A Place for Us

Rahab

I am continually amazed by the wealth of meaning tucked into the words, names, and imagery we encounter when reading the Bible. Sometimes a story that seems small at first glance carries lessons so profound that we can return to it repeatedly and discover something new.

The story of Rahab is one of those stories. It reads almost like a spy novel. It is filled with intrigue and action along with a heroine who finds herself in the middle of God's unfolding plan. Yet, this brief story in the book of Joshua would have an impact far beyond the walls of Jericho.

Rahab's story is a story of rescue, redemption, and belonging.

A Woman Who Made Room

The story begins in Joshua 2. Joshua sends two spies into the land, specifically to Jericho. After secretly entering the city, they lodge with a woman named Rahab, as a means of hiding. Rahab was a Canaanite woman living in Jericho, a city that stood in opposition to Israel. She was unmarried and worse, she was a prostitute. Her circumstances placed her far outside what we might consider the center of God's people. Yet, when the king of Jericho discovers that the spies have entered the city, Rahab makes a courageous choice. She hides the men on her roof beneath stalks of flax and sends those searching for them in another direction.

As the story unfolds, we discover why Rahab took such a risk. She had heard about the God of Israel. She had heard what He had done, and she believed that He had given the land to His people. She tells the spies: "For the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath” (Joshua 2:11). Rahab believed before she had seen.

So, she asked for mercy for herself and for her entire household. The spies agreed, giving her specific instructions. She was to gather her family into her house and hang a scarlet cord from her window. They were to tell no one of these plans. When the Israelites came against Jericho, those inside her house would be spared. Rahab responded with simple obedience, saying, "According to your words, so be it" (Joshua 2:21). She had heard God's promise through His messengers, believed it, and acted upon it.

A Name That Makes Room

Even Rahab's name offers a beautiful picture when viewed alongside her story. Her name, Rahab, comes from the Hebrew root rachav, which carries the idea of being broad, wide, enlarged, or making room.

Rahab made room. She made room on her roof for two men who were in danger. She made room in her home for her family. But perhaps most significantly, she made room in her heart for the God of Israel. Psalm 18:19 says, "He brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.” What if Rahab's story helps remind us that God is still in the business of bringing people into a broad place? A place of rescue and freedom. A place where we belong.

A Scarlet Cord of Hope

Then there is the scarlet cord. The spies instructed Rahab to tie a scarlet cord in her window as a sign of the agreement they had made with her. It would become the visible evidence of her hope.

The Hebrew phrase in Joshua 2:18 is tiqvat chut hashani. Chut means cord or thread, while shani refers to scarlet or crimson. The word tiqvat is the grammatical construct form of tiqvah, meaning hope.

Rahab placed a scarlet cord in her window, but it represented far more than a piece of rope. Rahab was not just hanging her cord out the window; she was hanging her hope out for everyone to see. It was a visible reminder that she had placed her hope in a promise. Her hope was tied to the promise of God. Perhaps that is what faith looks like for us as well. We may not be able to see how God will work. We may not understand what He is doing. We may not know what tomorrow will bring; however, we can choose where we will place our hope.

Outside the Camp

When Jericho finally fell, the scarlet cord marked the house where Rahab and her family were spared. Joshua 6:25 tells us that Rahab and all who belonged to her were saved alive. But there is another detail that catches my attention. The spies were instructed to bring Rahab and her family out of the city and place them outside the camp of Israel.

They had been rescued, but they were not yet fully at home. They were alive, but they were still outside. Rahab had left behind everything she had known. Jericho was gone. There was no home to return to. Her old identity, her old community, and her old life had been left behind. She had been rescued from destruction, but she was beginning a completely new life.

Inside the Camp

And then comes this beautiful statement: Joshua says, "And she dwells in Israel to this day" (Joshua 6:25).

The woman who had once lived in Jericho was now living among God's people. She who was once an outsider had become an insider. The woman who had been marked by her past was given a new place among God's people.

Rahab's story does not end with simply being spared. She became part of Israel. The story in Scripture takes her story even further. Matthew 1:5 names Rahab in the genealogy of Jesus. The Canaanite woman from Jericho became part of the family line through which the Messiah would come. Rahab began as a woman on the outside of God’s promises, but faith brought her in. She believed and she acted. She made room for the spies and room in her heart. She placed her hope in God's promise and God gave her a place among His people.

A Place for Us

Perhaps there are times when we feel like Rahab. We might feel we are on the outside, marked by our past, uncertain of where we belong, or wondering whether there is really a place for us in God's story. Rahab's life reminds us that our past does not have the final word. God’s word does.

The scarlet cord hanging from Rahab's window became a sign that her hope was no longer in Jericho. Her hope was in the God who had promised to save her.

Rahab could not see the rescue that was coming. She simply hung the cord. She believed the word she had been given, then she waited. Her scarlet cord became a testimony that hope can be tied to a promise long before we see the fulfillment. Rahab was rescued and she was redeemed. She was brought inside the camp. The woman who once lived on the outside became part of God's people and ultimately part of the story of Jesus.

The God who made room for Rahab still makes room for us.

Perhaps today we need to ask ourselves:

Where have I placed my hope?

Am I holding tightly to what I can see, or am I trusting the One who has made the promise?

In Christ's love,

Tracey