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The Scarlet Thread: Rahab's Symbol of Hope · Traveler’s Tales

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  In one of the darkest cities in Scripture, in the middle of a place marked for judgment,
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  there hung a single thread that meant the difference between life and death.
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  It wasn't a weapon.
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  It wasn't a wall.
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  It was a scarlet cord in a window.
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  Today we journey back to the ancient city of Jericho and step inside the home of a woman
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  named Rahab, where one simple line became a lifeline and a thread became hope.
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  Welcome to another edition of Traveler's Tales.
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  I'm your host, Greg Dowdy.
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  Every story in Scripture happened somewhere, on real ground, in real cities, among real
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  people living real lives.
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  And the more we understand that world, the culture, the setting, the customs, the more
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  we clearly see the truth God is revealing.
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  So let's travel together today and step back into that world to take a closer look.
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  A very special thanks to John Buckner, whose research and insight helped bring the world
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  of the Bible to life for us.
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  In Joshua chapter 2, we are introduced to a woman named Rahab.
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  She lived in a city marked for destruction, Jericho.
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  The night was coming.
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  The walls would fall.
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  No one would escape, except those who had one thing hanging in their window, a scarlet cord.
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  That cord was more than a piece of thread.
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  It was a promise.
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  It was a lifeline.
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  It was hope.
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  Rahab had hidden the spies of Israel, and in return, they gave her a simple instruction,
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  bind this line of scarlet thread in the window, and anyone inside that house, anyone under
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  that scarlet line, would be spared.
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  Now here's what's interesting.
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  The Hebrew word used for that cord is tikvah, a word that in this passage refers to something
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  twisted together, a rope, a thread, like that scarlet cord hanging from Rahab's window.
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  And yet, as you move through the rest of Scripture, that word, tikvah, begins to take on a deeper
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  meaning.
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  After this story, throughout the rest of the Hebrew Bible, that same word, tikvah, is used
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  to mean one thing, hope.
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  Then don't miss this.
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  What hung in Rahab's window was not just a thread, it was hope on display.
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  Can you imagine the scene?
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  For days, Rahab and her family sat inside that small dwelling, the tension rising, the
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  fear building, the city outside unaware of what was coming.
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  But every time doubt crept in, she could look at that window and see the scarlet cord and
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  remember the promise.
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  Then the day came.
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  The walls fell and the city collapsed, judgment swept through Jericho.
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  But her home was spared.
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  Why?
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  Because it was marked by the scarlet thread.
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  Friend, that scarlet cord is a picture, an Old Testament shadow of a New Testament reality.
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  Our hope today is not in a thread, it is in the blood of Jesus Christ.
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  Just as that cord marked Rahab's house for salvation, the blood of Christ marks our lives
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  for redemption.
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  The world we live in feels a lot like Jericho.
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  There's confusion, chaos, and coming judgment.
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  But for the child of God, there is no need to fear.
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  Why?
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  Because we have tikvah.
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  We have hope.
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  We have the scarlet line.
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  But here's the challenge.
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  Rahab didn't just hang the cord and sit alone.
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  The spies told her, bring your father, your mother, your brethren.
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  Bring them all into the house.
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  She had hope, but she also had a responsibility to bring others into it.
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  Christian, are you bringing people to the place of hope?
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  Are you telling your family?
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  Are you reaching your friends?
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  Are you inviting others under the covering of Christ?
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  Because there is still room in the house, but our time is short.
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  And if you're listening today and you don't have that hope, hear this clearly, friend.
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  Rahab was not a religious woman.
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  She was not a moral example.
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  She was a sinner, a prostitute.
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  And yet God saved her and even placed her in the lineage of Jesus Christ.
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  That's grace.
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  Her story didn't end in shame.
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  It ended in salvation.
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  Her past did not define her.
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  God's promise did.
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  And the same can be true for you.
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  No matter what you've done, no matter where you've been, the scarlet hope of Christ is
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  enough.
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  You can be forgiven.
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  You can be changed.
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  You can be saved.
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  The simple question is, what are you holding on to today?
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  Because when the walls fall, and they will, only one thing will stand.
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  Not your strength, not your goodness, not even your religion, only the scarlet thread.
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  Take Jesus Christ, your Tikva, and you will be safe when everything else falls.
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  Thank you for traveling with me today on Traveler's Tales.
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  If this story has been a help to you, we hope you'll share it with others.
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  videos, podcasts, and so much more.
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  Tools to help you continue growing as you journey with Christ.
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  www.etj.bible.com