In the second chapter of Joshua, we read of a prostitute named Rahab who helped two Israelite spies avoid being captured. She agreed to protect the spies if they would in return, keep her and her family safe when the Israelite army attacked and captured her city.
Rahab hid the spies. When it was safe to do so, she lowered them down outside of the city from her window with a rope. They then told her to tie a "scarlet cord" in her window so she could be identified when it came time to take the city.
They didn't know it at the time, but the cord was a picture of something that had not yet arrived (John 12:16).
His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him (John 12:16 ESV).
We look for Jesus in every verse as we read the Old Testament, so the cord most likely represents Jesus in some way. A cord is defined as a string or rope made from several twisted strands. In Ecclesiastes, we read of a cord of three strands. So, in my opinion, the cord itself is a representation of the Trinity.
This makes sense because this cord was used to save Rahab and her family as she placed her faith in the God of Israel. She wasn't part of God's covenant, but He saved her and her family anyway due to her faith (Heb 11:31). And we shouldn't be surprised. God promised Abraham that through his seed, the whole world would be blessed (Gen 22:18). Rahab's salvation was just a shadow of what Jesus would do for the entire world. When Jesus finally came to the Earth, died, and rose from the dead, the entire world was able to enter the Kingdom of God by believing in him. It no longer belonged only to Israel.
And let's talk about the color of the cord. When reading the scriptures, I pay particular attention to anything that is described with the color red (scarlet). Many times, it represents the blood of Jesus. This scarlet cord was used to mark the household that was to be saved from the destruction of the city. Rahab and her family were the only people who survived.
This shouldn't surprise us either. Doesn't it sound familiar? Noah and his family were the only ones saved during his time while the rest of the world was destroyed by a flood. Incidentally, we see a window in Noah's ark just as we do with Rahab's house. Many theologians believe that the ark and Rahab's house represent being "in" Christ. The window in these stories represents the hole in the side of Jesus that spilled water and blood (John 19:34). Both families were shut in and safe. This is true for any believer. In Christ, we are also safe from the coming destruction of this world and Hell.
We also see this same imagery on the first Passover where the Israelite families were shut in their homes as the angel of death passed through Egypt, killing every firstborn male. They covered their doorposts and the top of the door frame with the blood of a lamb. It was a sign to mark the houses where each family lived (Exod 12:13). Rahab's scarlet cord was another example of how believers are safe in Christ behind his scarlet blood that was shed on the cross.
I'm not the first person to think of this. Justin Martyr in his Dialogue with Trypho writes, "For the sign of the scarlet thread, which the spies, sent to Jericho by Joshua, son of Nave (Nun), gave to Rahab the harlot, telling her to bind it to the window through which she let them down to escape from their enemies, also manifested the symbol of the blood of Christ, by which those who were at one time harlots and unrighteous persons out of all nations are saved, receiving remission of sins, and continuing no longer in sin (Work Info: Dialog_with_Trypho - Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 2024).
References
Work info: Dialog_with_Trypho - Christian Classics Ethereal Library. (2024). Ccel.org. https://ccel.org/ccel/justin_martyr/dialog_with_trypho/anf01
