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Now the men had said to her, “This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down.”

–Joshua 2:17-18

For her it was an ordinary day. Nothing special or distinctive about it. The air was dry and chilly as usual, but for Rahab, something was different.

She plied a notorious trade that marked her as “every man’s helper.” She proudly adorned herself daily in colorful raiment and sat at the entrance of her house strategically set on the city wall. On this day, Rahab sat to welcome her first client. When those two strangers walked through her door, she was oblivious of the unfolding events that would change her life for eternity.

Putting on her best flirtation and solicitation, Rahab engaged the men in her usual welcome pitch. But she was in for the surprise of her life. The visitors were not after her business. They were about the business of the Most High. However, before she could adjust her posture, the king’s entourage were at her door to claim her visitors for interrogation.

The prostitute Rahab was not a fool. She could recognize an opportunity of a lifetime. She knew when to play the game of popular opinion, and when to give up and cut a deal to save her life. So, she went to work…

With the king’s messengers craftily dealt with, she crept into the presence of her visitors on the roof top and bargained for her life and that of her family (Joshua 2:12-13).

“Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her (Joshua 2:14). “But do this … Tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down and when we see it during the invasion, you and your family with you will be saved.”  Not bad for a woman considered public property.

She knew she was a wasted soul in desperate need of salvation, so she cut the deal of her life and obtained a covering under the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, signified by the scarlet cord.

What a woman! What faith and wisdom! She looked for her daily bread from her sinful trade that day, but gained eternity and a place in the family line of the Messiah King (Matt. 1:5).

The same opportunity is available on Mt. Calvary where Jesus shed His blood for our salvation. The call of God says, “Come to Calvary and be washed of your sins in the crimson flood.” Upon those who respond, Christ bestows the gift of eternal life. There is no one beyond the cleansing power of the Savior’s blood – prostitute, homosexual, thief, or whatever you may be. Just believe in Jesus and fall on His mercy at the cross. You will receive grace for your salvation (Eph. 2:8-9).

And O! Bring along “your father and mother, your brothers and all your family” (Joshua 2:18b). Christ died for them too!

Are you a Rahab?