Rahab and the Two Spies: The Scarlet Cord in the Window

In Joshua chapter 2, the Israelites are camped east of the Jordan, preparing to enter the Promised Land. Joshua secretly sends two spies to scout out Jericho. Who could have imagined that the one to welcome them and save their lives would be a woman the whole city despised, a prostitute named Rahab? Her name would later appear in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus, becoming one of the most moving testimonies of God's grace.

Two Spies Enter Jericho

Joshua sent out two spies to examine the land and probe the defenses of Jericho. It was an extremely dangerous mission: Jericho was a fortified city, its gates shut tight and heavily guarded. Once inside, the two men chose to lodge in Rahab's house. God's plans so often unfold through the people and places we would least expect, and even the home of a prostitute could become a refuge where God kept His servants safe.

Rahab Hides Them

Word that the spies had entered the city quickly reached the king of Jericho, and he sent men to Rahab to demand them. But Rahab had already led the two spies up to her roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax she had laid out there, telling the king's men that they had already left the city. At the risk of her own life, she lied to the most powerful men in the city just to protect two Israelite strangers. Her actions were, in truth, a choice of faith: she had already decided to stand on the LORD's side.

'The LORD Your God, He Is God in Heaven Above and in Earth Beneath'

That night Rahab went up to the roof and opened her heart to the spies. She told them that the whole city had heard how the LORD was giving this land to Israel, and that every heart had melted and everyone was seized with fear. What she spoke was not merely dread; it was a genuine confession of faith.

I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us... for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.Joshua 2:9,11 (KJV)

A Gentile woman who had never entered the tabernacle and had no grounding in the Law nevertheless recognized the true and living God. Her faith surpassed that of many who had seen miracles with their own eyes in the wilderness yet still hardened their hearts.

The Scarlet Cord in the Window

Rahab begged the spies that when they took the city, they would show kindness to her father's house and spare the lives of her whole family. The spies promised her, on just one condition: that she tie this scarlet cord in her window and gather all her family together inside the house.

When we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by... And whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head.Joshua 2:18-19 (KJV)

This scarlet cord has reminded believers throughout the ages of the blood on the doorposts at Passover, and it foreshadows the precious blood the Lord Jesus shed for us. All who take shelter beneath that sign will surely be saved.

Faith Is Not Talk, but Obedience

As soon as Rahab heard, she did just as she was told and tied the scarlet cord in her window at once. She did not wait until the day the city fell to act; rather, she hung out that sign in faith before she was ever saved. Genuine faith always carries obedience with it: it believes that God's word will surely come to pass, and so it gladly acts accordingly. It is precisely Rahab, welcoming the spies and sending them out another way, whom the book of James holds up as proof that faith and works go hand in hand.

Redeemed, and Grafted into the Family Line of God

Later Jericho was overthrown, and only Rahab and her household survived, because of that scarlet cord, and from then on she dwelt among Israel. This woman once branded with shame not only kept her life but was fully received.

And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had... because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.Joshua 6:25 (KJV)

She would go on to marry Salmon and give birth to Boaz, becoming an ancestor of King David and entering the family line of the Lord Jesus Christ. God's grace can turn a person's past around, grafting Gentiles and sinners alike into His eternal plan of salvation.

This Sign Is for You Too

Rahab's story tells us that whether we are saved depends not on our origins or our past, but on whether we are willing to hang the scarlet cord of faith in our window. Today that sign of salvation is the precious blood of the Lord Jesus, and all who take refuge in Him will never be put to shame. May you, like Rahab, come to know that 'the LORD, He is God', and bring yourself and your whole family under His grace.

To dig deeper into the book of Joshua and the story of Rahab, open the BiblePro app: read the text closely with chapter-by-chapter parallel view, and use AI search to explore related themes and explanations. And may you find your way into a nearby church that is sound in the faith, to experience this true and living God together with brothers and sisters.