YEAR 2, WEEK 22, Day 3, Wednesday, 28 May 2025

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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Wednesday, 28 May 2025:

Joshua 2:1–7 – “And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly…. And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there.”

The story of Rahab begins with secrecy, risk, and an unlikely alliance. Joshua sends two spies into Jericho—this time discreetly, unlike the public mission of Numbers 13. Their visit leads them to Rahab’s home, a place both ordinary and morally questionable. Yet it is in this unlikely setting that God begins to show His grace. Rahab, a prostitute, is being prepared by God to become part of His salvation story.

• 1 Corinthians 1:27–29 – “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise… so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”
• Hebrews 11:31 – “By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.”

Rahab hides the spies, lies to the king’s men, and risks her life in the process. This raises questions, but the emphasis of Scripture is not on her deception—it’s on her faith. She acts on what little she knows of Israel’s God, and that little faith is enough to move mountains. True faith always leads to action.

• James 2:25 – “And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?”
• Joshua 2:8–14 – “I know that the LORD has given you the land… the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.”

Rahab’s confession of faith is stunning. She had heard what God did at the Red Sea and to the kings of the Amorites—and that was enough for her to believe. Her heart melted in fear, but she responded with faith rather than resistance. While the Canaanites’ courage failed, Rahab’s heart was stirred to trust. Her declaration, “the LORD your God, he is God,” places her in the lineage of true believers.

• Romans 10:17 – “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
• Psalm 34:18 – “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

Rahab did not wait for perfect knowledge or spiritual maturity—she responded to what she heard. Faith begins with surrender to truth, no matter how incomplete our understanding. Rahab’s hope rested in God’s mercy, and she pleaded for the lives of her family. Her faith was not just personal—it was intercessory.

Joshua 2:15–24 – “Then she let them down by a rope through the window… and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.”

The scarlet cord becomes the sign of salvation—an echo of the blood on the doorposts in Egypt. It marks Rahab’s household for deliverance. Her actions mirror Israel’s earlier exodus, showing that the same God who saved His people from Egypt now welcomes a Gentile woman into His covenant.

• Exodus 12:13 – “When I see the blood, I will pass over you…”
• Isaiah 1:18 – “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”

Just as the scarlet cord marked Rahab’s home for salvation, the blood of Jesus marks the believer for eternal life. The scarlet cord is a visual cue, much like the blood on the doorposts during Passover. It declares, “This house is covered.” Similarly, when we place our faith in Jesus, His blood covers us, and we are passed over by judgment
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Rahab’s house was spared not because of her righteousness, but because of the mercy extended by a sign of faith. Likewise, we are saved not by our works, but by grace through the substitutionary atonement of Jesus. Rahab was a Gentile and a sinner, yet God made a way for her salvation. In the same way, Jesus came to save sinners—including Gentiles—through His blood.

• Romans 5:9 – “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”

Rahab’s scarlet cord became her testimony. It was her way of saying, “I believe.” As the spies departed, she held on to the promise and acted in faith. What the enemy meant for destruction, God used to display His mercy.

Rahab reminds us that no one is beyond the reach of God’s grace. Her past did not disqualify her from God’s plan—her faith qualified her for His mercy and marked the beginning of her spiritual legacy, tied to the Messiah Himself — Rahab would go on to become the great-great-grandmother of King David and part of the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:5). What began as a red chord in Rahab’s window ends at a wooden cross stained red for the salvation of the world. This is the upside-down glory of the gospel.

• 2 Corinthians 5:17 – “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
• Ephesians 2:8–9 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith… it is the gift of God.”

God uses the unlikely to accomplish the unimaginable. Rahab was not a military strategist or a scholar—just a woman willing to believe and act. Her courage flowed from faith. Her story is a call to trust God enough to obey, even when the cost is high and the outcome uncertain. A life of loving obedience to the LORD is never a life wasted. You can’t possibly imagine what God will do with small acts of faith committed by seemingly insignificant people.

• Matthew 17:20 – “For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 28 May 2025: “The LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.” (Joshua 2:11) Are you willing to believe God even before you see the victory? Faith is not the absence of fear, but the decision to trust God in the middle of fear. Today, identify a scarlet cord in your life—something that marks your faith visibly. Perhaps it’s a conversation you need to have, a step of obedience you’ve been putting off, or a bold act of compassion. Write out a short testimony of God’s past faithfulness and tie it (literally or symbolically) where you’ll see it. Pray: Lord, help me to trust You like Rahab did. Give me the courage to act on what I believe, even when it costs me something. Thank You for saving me, not because of who I am, but because of who You are. Amen.