The Scarlet Cord of Promise

Joshua chapter 2 verse 18 says

When we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down.

This is the moment Rahab secures a promise of life from the two Israelite spies. That scarlet cord hanging in her window became the sign of salvation. Just like during the Passover, when the homes covered in the blood of the lamb were spared, Rahab’s house was marked by that scarlet cord, and destruction passed over her.

But when we think about it, only Rahab and her family were saved in that entire city. No one else in Jericho came to the spies. No one else sought that promise. They continued living their lives as if everything was fine, while destruction was already on its way.

That makes me ask, who are we today? Are we like Rahab, someone who has received the promise of life? Or are we like the rest of Jericho, living without it, thinking everything will somehow work out?

Rahab had the wisdom to recognize that Jericho was doomed. She saw what others ignored. And instead of trusting her city walls or her old life, she made a decision. She stood with the people of God. She received the promise.

In the same way, when we see our sin, when we realize that destruction is certain, we can come to Jesus. We don’t have to fix our lives. We don’t have to be strong. We just have to believe the promise. That Jesus has already paid for our sins with His blood.

That scarlet cord points us to something greater, the blood of Jesus Christ. The blood that speaks for us. The blood that says we are no longer guilty. The blood that says we are righteous. Holy. Clean.

Rahab’s house was the only one spared because of that cord. And today, those who believe in the power of Jesus’ blood will also not perish. That’s the promise. And I pray that each of us would stand on that promise, just like Rahab did.