Joshua 2; Joshua 6; Hebrews 11; James 2; Matthew 1
That Red Rope
When Your Past Meets God's Purpose
Let me talk to somebody who has ever felt like your past was too messy for God to use. Let me talk to somebody who has ever felt labeled. Misjudged. Counted out. Talked about. Dismissed. Because tucked inside the book of Joshua is a woman named Rahab. And Rahab's story teaches us something powerful: God can take the very life people whispered about and turn it into a witness.
Rahab was living in Jericho. A walled city. A fortified city. A city marked for judgment. And the Bible does not clean up her résumé before it introduces her. It tells us plainly: Rahab was a harlot.
But here is what I love about God. People may introduce you by your condition, but God already knows your conclusion. People may introduce you by your past, but God already sees your purpose. People may call you by what you did, but God calls you by what He is about to do through you.
And that is where this message begins. Because Rahab had a label. But she also had faith. Rahab had a past. But she also had discernment. Rahab had a history. But she also had a future. And one red rope was about to preach a message that would outlive the walls of Jericho.
Rahab Heard What God Had Done
Before Rahab ever saw Jericho fall, she had heard about the God of Israel.
She told the spies, in essence, "We have heard how the Lord dried up the Red Sea. We have heard what God did for you. We know the Lord has given you this land."
Now don't miss that. Rahab was living inside Jericho, but her faith was already reaching outside of Jericho. She was surrounded by a culture that did not worship the God of Israel, but something in her recognized truth when she heard it.
That tells me you do not have to be raised in the right environment for faith to find you. You do not have to come from a perfect background for God to speak to you. You do not have to have a clean past for God to awaken your spirit.
Rahab heard about God, and what she heard became faith.
And that is why we have to be careful what we say out of our mouths. Because somebody's faith may be born through what they hear from you. Somebody may hear your testimony and say, "If God did it for her, maybe He can do for me." Somebody may hear how God healed you. How God delivered you. How God kept you. How God restored you. How God brought you out. And before they ever see their own walls fall, faith starts rising in them.
Rahab teaches us that faith can begin with a report. She heard. Then she believed. Then she acted.
Rahab Had Discernment in a Dangerous Place
Joshua sent two spies into Jericho, and they came to Rahab's house. The king of Jericho found out and sent word to Rahab, telling her to bring the men out. But Rahab hid them on the roof under stalks of flax.
Now let's sit there for a minute. Rahab was living in a dangerous city. She was under a dangerous system. She was dealing with dangerous power. But she discerned that these men were connected to the move of God.
That is powerful. Because strong women of God need discernment. Not just emotion. Not just survival instincts. Not just people skills. Discernment.
Rahab knew: "Something is shifting. God is moving. And I have to make a decision."
And every woman reading this needs to understand that there are moments when God will bring purpose to your door, and you have to decide whether you are going to protect what God sent or bow to what the system demands.
Rahab could have handed those spies over. She could have chosen fear. She could have protected herself. She could have said, "I am not getting involved." But she understood that her deliverance was connected to her decision.
Some breakthroughs are waiting on a decision. Some family deliverance is waiting on a decision. Some legacy shifts are waiting on a decision. Some generational curses are waiting on one woman to say:
"Not in my house." "Not on my watch." "I am choosing God." "I am choosing faith." "I am choosing the future." "I am choosing the red rope."
Rahab Negotiated for Her Family
This is the part that blesses me. Rahab did not only ask for herself. She said, "I need my father. I need my mother. I need my brothers. I need my sisters. I need all that they have."
In other words, Rahab said, "If deliverance is coming to my house, I am not coming out by myself."
That sounds like a strong woman. That sounds like a praying woman. That sounds like a woman who says, "Lord, save my family too." Rahab became a covering. Rahab became an intercessor. Rahab became an advocate. Rahab became, in her own way, an evangelist. Because she had to go back and tell her family, "You need to get in this house. Something is about to happen in Jericho, and the only safe place is under this sign."
