judgment to come?
I also find great encouragement from Rahab that your family can be saved no matter what your background is! Rahab was a prostitute! A harlot. Morally unfit. Yet when you get to Hebrews 11:31 in the New Testament, she is found among the great heroes of faith! “It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.” Rahab experienced what so many through the ages have experienced - that the blood of Jesus Christ washes us white as snow! Isaiah 1:18 promises us, “‘Come now, let us settle the matter,’ says the LORD. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’” Here’s the point - there is nothing in your past stronger than the blood of Jesus Christ! Rahab would also be found in the lineage of Jesus! She later marries, who I think, may have been one of the two spies, a man named Salmon. He was the only one of the two men named. They would become the Great, Great Grandparents of King David of Israel in the ancestry of Jesus Christ. WOW!
Have you ever thought of yourself as too far gone? Irredeemable? A hopeless case? NEVER! God’s grace is greater than all our sin! Simply do what Rahab did. Put your faith in Him! Our scarlet cord today is Jesus Christ! His blood is the New Covenant that washes away our sins and saves us from the judgment to come. Trust Him to forgive you and save you and He will! Not only will He save you, but He will use you to save others.