Words To The Wise: The Scarlet Cord Redeemed
“And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord to the window. “-Joshua 2:21b
In the book Pearl in the Sand, Christian author Tessa Afshar narrates the story of Rahab, exploring how Rahab was saved by the Israelites during the destruction of Jericho and Rahab’s probable life among the Israelites, including her relationship with Salmone. Reading that book, I learned a lot about Canaanite culture, and I also learned about how God can redeem anybody who has faith in Him.
Consider the story of Rahab as written in the book of Joshua (chapters 2 and 6).
A Canaanite prostitute, Rahab would have been a descendant of Ham, Canaan’s father, who was cursed by Noah after Ham mocked his father’s drunkenness. The father of African and Middle East/Asian countries, Ham was not the father of the Jewish people whom God chose for Himself (Shem was). Her Canaanite ancestry, in addition to the fact that she sold her body for money, would have made Rahab an unlikely candidate for the mercy of God. Being Canaanite, she would have been a pagan, polytheistic woman.
But God’s hand is not so stretched out that it cannot save. Rahab, along with the rest of Jericho, had heard of how God saved the Israelites from Egypt and how He destroyed the kings Sihon and Og who refused to permit the Israelites entry into the promised land. This history was enough, apparently, for Rahab to believe in the one true God. Having hidden the Jewish spies from the Jericho soldiers, she begged them to save her and her family.
You likely know the rest of the story. On the day Jericho was destroyed, Rahab and her family were saved because of the scarlet cord tied to her window. What do we learn from Rahab’s story that we can apply to our lives?
First, God rewards faith. Hebrews 11:6 says that those who come to God must believe that He exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. In saving the spies and tying the cord to her window, Rahab demonstrated faith - great faith - in God, despite how little she knew about Him - and God rewarded that with salvation.
Secondly, in believing in God, your story changes. God loves all people so much that He wants us to come to the knowledge of the truth - Jesus (John 14:6). When she was saved, Rahab was delivered from a lifestyle of prostitution, and indeed was an ancestor of Jesus, being the great-great-grandmother of David. While she is still called a prostitute in both Hebrews and James, Matthew records her relationship to Jesus for posterity.
Finally, it doesn’t matter who you are - God wants you to come to a relationship with Him. He is no respecter of persons; He is not partial. Rahab was a Gentile prostitute. Yet, God saved her - and he can save you if only you would call upon the name of the Lord.
Won’t you do so today?
How does it impact your view of God that He chose to include a Gentile prostitute in the line of Jesus?
How does it make you feel that God is the redeemer of broken stories, such as Rahab’s?
What is one thing you want to do this week to remind you that God accepts you - no matter who you are or what you’ve done - when you call out to Him in faith?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ozi Ojukwu is a girl wildly in love with Jesus. A recent graduate of Cedarville University, she is a Colson-Fellow-In Training, learning about the fundamentals of a Christian worldview and how it connects to all of public life. She recently completed an internship at the Borgen Project, a nonprofit that makes global poverty a focus of US foreign policy. A bookworm to the core, she loves reading both historical fiction and memoirs. Her favorite verse is Romans 1:16.