The ‘SCARLET CORD’ makes ‘ALL’ the ‘DIFFERENCE’!
March 4
Bible Reading: Joshua Chapters 1-3
The ‘SCARLET CORD’ makes ‘ALL’ the ‘DIFFERENCE’!
Then
she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city
wall; she dwelt on the wall. So the men said to her: "We will be blameless
of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, unless, when we come into
the land, you bind this line of scarlet
cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your
father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father's household to your own
home.” And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window. (Josh 2:15, 17-18,
and 21)
As a
precursor to the conquest of Canaan, Joshua sent two spies to check out the
layout of the land (2:1). These two men would have been men of faith and
courage, unlike the fearful ten spies who had spied Canaan 40 years ago with
Joshua and Caleb. Of all the inhabitants of Jericho, they chose the home of
Rahab, the prostitute since that would be a good camouflage for their visit.
However, the news reached the king of Jericho, who confronted Rahab and
demanded that she release the spies to the king. Rahab lied to the king risking
her own life, and she was rewarded
eventually for her faith in Jehovah!
What we see
in this story is that Rahab was a woman of faith (Psalms 87:4) who confessed
the greatness of Jehovah with these words: "...for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath"
(2: 11b). She acknowledged her faith in Jehovah, and due to her confession, she
and her entire family were spared from death and destruction even though she
was an Amorite (see Gen. 15:16, 21) and a prostitute. Eventually, Rahab was
spared from death even though her house was built on the walls of Jericho
(2:15), which came crashing down eventually (6:20). The only way she was spared was because she tied a scarlet cord in the
window of her house!
The scarlet cord reminds us of the blood of
the lamb that was smeared on the doorpost, and the life of the firstborn of the
family was spared from death. After Rahab was spared from death by Joshua
(6:25), she got absorbed into the Jewish nation, and eventually married Salmon
to become the great grandmother of King David, who was the ancestor of the
Messiah, Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:5). One key lesson here: God’s plans for us are far beyond any plans that we may have for
ourselves!
This story
portrays the Gospel, in which the city of
Jericho can be equated to our world
that is doomed for sure destruction in the near future. The spies represent the preachers of the Gospel, who call out that the judgment is coming
soon. The scarlet cord represents the
blood of Jesus Christ that was shed
for the remission of our sins, and Rahab
represents the person who trusts Jesus
Christ as his/her Savior. The scarlet cord (or, the blood of Jesus) makes all
the difference in our lives!
