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Ring of Truth provides 366 daily ‘proofs’ that the Bible is consistent throughout from Genesis to Revelation, and relevant for our lives today!
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Joshua 2:17
Then the men said to her, “This oath you make us swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house.”
Sound familiar?
God uses symbols to help us remember. I wonder how much these men based their request on ‘Passover’. They were released from their commitment to save her unless the scarlet cord was there, and all the family members were inside the house.
In Egypt, the scarlet blood had to be there on the lintel and doorposts and the whole family had to be inside when the Angel of death passed over (see Exodus 12). The scarlet cord represented the ‘price paid’ and the ‘cover’ for all inside. It was just one more picture of what was yet to come.
The Bible talks a lot about scarlet and cords, as we shall see as we walk through this year. Here, however, as in every other instance of God dealing with men in salvation, it comes down to grace and faith.
This lady, Rahab, was a prostitute; why should she be saved out of all the people in Jericho - were there not ‘better’ people there? God in His righteousness sees everyone the same - because we have all failed, whether sexually, legally, or through pride, stubbornness and self-centredness. She was really no different from all the rest. It’s the same today. We so often want to categorise sins or give them different values but sin is sin in God’s eyes and we all qualify. (See also Romans 3:22-23.)
His grace is still the same, too. She had a scarlet cord - we have the precious blood of Jesus - both are adequate - the cord for her - (see Joshua 6:23) and the blood of Jesus for us today (see 1 Peter 1:18-19). Both took faith - (see Ephesians 2:8). Just as it was with those that had to look to a snake in order to live (see Numbers 21:4-9), so she and her family had to have faith in a red cord and we have to have faith in the blood of Jesus shed for us. They all work. Rahab was saved and all her family (see Hebrews 11:31). So can we be.
Earlier when the spies were with her, she had told them how all the people knew of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea on dry land and how they had completely destroyed the two kings of the Ammonites. “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 earth below” (v 11).
That was 40 years before. They had been living in fear all that time and now the day of reckoning had arrived. How would you feel?
Listen - the unsaved are fearful for good reason - Go, tell them some Good News.
Their fear can go and they can have total peace with God right now because of the scarlet blood of Jesus, which has been shed for them and is still available and effective today.
Pray that the Lord will give you the opportunity to share this Good News with your family, friends or neighbours soon.
(Or maybe even the ‘local’ prostitute.)
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