The Scarlet Ribbon
Posted: December 23rd, 2009, 2:34 am
HEALING SHELTER MINISTRIES #134d, Re-Written 23DEC09
The Scarlet Ribbon
by rev. dave c
Joshua 2:17&18: The men said to her, “We shall be free from this oath to you which you have made us swear, unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and gather to yourself into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father’s household” (NASV).
Within the story of Joshua and the Battle of Jericho, there are several details involving the prostitute Rahab and the Hebrew spies of which we are not certain. Was it a scarlet thread, a cord, or a ribbon that is referenced in 2:18? Did the spies have it with them...or did they find it in Rahab’s apartment? Was it left dangling from the window sill, or was it wrapped around a shutter? Given that the walls of Jericho miraculously “came tumbling down,” was the part of the wall that represented her home left standing? Was it the honoring of the oath between Rahab and the spies as demonstrated by the visibility of the scarlet thread that saved Rahab from their attack? Or did God personally save her because of her obedience? Ultimately, these details make no difference if we are to gain from this story the eternal life lesson it so earnestly illustrates.
In the verses quoted above the word “tie” is from the Hebrew chabash (Strong’s #2280) and means, a primitive root; to wrap firmly (especially a turban, compress, or saddle); figuratively, to stop, to rule. “Cord” is from tiqvah (#8615) which means literally, a cord (as an attachment); figuratively, expectancy: expectation ([-ted]), hope, live, thing that I long for. “Scarlet” is shaniy (#8144); of uncertain derivation; crimson, properly, the insect or its color, also stuff dyed with it. Finally, “thread” is from pathiyl (#6616); twine: bound, bracelet, lace, line, ribbon, thread, wire. While the New American Standard translation is literal and completely appropriate, a figurative wording could be, “Wrap yourself firmly with the hope of this scarlet ribbon;” or, “Rule your life with the expectations of this scarlet ribbon;” or even, “Stop—the thing that you long for is represented by this scarlet ribbon.”
The Scarlet Ribbon is to be found in the Garden of Eden when God, Himself, sacrifices animals in order to cover Adam and Eve’s nakedness that was the result of their spiritual death through disobedience (Ge 3:21). We see this Scarlet Ribbon continued in the story of Cain and his brother, Abel, who brought the better sacrifice (Ge 4)—and then through the sacrificial altars of the Patriarchs. When God instructs Moses to have the Israelites sprinkle lamb’s blood upon the doorposts of their Egyptian slave quarters so that the Angel of Death might pass over their households (Ex 12), we see the Scarlet Ribbon becoming specific in its prophetic portents. As God ordained, the Jews remembered the original Passover with annual celebrations, and we are brought back to the occasion of Joshua sending the two spies into Jericho. As a Gentile, Rahab would have been unfamiliar with the practice and meaning of the Hebrew Passover, but she full well understood that salvation for her and for her family was invested in that length of red ribbon.
Some 1,200 to 1,400 years later, Jesus of Nazareth and His disciples were gathered in an upper room to celebrate the Passover meal...a meal that we have come to call The Last Supper. It was, in fact, the last Passover Supper for those who were gathered, and it became the first celebration of Holy Communion, with the Master, Himself, presiding (Mt 26:17-35, Mk 14:12-31, Lk 2:7-37, & Jn 13). It was this feast to which all other Passovers pointed. As we partake of the Eucharist this Holiday Season, I pray that we look back through time to see how the Scarlet Ribbon ties the distant past to the present, and the present to the future when the Lamb of God will return as the Lion of Judah to gather together His family.
2,000 years ago the promise, and the fulfillment, of the Scarlet Ribbon came to reside in the human body of a tiny baby. He was the child miraculously born of the virgin Mary. He is the Chosen One...the Holy One descended from God’s beloved David. He is the Sinless One...the Messiah...the Savior—fully the Son of Man, and fully the Son of God. He is the sacrifice once for all and He was selected from before the beginning of time to be born for our joy, to be crucified for our sins, to be raised again for our salvation, and to be glorified as our Lord. Just as the sinful outsider, Rahab, who, as a result of her faith and obedience, became an ancestor of Jesus Christ—God the Father has grafted us into His family as adopted brothers and sisters who share in the Son’s inheritance of the Kingdom.
