The Scarlet Cord

Read Joshua 2

Rahab lived in a house built into the wall at Jericho. She was a harlot and the house she lived in was more an Inn where men paid for a bed for the night and this included the favours of Rahab. However, her life was about to change.
Joshua, acting on direct orders from God, sent two men out to spy the land and gain the information they would need for taking the land. The men came to Rahab's house and booked a room overnight. However, this was not to receive her pleasures but for their rest. Rahab knew there was something different about them and because she lived in an Inn where gossip was freely spoken, she had an idea that these men were warriors and were here on military business.
The King of Jericho also heard the gossip and believed the men had come to spy out the land. He sent men to arrest them. However, Rahab acted earlier than this and hid the men on her roof, telling the king's men that they had already left. She sent them away on a wild goose chase. She told the two men to go to the mountains and stay there 3 days and then go on in another direction, it would be safe then.
Before she let them down the wall by a rope, she asked them to honour her and her family by sparing their lives when a battle came. They agreed to this and told her to hang a scarlet cord from her bedroom window so that the house would be recognised and the people inside spared.

The scarlet cord is a reminder of our salvation. For the Israelites, it would be rather like the blood of the Passover lamb and the blood on the doorposts for protection. It is also a reminder of the blood of Jesus on the cross in payment for our sins. Importantly here, it was a covenant between Rahab and Joshua. The men had agreed to tell him how she had saved them and as long as the scarlet cord was in place, her and her family would be spared. And this happened - see Joshua 6:25.

Joshua's men showed Rahab respect, possibly more than she had ever seen before. Instead of the abuse that she had suffered at the hands of other men, these two affected her; she was drawn to them. She knew they were different and I believe that she saw God in them. Impact evangelism is powerful. One doesn't need to say anything about God, people just see Him in you. This is what happened here.
Rahab, would never be the same again. Her life of prostitution would be over. She trusted these men and they didn't let her down. Impact evangelism is a reward of spending lots of time with Jesus- meditating on Him, listening to Him, submitting to Him and putting Him first place in your life. People can't fail to see that there is something about you that they like and want. A word does not need to be spoken.

In this account, we see the power of covenant - living by a person's word and offering the same back. We also see honour and trust and we see the beauty of a life changed. Changed by the power of God.

God may have changed your life or He may want to. He is the only one that we can fully trust; the only one who will never let us down; the only one who has provided a way into Heaven one day and the only one who loves you so much He can't get enough of you.

Rahab saw it for herself that day and she would never be the same again.

If this has spoken to you, please let me know  dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com