A CORD IN MY WINDOW

When I woke up one Sunday morning, the first thought on my mind was, Do I have a cord in my window?
Topic: Purpose & Service
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Home > Devotional Stories > A Cord In My Window

When I woke up one recent Sunday morning, the first thought on my mind was, Do I have a cord in my window?

I have to admit it was an unusual thought, but it wasn’t long before God showed up in it. I was quickly reminded of the Bible story about a cord in the window, and it happens to be one of my favorite stories in the Old Testament. Well, it’s one of my favorites in the entire Bible.

​Moses had led the people out of slavery in Egypt, and as it came time for them to enter the Promised Land, he passed away. Joshua took over leadership of the people, and he would be responsible for taking up where Moses had left off. This meant leading the people in war, because the current idol-worshipping inhabitants of the Promised Land would not just pack up and leave. (The Israelites had been gone from the land for several generations, so a lot of people had a lot of time to settle in the land that God had originally promised to Abraham and his descendants.)

Joshua’s first order of business was to send two spies into the land. Word made its way to the king of Jericho that spies had come in, so he sent a message to the place he had heard the spies were staying, the home of Rahab. “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land” (Joshua 2:3b).

Rahab had hidden the spies, but she told the king’s messengers a different story. She told them the spies had left because the city’s gates were to be closed, and she didn’t know which direction they went. But, if they hurried, they might catch them!

Her reason? She explained it to the spies when the messengers had gone. “We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below” (Joshua 2:10-11).

The reputation of the Israelites--and God--had preceded the spies, and Rahab was afraid. And this is where the cord in the window comes in.

“Now then,” Rahab requested of the spies, “please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will save us from death” (Joshua 2:12-13). The spies swore “Our lives for your lives!” (Joshua 2:14a), and promised her safety for her silence, but only if she would make sure to hang a scarlet cord in her window. If she did so, she and everyone inside the walls of her home would remain untouched when it came time for the Israelites to overtake Jericho.

It happened as the spies promised it would. Rahab and her family were brought safely out of the siege of Jericho, “—and she lives among the Israelites to this day” (Joshua 6:25c). She also managed to find herself mentioned in the New Testament in the genealogy of Jesus, having been the mother of Boaz, great-grandmother of Jesse, and great-great-grandmother of none other than King David. (See Matthew 1:5-6.)

That was an important scarlet cord.

Now back to the thought of a cord in my window that I had when I first woke up that Sunday morning.

I have often thought about Rahab and what she went through when the Israelites came through the fallen walls of Jericho. And it’s not so different from what I believe many Christians are facing today.

Moral decay is increasing at a truly alarming speed. Persecution is everywhere. Sadness is no longer picky as “happy” has gotten more difficult to find.

It’s no wonder I thought about the cord in my own window—that cord being a perfect representation of my relationship with Jesus—and how it relates to the scarlet cord in Rahab’s window all those years ago.

• With the cord in my window, I’ll be safe, but I’ll still have to watch the destruction all around. Rahab had to watch as the Israelites walked around Jericho for seven days. I’m sure she watched and waited and wondered what was going to take place and when it was all going to happen. And I’m sure she looked at that scarlet cord more than once, maybe even walking up to it and holding it tightly, remembering the salvation she was relying on it to purchase. I’m sure I, too, will watch destruction out my own window. I’ll watch spiritual destruction, emotional destruction, and physical destruction all around, watching and waiting and wondering as the day of our Lord grows closer. And I’m sure that there will be some days in which I’ll just lean in and hold tightly to Jesus, reminding myself that I am His and I am safe.

 

• The cord has to be visible. The spies were clear about the scarlet cord; they would have to be able to see it to ensure the safety of Rahab’s home. The same is true of my relationship with Christ, my own scarlet cord. I must live in a way that it can be seen, or it does no one else any good.

 

• I’ll be responsible for getting people into the safety of the house. Like Rahab’s family who would only be safe in her house, so too will folks only be safe if they are in the family of God and in His spiritual household. And it is my job to tell others that very thing, just like Rahab had to extend the invitation to those she wanted to see saved.

 

• Some will laugh, sure that they will be safe in their own homes. We don’t know if any of Rahab’s family turned down her offer of refuge, but we do know that none were promised safety unless they were in her house with the scarlet cord in the window. So many folks believe that their good deeds or “I’m not as bad as they are” lifestyles will be enough to get into heaven. But that isn’t what the Bible teaches. Only the scarlet cord—a personal relationship with Jesus—is enough to bring safety.

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I am safe, even in the midst of uncertainty.

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• Destruction will come, and it will be permanent. The Bible is clear that Jericho was leveled. “Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the LORD’s house” (Joshua 6:24). Then we are told that it wasn’t just leveled; it was to stay that way. “At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: ‘Cursed before the LORD is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho…’” (Joshua 6:26.) God’s destruction of Jericho was meant to be final, and the same will be true of the destruction of the unsaved. “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15.)

Is there a cord in my window? Yes, there is. And I am grateful for the reminder that I have a job to do, an eternally important job to do, living a life that makes Jesus known. I am also grateful for the reminder that I am safe, even in the midst of uncertainty.

Is there a cord in your window?

©2015 Wendi Miller
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