WordLive - Year OneSample

Prepare: Remind yourself of God’s promise to Joshua: ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’ (Joshua 1:5, NIV). That is his promise to you, too. Thank him for it. Mission accomplished The spies’ mission has been accomplished (v 24) at least in part because of what Rahab has told them (v 11). The future for Jericho looks bleak, as we will see in chapter 6. But what is to happen to Rahab and her family? This most unlikely person is drawn into the circle of God’s grace as the spies make a promise to her. Indeed what the spies are doing is making a covenant with Rahab, an unshakeable commitment to her. She in turn has to display a sign of that covenant: a scarlet cord hanging from her window to guarantee her and her family’s safety. The red cord This cord reminds us of the rope she used to help the spies escape. It also (because it’s red) reminds us of the blood smeared on the doorposts at the first Passover, which was itself a sign of safety and protection for those who belong to the covenant. Ultimately this covenant sign points us forward to the red blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God (John 1:29, Revelation 5:6). His blood seals the new covenant (Matthew 26:28), the ultimate sign of our safety and security. Respond: Spend some time quietly thanking the Lord that you belong within his covenant of love, and there is nothing and no one that can ever take you from his hand. http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-02-02