Blogging Through The Season - Day 2

BLOGGING THROUGH THE ADVENT SEASON
12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

DAY 2 -Rahab and The Scarlet Thread
Veronica Garcia
Rahab is one of four women from the Old Testament that is mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus that others would have said had no right to be there. She, like Tamar, Ruth, and Uriah's wife, would have been considered outsiders among the people of Israel or women of questionable character, but God did not see them that way. Rahab was a harlot, but through her ancestry, the Son of God was sent to save us. God made her worthy, and can do the same for us.
When the two men of Israel, who were sent to spy out the land of Jericho, asked for help, Rahab did not hesitate at the chance to save them in exchange for her own salvation. Joshua 2 vs. 12 (KJV) reads, “Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed your kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father's house." She operated on blind faith, and because of that faith, she and her family were saved. Not only that, she received the greatest honor to be among the ancestors of the greatest man to have walked on Earth.  James 2 vs. 25 recognizes and commends her for her faith. "Likewise, also was not Rahab the harlot justified by her works when she had received the messengers and sent them out another way?" She not only took the risk to save the men but also lied to the king of Jericho, saying that the men had already left. This was a crime that I'm sure was punishable by death, but she took the risk. Even with the reputation that she had garnered, she still believed that a Holy God could take an imperfect person and make them perfect. Isn't this the same reason that Jesus came as a baby on that night many years ago? He came to make us perfect, and the beautiful thing is that even when we make mistakes, He is still perfecting that which is within us. Rahab didn't become perfect overnight, but through God's redeeming power, she became perfect.
When we think about it, it's not coincidental that the thread she used to save the men and her family was the same color as the blood of Jesus. This had to have been symbolic of the promise that would come hundreds of years later. For me, even in the midst of chaos, Rahab's story reminds me that I'm not irredeemable.  Even when Christians have condemned me, I can still look for the "Scarlet Thread" hung at Rahab's window for salvation. My sins and your sins can be forgiven.
Rahab's scarlet thread represented, for her, the blood of Jesus. She believed in Jehovah's power even in a time when she had no physical evidence to believe. She had only heard about the people of Israel traveling through the desert and fighting and winning battles.  But she had not seen any of it with her own eyes.  What if what she had heard wasn't true? It could have easily been mere gossip. What if the men forgot the promise that they would save her and her household? What if they were only using her for a way to escape? I'm even sure some of her family members who were in that apartment questioned the validity of her trust. I'm almost certain that there were some that were with her, that ridiculed her. But in spite of that, she kept that scarlet thread at her window believing in a God that was new to her. She exercised her faith and because of that she was saved.
During this Christmas season, hold on to the reassurance that comes from Rahab's story. Nobody is unsavable. Rahab was a harlot and a stranger among the Israelites. But she saved God's people and is counted among Jesus's genealogy. Jesus is no longer the baby in the manger. He shed His blood for us, so that when “the walls of Jericho” are torn down we too might be saved. He has replaced the scarlet thread at the window. If you learn nothing else from Rahab's story, learn that you are loved by God and He can and will take you from condemnation to perfection. Exercise some faith in God even though the world seems hopeless.