This Christmas, may we each discover the gift of God [that] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Ro 6:23b); the gift only to be found beneath the tree upon which our Savior died; the gift that has been carefully, lovingly, and eternally tied with the Scarlet Ribbon that is the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Throughout the holiday season and the coming year may you know joy...may you know peace...may you know the love of God the Father through His Son and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Scarlet Ribbon
by rev. dave c
Joshua 2:17&18: The men said to her, “We shall be free from this oath to you which you have made us swear, unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and gather to yourself into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father’s household” (NASV).
Within the story of Joshua and the Battle of Jericho, there are several details involving the prostitute Rahab and the Hebrew spies of which we are not certain. Was it a scarlet thread, a cord, or a ribbon that is referenced in 2:18? Did the spies have it with them...or did they find it in Rahab’s apartment? Was it left dangling from the window sill, or was it wrapped around a shutter? Given that the walls of Jericho miraculously “came tumbling down,” was the part of the wall that represented her home left standing? Was it the honoring of the oath between Rahab and the spies as demonstrated by the visibility of the scarlet thread that saved Rahab from their attack? Or did God personally save her because of her obedience? Ultimately, these details make no difference if we are to gain from this story the eternal life lesson it so earnestly illustrates.
In the verses quoted above the word “tie” is from the Hebrew chabash (Strong’s #2280) and means, a primitive root; to wrap firmly (especially a turban, compress, or saddle); figuratively, to stop, to rule. “Cord” is from tiqvah (#8615) which means literally, a cord (as an attachment); figuratively, expectancy: expectation ([-ted]), hope, live, thing that I long for. “Scarlet” is shaniy (#8144); of uncertain derivation; crimson, properly, the insect or its color, also stuff dyed with it. Finally, “thread” is from pathiyl (#6616); twine: bound, bracelet, lace, line, ribbon, thread, wire. While the New American Standard translation is literal and completely appropriate, a figurative wording could be, “Wrap yourself firmly with the hope of this scarlet ribbon;” or, “Rule your life with the expectations of this scarlet ribbon;” or even, “Stop—the thing that you long for is represented by this scarlet ribbon.”
The Scarlet Ribbon is to be found in the Garden of Eden when God, Himself, sacrifices animals in order to cover Adam and Eve’s nakedness that was the result of their spiritual death through disobedience (Ge 3:21). We see this Scarlet Ribbon continued in the story of Cain and his brother, Abel, who brought the better sacrifice (Ge 4)—and then through the sacrificial altars of the Patriarchs. When God instructs Moses to have the Israelites sprinkle lamb’s blood upon the doorposts of their Egyptian slave quarters so that the Angel of Death might pass over their households (Ex 12), we see the Scarlet Ribbon becoming specific in its prophetic portents. As God ordained, the Jews remembered the original Passover with annual celebrations, and we are brought back to the occasion of Joshua sending the two spies into Jericho. As a Gentile, Rahab would have been unfamiliar with the practice and meaning of the Hebrew Passover, but she full well understood that salvation for her and for her family was invested in that length of red ribbon.
Some 1,200 to 1,400 years later, Jesus of Nazareth and His disciples were gathered in an upper room to celebrate the Passover meal...a meal that we have come to call The Last Supper. It was, in fact, the last Passover Supper for those who were gathered, and it became the first celebration of Holy Communion, with the Master, Himself, presiding (Mt 26:17-35, Mk 14:12-31, Lk 2:7-37, & Jn 13). It was this feast to which all other Passovers pointed. As we partake of the Eucharist this Holiday Season, I pray that we look back through time to see how the Scarlet Ribbon ties the distant past to the present, and the present to the future when the Lamb of God will return as the Lion of Judah to gather together His family.
2,000 years ago the promise, and the fulfillment, of the Scarlet Ribbon came to reside in the human body of a tiny baby. He was the child miraculously born of the virgin Mary. He is the Chosen One...the Holy One descended from God’s beloved David. He is the Sinless One...the Messiah...the Savior—fully the Son of Man, and fully the Son of God. He is the sacrifice once for all and He was selected from before the beginning of time to be born for our joy, to be crucified for our sins, to be raised again for our salvation, and to be glorified as our Lord. Just as the sinful outsider, Rahab, who, as a result of her faith and obedience, became an ancestor of Jesus Christ—God the Father has grafted us into His family as adopted brothers and sisters who share in the Son’s inheritance of the Kingdom.
This Christmas, may we each discover the gift of God [that] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Ro 6:23b); the gift only to be found beneath the tree upon which our Savior died; the gift that has been carefully, lovingly, and eternally tied with the Scarlet Ribbon that is the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Throughout the holiday season and the coming year may you know joy...may you know peace...may you know the love of God the Father through His Son and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.