December 27, 2023

The story of Rahab the harlot is one of intrigue. She opened her door to the spies sent to look at Jericho before Israel overtook it. She knew their country was doomed to destruction because of what she had heard, and the whole country was fearful. Rahab believed that their God was the God of Heaven. Because she helped them, she asked that they deal with her and her family kindly when they came to take over. They told her to hang the scarlet fabric in her window and make sure her family was in her home during the raid, and they would all be protected, but if they were caught outside, they would die like everyone else. She had to keep it a secret. Isn't it interesting that the ribbon was red, like the blood of Jesus that protects us from destruction, and that it was all they needed to be saved? Side note: Rahab is in the lineage of Jesus. I can't help but wonder if one of those spies became her husband. Salmon and Rahab were the parents of Boaz, who then married Ruth and gave birth to Obed, Jessie's father, and Jessie was the father of King David! Can you believe it? There was a Canaanite woman in the lineage of Jesus! What a picture of God's mercy showing that someone outside his chosen people could become the catalyst to bring our Savior into the world. That gives us hope that even someone with a checkered past could receive salvation because of their belief in the name of Jesus. There is hope for all of us.

Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee. Joshua 2:18