"A SIMPLE SCARLET CORD" JANUARY 2020 Part 1

Let us assume that everyone had a wonderful holiday moment going places, partying with friends and relatives, and attending special church services. As we look upon the paths we have trodden over the last 12 months, the events that will live in our memory for years to come, from this vantage point with aspirations for this new year, possibly, we have already outlined as if in a ledger, the changes that we are introducing in our lifestyle. To concur with these thoughts, I have decided to put the spotlight on a lady, who lived in Jericho, and had a character that was not pleasing to her villagers; in so much, that she moved away from her immediate relatives and lived by herself.

During my years of exposure to the ministry—in fact, even while I was a teenager, sitting in the back row, making fun of certain folks in the congregation, I heard preachers made mention of Rahab the prostitute, or more commonly called "the harlot." Very little else was ever explained about this prostitute who managed to save two spies who entered her city, being sent on a specific mission by Joshua. We were not given any facts on her background, and the prominent place she held in the lineage of Jesus Christ. The church simply featured her as being a prostitute, and the fact that she hid the two spies thus, in the process, saved herself and her entire family. However, in this study, we will put this lady under scrutiny, paying keen attention to who she was, her action and faith when she hid the spies and saw them safely out of town.

We will take time to examine her background, her work, and her family ties.

A direct symbol of her redemption and that of her entire family is woven into her story. It is remarkable to think that this prostitute from the land of Canaan is among three other women to be chronicled into the ancestry of Jesus Christ. The other three are Ruth, Tamar, and Bathsheba. What is most remarkable for us to observe, are the events that brought these women directly into the Family Tree of the Messiah.

Over the years, I have heard preachers say in my presence, that God preserved a pure bloodline through which Christ the Messiah would come. Excuse me, my friend! There is no truth, and no scriptural support for that belief. In fact, the bible offers a bundle of truths to the contrary. The first item that highlights God’s redemptive act towards Israel, is the scarlet cord. It figures completely with the blood daubed upon the door posts of the Israelites just before the death angel came by. Both events are divided by some forty years (forty being a number of great significance in scripture, as it relates to a period of severe testing or a period of judgment. So, in retrospect, Israel was saved by the blood placed upon their door posts, and in the story, we notice that the scarlet cord became an instrument of salvation for Rahab: her father, mother, and brethren. Their salvation depended upon them staying behind the scarlet cord, hanging from the window.

It reminds us of that well-known song: "When I see the blood, I will pass, I will pass over you." But there are two dynamics woven into this story. The spies were let down by a simple cord that was strong enough to bear the weight of the men, but small enough to be easily concealed in secret. One of the spies made clear the following condition upon which the people’s salvation shall be determined. "And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we shall be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in thy house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him." Joshua 2:19. Rahab is featured in scripture as a skilled businesswoman. Seemingly, her business did not sit well with the rest of her family (but she appealed to the spies for their well being when they invaded the city.

Her house was situated on a wall that laid even with the city. From this vantage point, she easily entertained travelers going to and fro, and from whom she gathered pertinent information, especially news about the slowly advancing Israelites. She heard of Israel’s victories over several nations so far, in their march toward the land of Canaan. Such news served to condition her mind and even her faith that slowly warmed toward the God of Israelites—a God unknown to her at this time in her life. Her fife-style obviously caused much friction within the family and her solution for ending the tension, was for her to move out on her own; but it seemed that she was skillful in her business. Although Rahab was branded as a prostitute (a whore) and against such reputation, God saw it fit to work with her as an instrument and a building block—an integral part of His Son’s ancestry.

While running a house of disrepute, by her close interactions with the men that passed that way, she learned many vital truths concerning the advancing Israelites. She now speaks in terms and facts that are not a part of her culture, her beliefs, and her worship. The news accounts that she acquired now convinced her of the power and might of the God of the Hebrews. "And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt;

and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side of Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the Lord, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token: and that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. And the men answered her, Our life for yours if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the Lord hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee." Joshua 2:9-14. It is most remarkable how Rahab included her immediate family members; first of all, considering the fact that they did not approve of her lifestyle, in so much, she had to set up house apart from them. But her heart remained warm and loving toward them.

It proves beyond a shadow of doubt that Rahab’s heart was set to do the right thing that meant life or death. In spite of her lifestyle that even her parents and siblings could not condone, God saw a spot within her that he could use. God, as it were, dug beneath all muck and squalor, and human behavior that were able to break his heart. But hidden far beneath all that seemed lawless and even diabolical, the hand of the Divine reached in and extricated for his own purpose that which others could not see and did not know existed. Rahab, as a person seemed so out of touch with what was an acceptable lifestyle, that she had to set up house apart for her family. But amazingly enough, God had chosen her, not only to rescue the spies, but to later save herself and her entire family. As we shall see, this woman of ill repute was ordained by the Lord for great honor, and a place within the lineage of the Messiah that could not ordinarily be imagined.

