The Scarlet Cord

(I was asked to lead a Bible study, here’s what I shared.)

The story is told of a monastery in Greece, perched high on a 3,000 foot cliff and accessible only by a terrifying ride in a swaying basket. The basket is pulled with a single rope by several monks, perspiring under the strain of the fully loaded basket.

One American tourist who visited the site got nervous halfway up the cliff when he noticed that the rope was old and frayed. Hoping to relieve his fear he asked, “How often do you change the rope?” The monk in charge replied, “Whenever it breaks!”

Today we will be studying a story about a rope or a cord that was used by 2 spies to escape from a window, but that cord, a scarlet cord, was left hanging on the window to be a sign of deliverance. Let’s open our Bibles to Joshua 2:

¹⁵ Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall. ¹⁶ And she said to them, “Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way.”

¹⁷ So the men said to her: “We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, ¹⁸ 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. ¹⁹ So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him. ²⁰ And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath which you made us swear.”

²¹ Then she said, “According to your words, so be it.” And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window.

Our story happened in the ancient city of Jericho, which is considered as the oldest inhabited city. The location of Jericho is strategic as it is in the crossroads of trade travelers. The site of the ancient Jericho is in a northern part of the modern city of Jericho, in a mound that is known today as Tell-es Sultan (Sultan’s hill, see photo below).

Jericho, or Yeriho in Hebrew, was named after the Canaanite moon goddess. It can also mean fragrance in the Canaanite language. Maybe Jericho was known for their spices or perfume in its early history.

In Joshua 2:1, it stated that Joshua sent 2 spies to the city of Jericho. Since there’s no spy planes, nor drones, nor spy balloons, at that time they needed to send people to infiltrate the place.

During that time, the spies were picked for their certain skills and abilities. Same is true in our modern times. A spy needs to be physically fit and agile (these spies escaped from a high window); highly intelligent and quick thinker, who can handle stress even in extreme adversity (they have to be calm and quiet even when they can hear the king and his men downstairs looking for them); and has an ability to adapt and blend no matter what the environment is (they blended with the flax when they hid under them). In our mind, a spy lives a dangerous yet exciting life. Like James Bond.

We must remember that Joshua was once a spy. He was one of the 12 spies sent by Moses to get a visual assessment of Canaan. And only he and Caleb gave a good report. So Joshua definitely know the life of the spy, and picked these two men to send to Jericho. We are not given the names of these 2 spies, but there are speculations which I’ll tell later.

Where did the spies stayed in Jericho? With Rahab. Who is Rahab?

It appears that Rahab’s family own a tavern, where travelers may lodge. It’s like bed and breakfast. But Rahab offers services that is more than that. The Bible says she is a harlot, a prostitute. That is as direct as it can get, the Bible did not use euphemism, like lady of the night. Rahab was a Canaanite, considered as a pagan, and also a harlot. Not good qualities for a woman.

Their house was on the wall. According to archeological diggings of the ancient city of Jericho, the wall consist of a double wall.

The wealthier people lived inside the inner wall. Because property value may be less, the poorer people live outside the inner wall and some of their houses have the outer wall as part of their wall. That’s why Rahab’s window can lead outside the city.

What else do we know about Rahab and her house? Houses at that time have flat roofs. That was where they store their equipment and products. Rahab’s family have flax in their roof, where she hid the spies. Flax (photo below) is used to make linen clothing and ropes. So maybe Rahab’s family business beside the tavern, and beside being a harlot, was also making linen and ropes.

Joshua 2:2-6 states that the king of Jericho was looking for the spies. Maybe someone, like the counter-intelligence agency of the city, smelled that there were spies inside their walls, and they reported to the king. So the king went to Rahab’s house looking for the spies.

What did Rahab do? She hid the spies in the roof of her house under the flax, and then she flatly lied to her own king saying that the spies already left. She betrayed her own people. So besides being a heathen, a harlot, she was also a liar, and a traitor. That was who Rahab is.

