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Dec 02, 2023 06:00am

Red Ribbon Love

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As we are preparing our hearts for Christmas, we are sure to have lists of things to do-much preparation throughout the month as we prepare spiritually, but there are also lists of things to do and prepare for in all kinds of emotional and physical ways-singing and celebrating and decorating and parties and cooking and eating and cleaning and wish lists and finding ways to be generous and looking for ways to share gospel love to others and shopping and wrapping….I could go on and on.

No matter how hard we try, we often find ourselves surrounded by busyness during this time of year that can really distract us from the actual reason we are celebrating.

I would love to be one of those ladies who presents the perfect gifts, wrapped up beautifully with big red bows and ornamental decorations-showing the receivers such deep intentional love and individualized attention. But, in reality, the gifts I wrap look more like a team of 2 year olds cut out almost enough wrapping paper for each gift and clumsily pieced the paper together to almost cover up the gift. If I happen to make time to show a little extra effort, I might peel and stick those cute little Christmas bows strategically to cover the lack of paper cut by the aforementioned team of 2 year olds. 😉

Every year, as our family reads through Biblical stories during Advent to refocus our hearts on the real reason for the season, when I get to the story of Rahab, I end up reading with a shaky voice and through teary eyes. Without fail, my husband has to take over the reading duties on this one.

See, Rahab was a woman who is called Rahab the harlot or Rahab the prostitute almost every time her name is brought up in Scripture. When she is mentioned, we are almost always reminded of how she was defined *before* she chose to align with God and His people. Even in Hebrews 11:31, when we read her name listed among the heroes of faith, Scripture says, “By faith, Rahab the harlot did not perish among those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.”

Going back to Joshua, we can read about how Rahab was a Gentile who lived in Jericho among Pagan worshipers. She had heard, along with all of her fellow Jericho people, all of the stories about the God of the Israelites and His power. Most, or more likely ALL, of her fellow Jericho neighbors feared this powerful God, knowing He had done amazing things and had great power. Rahab, on the other hand, revered rather than feared Him, truly believed the stories about Him to be true, that God was truly powerful, and chose to align herself with Him and His people, believing He was the One and only true God.

She lived out this faith when she hid the spies Joshua sent to do recon in Jericho. The spies were seen entering Rahab’s house, but she hid them on her roof among stalks of flax. When the king got word that someone had seen two Israelites going into Rahab’s home, he sent men to investigate. Rahab not only hid the spies, but she also threw the king’s men off their track, telling them that she had seen the men, but they had just escaped the wall. She rushed them away to catch the spies while they could still catch up.

Once the king’s men were out of sight, Rahab went to her roof and recounted the stories of God’s power and might over the years-the stories she and her people had heard, and she claimed her belief in the one true God as she talked to the men. She asked the spies to spare her and her family when they would return to defeat Jericho. The men agreed to spare Rahab and her family, asking her to keep their visit a secret.

Rahab helped the spies exit by rope, through a window of her home, which was built into the wall of Jericho. She instructed the spies to hide in the hills for 3 days before they would cross the Jordan and return to their home. The spies told Rahab they would stick to their word and spare Rahab and all of her family when they returned to conquer Jericho, but Rahab had to mark her home by hanging a scarlet cord from her window to distinguish it. Also, any person who chose to leave her home would not be spared.

We read about the Israelites’ unique triumph in Hebrews 6. I can imagine Rahab and her family huddled together closely, watching the Israelites silently march around the city walls for six days straight, with a mixture of curiosity and fear. On the seventh day, their nerves were probably shot as the men marched and marched around the wall silently seven times, and then the priests blowing trumpets, followed by a long blast of a ram’s horn and shouts from the men.

The wall crumbled all around them, excluding the home of Rahab. She and her family were saved, and Rahab went on to live with the Israelites not as a prostitute, but as a Proselyte, one who was adopted into the family of God. She met a man named Salmon, and they fell in love, married, and had a son named Boaz. Boaz would later marry a woman named Ruth, and they would have a son named Obed who would marry and have a son named Jesse, who would marry and have a son named David…allowing Rahab to be the great, great grandmother to David, which would bring about the Messiah, Jesus. Not one part of this story was without purpose. God sent redemption in a way only He would have designed-showing that His love is not only for a few, but for all who will choose to accept it.

God wrapped up Rahab’s story of redemption and grace and mercy with a beautiful red “bow,” and He has a story of redemption for each of us, if we will just accept it!