Women of God
Rahab & the Scarlet Cord
“By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.” — Hebrews 11:31
The story of Rahab, located in Joshua 2-6, is one that is full of hope. It’s also full of the LORD’s triumph and protection. In Joshua 1:9, God says to Joshua, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” This is God’s promise to the Israelites. So why is Rahab, a prostitute who lives on the side of the enemy, important?
Let’s dive deep into Rahab’s life and the Battle of Jericho.
The Time in Which Joshua Takes Place
- At the beginning of Joshua, we learn that Moses has just passed away and Joshua is appointed by God as the Israelites’ new leader.
- As the new leader, Joshua is given a very important task: To “get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land [God] [is] about to give to them” (Joshua 1:2).
** What a terrific commandment that must have been! God is getting ready to give the Israelites the Promised Land, Canaan. The Israelites had previously been wandering the desert for forty years due to their own unbelief. After forty years of desert land, can you even imagine the anticipation, the excitement?
Jericho
- In order to get to the Promised Land, however, God would need to lead the Israelites through a heavily fortified city. Jericho was surrounded by a “mudbrick wall 6 ft thick and about 20-26 ft high” (http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2008/06/The-Walls-of-Jericho.aspx).
- Deuteronomy 9:1 describes Jericho as being “greater and stronger” than the Israelites. A strong city with tall walls would be difficult to overcome. But God was fighting for the Israelites. All they needed to do was trust in Him and obey His command.
- And so, Joshua sends two men to spy on the land of Jericho. This is where Rahab comes into the picture.
Rahab’s Role and Character
- Rahab is a prostitute (2:1). We don’t know why; we aren’t told what led her to live in this lifestyle. But she is a woman living in sin nonetheless. Joshua’s spies enter her house and stay there while spying on the land.
- But…Rahab is NOT faithful to the king of Jericho. When the king of Jericho discovers there are spies in Rahab’s house, he orders her to turn them over to him. Instead, she takes the spies to her roof and buries them “under the stalks of flax she had laid out” to dry (2:6).
** She even lies to the king when she says, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from…the men left…I don’t know which way they went” (2:4-5).
WHAT WE CAN SURMISE FROM RAHAB’S DECISION TO HIDE THE SPIES
If she truly wanted to be on the side of the enemy, why would she help the Israelites? She may live in Jericho, but can we really say she is on the enemy’s side?
RAHAB’S STATEMENT OF FAITH
After hiding the spies, she goes to them and has a conversation that reveals the purpose for her decision to help the Israelites. Three times we hear her make a statement of faith.
- “I know that the LORD has given this land to you” (2:8).
- “We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt” (2:10).
- “When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below” (2:11).
** This last statement is essential. If we had only read the first two statements, given in verses 8 and 10, we wouldn’t have known that Rahab believes God is supreme. While she isn’t afraid of God, she is afraid of being on Jericho’s side during a battle she knows God has already won. Rahab recognizes God’s omnipotence, and she is in awe of how mighty He is!
It is only after stating her belief in God that she asks the spies to protect her and her family during battle. She says, “Please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family” (2:12).
** In other words, she knows the spies can’t really promise protection—Only God can provide His protection, and she trusts that God’s protection is sure.
The spies respond in kindness and assure her that she and her family will be safe, as long as she doesn’t tell anyone of God’s plan for the Israelites.
The Rope and the Scarlet Cord
- Rahab helps the spies escape by lowering them by a rope from her window.
** Verses 15-17 blossom with the picture of Christ. It should be noted that in verse 15, her house is “part of the city wall.” But we’ll revisit this later.
Right now, let’s look at the meaning of the word ‘rope’.
- An article by Kehila News, titled “Jericho, Rahab, and the rope of hope”, explains the Hebrew meaning of the word ‘rope’. The Hebrew word is ‘chevel’ and is related to the word ‘chevelim’, which means “pain, sorrow or travail” (https://kehilanews.com/2018/06/13/jericho-rahab-and-the-rope-of-hope/).
BUT…
- When the spies refer to this ‘rope’, they call it a scarlet ‘cord’. They tell her to tie “this scarlet cord in the window through which [she] let [them] down” (2:17). This will be a mark that ensures her safety.
** The Hebrew word for cord is ‘tikeva’, which means “hope, expectation…ground of hope…things hoped for…outcome” (https://kehilanews.com/2018/06/13/jericho-rahab-and-the-rope-of-hope/).
Don’t you see the picture of mercy? Rahab’s rope of sorrows becomes a cord of hope—a scarlet cord, symbolic of “the blood of the Lamb of God, Yeshua the Messiah” (Kehila News). Rahab’s story shows us the picture of salvation—Pain turned into healing, grief turned into joy, death turned into life.
It’s definitely not coincidental that Joshua’s spies entered Rahab’s house. God had plans for her. After Jericho is given to the Israelites, Rahab and her family remain safe and live with the Israelites. Rahab marries an Israelite named Salmon, who happens to be the father of Boaz, the man who marries Ruth. It is from this family line that we get King David and, eventually, Jesus the Messiah.
Incredible, right? Rahab’s story is not only a picture of the salvation that would come from Christ the Lamb; her story is literally a part of the Promised Messiah’s life.
Rahab is an instrument used by God because of her belief and her obedience.
The Fall of Jericho
I want to leave you with one final picture. In Joshua 6, the LORD instructs Joshua and his men to march around the city of Jericho one time for six days and seven times on the seventh day (6:3-4). After marching on the seventh day, they were to “give a loud shout” (vs. 5). We know, of course, that the walls would come tumbling down.
But what about Rahab and her family? After all, Joshua 2:15 states that her house was part of the wall. This paints a picture I had never noticed before. Until now. Think about it…
Rahab has listened to the spies. She has hung her scarlet cord from her window. She’s gathered her entire family and told them they must stay in her house in order to remain safe. She’s watched the Israelites march around the wall for seven days. Seven days, walking in circles. Nothing’s happened. But then, the Israelites finish their march. They cry out a unified, triumphant shout. It’s a shout of victory over a battle God has already won. The wall begins to shake. They hear the thundering sound of the 6ft. thick mudbrick wall crashing, crumbling, falling to the ground in complete ruin.
Rahab holds onto her family. All around them, people are screaming, dying—being buried beneath Jericho’s wall. But Rahab and her family haven’t fallen. In fact, they’re still standing on their feet, for they are protected by Hope—the Hope that never fails.
All is silent now. Rahab looks through her window, and all she can see are the clouds of dust hovering in the air from a fall so mighty. After a while, the clouds fade. She steps toward her window, opens it. She peers to her right. No wall. She peers to her left. Nothing but rubble and ruin. The only part of the wall still standing…is her own. She’s alive; her family’s alive. And now, they can no longer stand on their feet as they fall to their knees in worship while the Israelites take the land God has given them.
And because Rahab welcomed the spies, so too, God now welcomes Rahab as His child. She and her family stay with the Israelites all the rest of their days.
I pray you will cling to God and trust in His power, for when you give your heart to Jesus, you are assured Life. Remember this, dear friend, so that when the walls of this world come tumbling down…
You’ll know beyond any doubt that you are held safely on the palms of God’s hands (Isaiah 49:16).