But what else do we know about Rahab. Let’s read Joshua 2:8-11:

8 Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, 9 and said to the men: “I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 11 And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.

She probably heard many news from the travelers that she encountered intimately. Because of her line of work, she was privileged to exclusive stories from foreigners.

Rahab was ready to believe in a God that she has not known. A God different from her Canaanite gods. A God that is foreign to her, yet she accepted this God as the true God of heaven above and on earth beneath. In fact, Rahab have more faith in this God that she have not seen, than many of the Israelites who have seen God every day as their pillar of cloud during the day and their pillar of fire during the night, who provides them manna every day.

Rahab risked her life for betraying her own people, yet she was ready to embrace the God of a foreign nation.

My friends, a time is coming that we have to choose. There will come a time that our country, our friends, and even our own family will turn against us. Where will our loyalty be? When this world persecute us, just remember our citizenship is not of this world. We are citizens of heaven.

Let’s continue reading the story, Joshua 2: 12-14:

¹² Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token, ¹³ and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.”

¹⁴ So the men answered her, “Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the Lord has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.”

Here you can see Rahab as a masterful negotiator. She probably honed this skill after years of dealing and negotiating with difficult clients. People might have thought that they can easily take advantage of her, but she was crafty. She knows how to pull strings (cord). She successfully negotiated that her life and her family’s lives would be save.

Our story continues in Joshua chapter 6. The Israelites finally crossed Jordan, and the first city that stood in their way was Jericho. How did the Israelites conquered Jericho? By marching around it. For how many days? For 7 days. I can just imagine the feeling of doom of the people inside Jericho when the Israelites started marching around their city. As Rahab proclaimed to the spies, all the inhabitants of the city were fainthearted, their courage have all melted, and they were very afraid. But for Rahab and his family they have this thread (cord) of hope, that they were hanging on.

Because the instructions of the spies was that all Rahab’s family should be inside her house, so all of them cramped together inside that small house. They probably remained inside the house for at least 7 days (maybe even longer), when the Israelites started marching around the city. Nobody dared to go outside Rahab’s house or else they would die.

**********

In 1977, a strong earthquake hit Romania. A Christian family lived in a fourth floor of an apartment building. When the building started to shake, the father of that family instead of panicking, started singing. “Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee.”

Then they heard a knock on their door. It was their neighbor. The neighbor said, “Mr Goia, can we come in in your home?” Mr. Goia, the father of that family said, “Everybody is running down the stairs and into the streets, why do you want to come in?” The neighbor said, the stairs may collapse it is not safe, in the streets the building may fall on us, it’s not safe there too. Your home is the only safe place to go.”

Mr. Goia asked, why do you think that? The neighbor said, “When we are shouting at each other and fighting, we hear your family singing and praying. When we have problems, you would come and pray for us. When we have no food, you bring us food. Heaven is in this home. Please let us come in!”

Are your neighbors seeing heaven in your home? Do the people around our church seeing heaven in our church? That in the time of crisis they would like to come into our home, or into our church, because it is the only safe place to be.

**********

Back to Rahab’s story. What was the sign that Rahab had to place in her window for her house to be spared from the destruction? A scarlet cord.

We already discussed that the rope was most likely made of flax. The natural color of flax is pale yellowish gray. So the cord must have been dyed. Where did the red dye came from?

According to historical research, the the scarlet red dye during the Bible times was obtained from the dead bodies of the little ‘worm’ with the scientific name ‘Coccus ilicis’ (the Crimson worm). This was the scarlet dye used to color the curtains of the Temple and garments of the high priest.

What is very interesting is the fact that the female worm attaches herself to a tree when she is about to lay her eggs. She protects her little eggs in this way, until the larvae go their own way. The little female worm attaches herself so strongly however, that she is unable to get herself loose, and she would die in that tree. At the moment of her death, a scarlet red liquid colors her body (photo above) and the surrounding wood. Her offsprings or larvae would also be stained and would remain scarlet for the rest of their lives. After three days, the mother’s dead body loses its scarlet color and turns into a white wax which falls to the ground like snow.

