She Lived in the Wall

Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she lived in the wall. Joshua 2:15 (ESV)

Rahab the prostitute helped the Israelite spies. Joshua sent them to Jericho to spy on it before battle. Rahab belonged to a city that was going to be destroyed. Not only that, but she lived in the wall of the city, the wall that God was going to bring down through supernatural means.

Rahab feared the Lord, the God of Israel. She believed the stories of the miraculous exodus of God’s people from Egypt. She knew that Israel had destroyed both Amorite kings Sihon and Og. She foresaw the destruction and ruin of her city. By faith she determined to help the Hebrew spies in exchange for her life and the lives of her extended family.

Believers in America are living in the wall. We love our nation. We pray for our country’s leaders, but we fear that this economy and perhaps the nation are headed toward a downfall. Institutions of Wall Street, our Banks and our heavy industry teeter. We are living in the wall. When those walls tumble down by God’s sovereign decree, we wonder whether we will tumble with them.

In the story of Rahab, there is a parallel to the Jewish Passover. The two men tell her to hang a scarlet cord from her window when the Israelites attack the city. That will be a sign to pass over her home and leave all inside unharmed. Like the destroying angel of the Exodus, the warriors of Israel will pass over her house, but spare none of the unbelievers around her.

Our Passover Lamb has already been slain. We may not escape every trial or testing. We may even give up our mortal lives, but our souls stand secure even in the face of a dreadful enemy. Whether it is famine, nakedness, peril or sword, we will not fear. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Our scarlet cord hangs from the window of our hearts though we be tucked into the wall of this world.