I wonder who decreed that the colors of Christmas should be red
and green: red, the color of blood and often of death, green the color of life
and growth? Somehow, I don’t think the
designation of these was any accident.
In Matthew 1:5, we see
the name Rahab, and we read that she was the mother of Boaz, and mother-in-law
of Ruth. Looking further down the list, we see that she was the great
great-grandmother of King David, that her blood was in the ancestral line of
Jesus Christ, our Messiah. But, just who was Rahab?
Her story is recorded in Joshua 2. Wow, it is an amazing one!
The two spies mentioned in the story are
not named, but I have wondered if one of them was Salmon, the Jewish man who
eventually married Rahab. Both of those men had to have been impressed
with her moxy. Rahab was an astute businesswoman, even though the nature
of her business was ungodly. Her house was part of the city's wall.
Have you ever ruined something, seemingly beyond repair? Ruination carries with it a sense that
whatever was messed up can’t be fixed.
Rahab must have felt a bitter sense of futile hopelessness - -
that her life had been ruined far past redemption. It is extremely hard for many of us to accept
the love of God, not because He is insufficient, but because we do not see
ourselves as lovable, as "worthy"!
We see no way out, no hope. Ann
Voskamp tells us that the word “cord” in the Joshua passage, that same red cord
Rahab threw out the window of her house-in-the-wall, is tikvah, which means “hope”.
And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
Joshua 2:21b (NIV)
I am simply amazed at how Rahab, when she
HEARD the truth of the one God Jehovah, saw hope. She grabbed hold of that lifeline, that hope
rope, and held on! She threw herself
"all in" with the God of the Hebrews. When God opened her ears,
she switched her allegiance. She was obviously a talented, passionate
woman before switching sides. No doubt God used those talents in her new
life as well. He saw fit, in His amazing grace and redemption, to weave
her into the ancestry of his Son. Y'all, are you "getting" that
she was a "madame"? She ran a whorehouse, for goodness sake!
But, don't miss this: sin is sin is sin. Rahab's sin - - -
it is no worse than mine. All sin separates us from our God, and He hates
it - - - all of it: the pride, the lying, the cheating, the slander, the
hatred of people, the immorality....all of it separates us from Him. This
is why we need a Savior! Yes, after we accept Jesus, all of our sins
(past, present, future) are forgiven; but, we still need to come to Him for
cleansing (confession, repentance, forgiveness) every day (and usually all
during the day!) We are never turned
away, hallelujah!
Such is the unfathomable grace of our God!
It's no mistake that the cord was red. The spies told her: the red cord is a symbol by which you and your
family will be spared, as long as you stay inside your house during the
upcoming raid and conquest.
That red cord represents the blood of Jesus Christ. It is a
foreshadowing of what God would do through the sacrifice of His Son centuries later and what He
will do for anyone today who comes under the blood sacrifice of Jesus for
forgiveness of sin and for protection. When we accept Jesus' blood sacrifice
for our sins, we are "in God's House" of protection. Spiritual
destruction will never come near us again.
Notice that it was not Rahab's own merits which saved her; in that Jewish culture, she would have been stoned for her sins
of harlotry. It was her obedience and acceptance of the gift, the grace
of the Hebrew God that saved her. The same revolutionary, redemptive
offer is available today!
A couple of years ago, I attended an event
where a former prostitute spoke. She told us about the hopelessness of
The Life, as those in the sex trade call it, how she felt forever trapped, unable to escape. That was, until a Christ follower told her about the
red rope, the saving blood of Jesus. All she had to do was accept it.
Now, she is free, and has been for 12 years. Additionally, as He
did for Rahab, He has given this woman a loving husband, children and a
successful career. Praise His name!
“He took my feet from the
miry clay, yes He did, yes He did,
And placed them on The Rock
to stay, yes He did, yes He did.
I can tell the world about
this.
I can tell the nations that
I'm blessed,
Tell them how Jesus made me
whole
And He brought joy, JOY to
my soul!"
Traditional Spiritual, based on Psalm 40:2
Just about anytime you hear a Christian
talk about Rahab, they refer to her as Rahab the Harlot. Well, I understand why
they do that; it's because they want to illustrate just how awesome the saving
power of GOD is. But, because her story does not stop with her left in
her sin, it is more appropriate to refer to her as Rahab the Marvelously
Redeemed, or Rahab the Great Great-Grandmother of King David. When we come to
Christ, God obliterates the sin debt of our past. We become a new
creation in Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17 - - - If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation: old things are passed
away; look! all things have become new!) Harlot to princess!
Do you understand that THIS is the theme of the entire Bible, Old
and New Testaments … the love story of God pursuing fallen mankind. It is a scarlet thread, a hope rope, which
runs through and unites the Holy Scriptures.
Beginning with the animals’ blood spilled in Eden, so that their skins
could cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve, it runs on through millions of
animal sacrifices. It is seen running
through the blood of the Passover lamb, that blood painted onto the doorposts
of the Hebrews in Egypt. It runs on
through the story of Rahab, into the Garden of Gethsemane, where the blood of
our Savior eeked from His pores. It pools at the cross of Calvary, where He was
broken and spilled out….for you, for me.
There is no stench so great He cannot dispel
No filth so putrid He cannot cleanse
No mire so deep He cannot free
No situation so desperate, no sinner too hopeless.
He rescues, redeems, restores.
Grab hold of The Hope Rope today. Tie it in the window of your soul.
Father, thank you for the sacrifice of
Your precious Son, for me, to save me from my filthy, dirty sin. I am
incredulous that You opened my ears as a nine-year old girl, but miraculously,
You did. "Thank you" does not begin to cover it. Your grace is amazing! Thank you for The Hope Rope. In Jesus' name,
amen.
Sources:
Voskamp, Ann. The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas. December 10. Print.
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