In fact in the passage in Isaiah 1:18 – “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” The Hebrew root word that was used for scarlet and crimson, refers to this crimson worm.

Christ was also attached to a tree. He was nailed to a tree. He died and His crimson blood flowed and stained that cross. That blood cleanse you and me. And though our sins are like scarlet, He made them as white as snow.

Like the stain of the blood of the lamb that the Israelites had to put in their doorpost during the Passover in Egypt so the first born would be saved, Rahab had to hang a scarlet cord in her window in order for her family to be saved. These foreshadow the coming Savior who would die and redeem us through His blood. My friends, we can only be saved if we have the mark of Jesus’ blood. Our salvation is only through Jesus Christ.

**********

On the 7th day of marching around the city of Jericho, the Israelites circled 7 times that day. After that they gave a loud shout. Then something amazing happened: the walls of Jericho fell down!

But something more amazing happened: while all the walls fell down, one part of the wall remained standing. That part of the wall, where the house of Rahab was. Can you imagine that? All the wall fell down except where Rahab’s house was, for if it fell also, Rahab’s family would get crushed and die.

Let’s read Joshua 6:

²² But Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, “Go into the harlot’s house, and from there bring out the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her.” ²³ And the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. So they brought out all her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel. ²⁴ But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. ²⁵ And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father’s household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

Not only was Rahab’s life spared, she was also integrated into the camp of Israel. She was accepted as one of their own.

But Rahab’s story did not end there. The next time we found the name of Rahab was in Matthew, in the genealogy of Jesus. Let’s read Matthew 1:

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:

² Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. ³ Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. ⁴ Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. ⁵ Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, ⁶ and Jesse begot David the king.

Rahab married Salmon, who was not mentioned in the Old Testament. There is some speculation that Salmon is one of the 2 spies, but we have no way to prove that. But what we are sure is this: Rahab, the heathen, the harlot, the traitor was accepted into the family of God.

Rehab became the great grandmother of King David, and the great, great, great, great, great, great, great…….grandmother of Jesus the Messiah.

If God can accept Rahab, He can accept you and me to the family of God. If God can use Rahab, He can use you and me.

The last time Rahab was mentioned in the Bible was in Hebrews 11. This chapter is like the hall of fame of faith, where Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses were mentioned. Hebrews 11:31 says:

³¹ By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.

I pray that we are inspired by the life of Rahab. Let me end with another story.

**********

In 1936 the Germans built an enormous, 804-foot-long airship called the Hindenburg. As they were getting ready to maneuver the blimp into the hanger, about 100 men on the ground were hanging onto the zeppelin’s ropes. Unexpectedly, the huge airship rose up with tremendous force.

As soon as it lifted, some of the men let go of the ropes, dropped to the ground, and didn’t get hurt. Others waited until they were 50 or more feet off the ground before they let go, and when they fell they broke their ankles and legs. A few others panicked and instinctively tightened their grip. They went up with the balloon but couldn’t hang on forever. Their arms and hands grew weak, so they let go and fell to their deaths.

Soon the Hindenburg began to hover and drift with the breeze several hundred feet up. Yet one man remained hanging from the airship. The people on the ground wondered how long he could last. They chased the Hindenburg for about three hours. Eventually it lost altitude, landed, and the lone man was able to hang on and walk away.

The stunned onlookers asked, “How did you hang on for so long?”

He replied, “Once the blimp took off, I tightened my grip. I soon realized that I couldn’t hold on forever. So, while hanging on with one arm, I used my free arm to wrap the remaining rope around my waist and then tied a knot. For three hours I just hung there, trusting the rope, and enjoyed the view!”

Rahab’s scarlet cord is a symbol of faith. Rahab tied a knot of faith. We must also tie a knot of faith and hang on. The scarlet cord is also a symbol of Jesus’ blood. We must have Jesus’ blood for that is the only one that can save us. Then let’s tell our friends and family that Joshua, or Yeshua (Jesus our Savior) is coming back soon.

This is my prayer.

***********

(*photos from the web)