The sign of the scarlet cord

The sign of the scarlet cord

Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho. Her house was on the city wall. People come and go to her home without being noticed. When Joshua sent two spies to scout out the land around Jericho, they went to the house of Rahab. But someone told the king of Jericho, "Some Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land." So the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab: "Bring out the men who have come into your house, for they have come here to spy out the whole land." But Rahab hid the two spies and told the king's officers that the men who came to her had already left. 

Later, Rahab went up on the roof where she hid the two spies and talked with them. She acknowledged the God of Israel is the true God. She said our hearts melted when we heard about the miracles your God performed to deliver the Israelites from Egypt, how the Lord made a dry path through the Red Sea. And how He helped Israel defeat their enemies on the way. She believed God of Israel is going to give Jericho also into the hands of Israel. 

 

Once she realized she and her relatives were in danger, she helped the spies by hiding them and asked them to spare her life when they conquer the land. The men agreed and said, "Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father's household" (Joshua 2:18).

 

The scarlet cord represents safety for all those who would believe and come for protection. The scarlet rope is a sign of protection. The people who are outside the house that was marked with a scarlet cord were in grave danger.  

 

Later, Rahab married Salmon and gave birth to Boaz. "Boaz fathered Obed, Obed fathered Jesse. Jesse fathered ... David" (1 Chronicles 2:12-13). Because of her faith in the God of Israel, Rahab became the great-great-grandmother of David and whose line the Messiah was born. No matter how sinful your past may be, Jesus can turn around your life when you repent and surrender your life to Him. When Rahab put her faith in the one true living God, He turned a prostitute to be counted in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:5).

 The sign of the blood on doorposts

When Israel came out of Egypt, the Lord told Moses that the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel should kill their lambs at twilight. "Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses ...The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt" ( Exodus 12:6-7, 13). Those whose houses were marked by the blood were saved.  

 

The sign of the blood on the cross

 

In the New Testament, Jesus was the Passover lamb.  "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29).

 

As the writer of the Hebrews notes, "For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself" (Hebrews 7:26-27).

 

"Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22). Jesus Christ came into this world, lived a perfect life, and shed his precious blood on the cruel cross for the sins of humanity. 

 

Those who came inside the house where the lamb's blood is applied on the doorposts were saved. Those who went inside the house where the scarlet cord was tied were saved. Similarly, those who come under the blood of Christ will be saved. 

 

To come under the protection of the blood of Christ is to repent of one's sins and accept Him as Lord and Savior. "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost (Matthew 18:11).

 

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,  that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:14-15).

 

"But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. ... If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:7,9).

Dear friend, if you are reading this, it is not too late to go to Jesus Christ and confess your sins and receive the gift of salvation by faith. 

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