Rahab
“Tie this cord to the window.”
A prostitute of Jericho, and yet a woman whose name is written into the Messiah's lineage in Matthew chapter 1.
Rahab was a prostitute living in a house built into the wall of Jericho. One day two strange men entered her house — spies sent by Israel. The king of Jericho's search party soon came looking for them: 'Bring out the men who have come to you.' She had little time. She made her decision: hiding the two spies under stalks of flax on her roof, and giving the search party a false direction. A decision that risked her own life.
After the search party left, what she said to the spies on the roof wasn't just a practical trade of information — it was a confession of faith. 'I know that the LORD has given you the land... how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt... for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.' The deepest confession to come from a Canaanite woman's mouth. And she asked them, 'Save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them.'
The spies made her a promise: 'Tie this scarlet cord in the window, and gather your whole family into this house, and you will be spared.' Days later, when Jericho fell, only the one house with the scarlet cord tied in the window remained standing. Rahab and her entire family survived, and she became part of the Israelite community. But the story doesn't end there. She married Salmon and gave birth to Boaz; Boaz married Ruth and had Obed; Obed had Jesse; Jesse had David. Her name is written, plainly, in Matthew chapter 1 — a mother in the Messiah's lineage. A prostitute of Jericho became an ancestor of the Messiah.
The woman of Jericho. She hid the spies on her roof. Turning from her past, she joined a new people. A woman of decision.
Defining Moments
The events that made this person who they were
Hiding two spies in her house
Two Israelite spies enter her house, built into the wall of Jericho. When the king's search party comes, she hides them on the roof and misdirects the search — a decision that risks her own life.
Confessing, 'I know that the LORD is your God'
She tells the spies, 'I know that the LORD has given you the land... he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.' The deepest confession of faith to come from the mouth of a Canaanite woman.
One scarlet cord and an entire family saved
As the spies had promised, she ties a scarlet cord in her window. On the day Jericho falls, that one house — and everyone in it — is spared. She becomes part of the Israelite community.
Personality
The colors revealed through their story
Someone who discerns quickly in the middle of crisis
She makes her decision in the brief window while the king's search party is at the door. She stakes her own life on which side to stand with, right there in the moment.
Someone who doesn't use her past as an excuse
Her social standing as a prostitute, her identity as a Canaanite — none of it confines her. With one line — 'the LORD is God' — she redefines her own identity.
A trust that holds onto a promise to the end
She believes that one scarlet cord holds her entire family's fate, and ties it in the window. Someone who holds most tightly to the smallest sign.
★ Strengths
- Decisive resolve at the crucial moment
◐ Shadow
- Moments of being pulled back by past identity
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