When Life is Falling Apart…

You have the sign of crimson over your life in Christ and, thus, God is moved on your behalf.

Joshua’s conquest of Jericho is shocking in more than one way. God’s instructions to the general are bizarre – walk around the city seven days, sound the shofar, then shout. But, when you dig deeper in the story, there may be an even bigger surprise.

When the spies sent by Joshua were nearly caught in Jericho while on their reconnaissance mission, a prostitute named Rahab hid them. The spies made a covenant with the woman: if she spared them and told no one of their espionage, then, when Jericho fell, Joshua’s men would rescue Rahab and her family. Rahab would hang a crimson cord from her window to identify her whereabouts.

Amidst the chaos of Jericho’s destruction, as walls tumbled, blood flowed and fires raged, Joshua remembered the covenant with the woman of ill repute. So he sent the spies to find Rahab.

As we learn earlier in the story, the key is a secret crimson cord: “Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down…” (Joshua 2:18, ESV).

They looked for the red rope, the mark of their covenant. In Hebrew, it is the “tikvah,” the same word the psalmist uses to describe his “hope” (Psalm 7:5).

When you are in Christ, you are in covenant with God. Amidst the chaos and rubble of life, you can count on this: God faithfully rescues all who are under the crimson sign. The blood of Jesus is your hope, your only hope – but, oh what a hope it is.

If Joshua was so committed to his word that he pursued the rescue of a Canaanite prostitute amidst the rubble of Jericho, how much more can you be assured that the true Yeshua, Christ, commands His angels to watch over you amidst the rubble of life!

God is faithful to all His covenantal promises for they are all “yes and amen” in Christ. And that’s the Gospel!