She was lifted up far above a life of prostitution, and even as a savior of the spies and her family. Far beyond that, she made her way into the lineage of the forth coming Messiah, being one of only four women to be endowed with such honor. This rings true as we remind ourselves that man looks upon the outside, while God looks upon the heart. The genealogy of Christ, the Messiah, begins with Judah, and he is referred to as "the lion of the tribe of Judah." The narrative is rather lengthy, so I will tell the story to save time and space. Judah had gone from his brethren and found an Adullamite named Hirah Soon Judah saw a Canaanite woman named Shuah. He went in with her and produced a son that was named Er. She conceived again and bore another son, whom they named Oman. She conceived yet again and bore a son and called his name Shelah. Judah took a wife for Er his first born, whose name was Tamar. We don’t know all the details, but we are told that Er, Judah’s first born was wicked in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord slew him. About this time, Judah told Onan to go into his brother’s wife and marry her and raise up seed to his brother. Knowing that the seed would not be his: to offset this issue, when Onan went in to his brother’s wife, (knowing that the seed would not be his) he spilled it on the ground. The thing displeased the Lord who slew him.

At this juncture, Judah said to Tamar his daughter in law, remain a widow at thy father’s house till She my son by grown: for he said lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. Time went by and Tamar in waiting, saw no prospect in getting the husband she was promised. She decided on a plan of her own. She posed as a harlot and sat the by the way, Judah her father in law must pass, on his way to sheep sharing. Coming upon this harlot, Judah decided to take a short break and go in to this girl. In the process, the girl asked for, and got the man’s She asked for, and got from the man, his signet and bracelet and the staff he had in his hand. Out of insest between daughter and father in law Tamar conceived and brought forth twins, named Pharez and Zarah. Pharez begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram. And Aram begat Aminadab; and A minadab begat Naasom, and Nasson begat Salmon.

It just so happened that Salmon was one of the spies into Jericho, who in turn married Rahab. This is the path that brought Rahab into the direct lineage of the Messiah. Rahab and Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed of Ruth (a Moabitess) and Obed begat Jesse. And Jesse begat David the king, and king David begat Solomon. Beginning with Judah going into a nation other than his own people, contrary to the law of Moses, paved the way for future trouble. However, a careful study of the Messiah’s family tree will show that there were other nations incorporated into what was God’s grand design: and this offered Jesus Christ the rightful title of "Savior of the world."

Thus, he is the Savior of all nations, because all nations are woven into his genealogy. (Into his DNA if you prefer.) Added to this truth, is the symbolism of the scarlet cord that Rahab hung outside her window as agreed to with the spies. This scarlet cord (rope) is a symbol of the blood daubed upon the door posts of the Israelites on the night the death angel swept throughout Egypt. The symbol holds true unto this day, and I love this verse of a well-known song that says: "Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood, shall never lose shall ever lose its power, till all the ransomed church of God be saved to sin no more." The token of the red blood, depicted in the red cord that saved Rahab, her parents, her brethren, and indeed her entire family showcased the power of salvation as shown in this simple rope.

When the Messiah arrived on the scene in person, there was no need to continue the old narrative of who were part of his genealogy, and who were exempt. Toward the end of John’s ministry, Jesus came preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. "Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled (the time referred to here was the 69th week of Daniel’s prophecy, leaving only the 70th week to be accounted for.) and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye (have a change of heart) and believe the gospel." Mark 1:14,15. We need to observe with a single heart, that Jesus came preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and when he sent his disciples to preach, he told them to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God.

Jesus was keen in giving his disciples a specific message for them to preach. "And as ye go, preach saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 10:7. Throughout the gospels and the Pauline epistles, the main thrust of the gospel preached was centered around the present realities of the kingdom of God. By the way, the term "kingdom of God, and the kingdom of heaven are used inter-changeably—meaning the same thing. This subject will run into a second chapter, mainly to bring into focus the most important aspects of the subject. In my personal case concerning the study of "bible prophecies" I find it to be of paramount importance to draw a parallel line between prophecies given, and the time frame that runs concurrently as if in harmony with the uttered prophecies.

When we spend time to equate announced prophecies with the time allotted to each one, it allows us to walk, step by step, down the corridor of time always featuring those fulfilled and those that are still pending. The chaos and dismembering of where "the fulness of time" come in, is due to the fact that experts have gone ahead in dismembering or segmenting "the times" based upon miscalculations. We will explain more on the particular issue. When we re-arrange certain facts and fitting them into where they don’t belong, we manage to create a new narrative that comes with facts and figures alien to the original truth that was intended in the first place.

To avoid this "religious mal-practice" we must abide by the guideline offered in scripture to begin with. As I have said time and again, to give due diligence to the study of prophecy, and to hold each truth in its proper place, we must understand who said what, under what circumstances, to whom the words were spoken, and for how long they were intended. For instance, in Matthew 24, Jesus spoke of nations not dying until certain things had come to pass. He further spoke of coming to the end—or the end of the world. He said that this generation shall not pass until all these things are fulfilled. The people who heard those words must have figured that Jesus meant them to whom he spoke.

To justify that concept, I have heard certain prominent television preachers explained that when we see wars and rumors of war, famine and all sorts of desolation coming upon the earth, that generation shall not pass until all is fulfilled. Of course, if you and I were among the crowd hearing Jesus speak, and hear him say "this nation shall not pass away until all these things are fulfilled" we would not for a moment think that he is referring to a people living more than two thousand years in the future.

Before long, we will explain how truths concerning world events got shunted on to a sidle track, and seemingly, the church-world has been sent on a wild goose chase, teaching of things to come, even though they have a long time been fulfilled. These teachings to which we refer were not introduced and believed upon out of malice, or a will to deceive. We can be "honest" and at the same time be "honestly wrong." As we trace the origin and true meaning of the simple red cord of redemption we are taken back in time to the first mention of Messiah.