Can you imagine that conversation? "Daddy, come here." "Mama, come here." "Brothers, sisters, listen to me." "I know you may remember who I was." "I know you may know what I have done." "I know you may have your opinions." "But I have made a covenant with the people of God." "And if you want to live, you need to get in this house."
That will preach. Because sometimes God will use the one the family least expected to become the voice of warning, wisdom, and rescue. Sometimes the one people looked down on becomes the one God uses to bring the family in. Sometimes the one they whispered about becomes the one praying everybody through. Sometimes the one who had the roughest past becomes the one carrying the strongest faith.
Rahab said, "I am not just trying to save me. I want my family saved too." That is evangelism. That is intercession. That is legacy. That is That Red Rope.
The Red Rope Was a Sign
The spies told Rahab to bind the scarlet line in the window. That scarlet line would mark her house. Everybody inside the house would be spared, but those who went outside would be responsible for their own lives. Rahab agreed, sent the spies away, and then tied the scarlet line in the window.
That red rope was not decoration. It was not random. It was not cute. It was a sign. It was a witness. It was a declaration. It said, "This house is marked." "This house is covered." "This house is under covenant." "This house has believed the word." "This house is coming out."
The red rope was hanging from the window before the walls ever fell. That means Rahab had to hang the sign while Jericho was still standing. She had to hang the sign before anything looked different. She had to hang the sign while people were still walking around like nothing was going to change. She had to hang the sign while judgment had not yet arrived. She had to hang the sign by faith.
And that is a word for somebody. Sometimes you have to put your faith in the window before you see the breakthrough. You have to declare healing while the pain is still there. You have to declare deliverance while the situation still looks bound. You have to declare salvation while the family still looks divided. You have to declare provision while the numbers still do not add up. You have to declare purpose while people still remember your past.
Rahab tied that red rope in the window and said, "I believe what God said before I see what God does."
The Rope Was Red Before Calvary Was Revealed
Now let's preach it. That rope was scarlet. That line was red. And although Rahab was living generations before Jesus went to the cross, that red rope points us to something greater.
It points us to the blood. The blood that covers. The blood that redeems. The blood that marks. The blood that protects. The blood that says, "This one belongs to Me."
Just like the blood on the doorposts during Passover marked houses for deliverance, Rahab's red rope marked her house for rescue. And for us today, we do not boast in our background. We boast in the blood. We do not brag about being perfect. We brag about being covered. We do not say, "I made it because I was so good." We say, "I made it because the blood still works."
That red rope says: Grace found me. Mercy covered me. Faith moved me. God remembered me. My past did not cancel my purpose. My label did not stop my legacy. My house is marked. My family is covered. My future is still alive.
Rahab's House Was in the Wall — But Her Faith Was Not in the Wall
This is another part that will preach. Rahab's house was built into the city wall. The same wall that was supposed to be protection became the wall that was about to fall.
Now think about that. She lived in what everybody else trusted. She lived in the wall. Her address was connected to the very structure that was about to collapse.
And sometimes we build our lives into things that look strong but cannot stand against the move of God. Systems. Relationships. Old identities. Survival patterns. Reputations. Fear. Control. Shame. People's opinions. We think the wall is protecting us, but God knows the wall is limiting us.
Rahab lived in the wall, but her faith was not in the wall. Her faith was in the God who could bring her out before everything around her came down.
Somebody needs to hear this: Do not put your faith in the wall. Walls fall. Systems fall. People fall. Money can shift. Jobs can shift. Health can shift. Reputation can shift. But God does not fall.
Rahab's wall came down, but Rahab came out. That is the shout. The thing she was living in collapsed, but she survived because she was marked by covenant.
Rahab Was Saved, But Not Alone
When Jericho fell, Joshua told the spies to go to Rahab's house and bring her out, along with her family and all that she had. The Bible says they brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and her kindred.
That means the red rope worked. The sign worked. The covenant worked. The promise worked. What she believed before the battle became visible after the battle.
And I love this because Rahab did not just escape destruction. She entered a new community. Joshua 6 says she lived in Israel after being spared.
That means God did not just bring her out of something. He brought her into something. And that is deliverance. Real deliverance is not just God getting you out of Jericho. It is God giving you a new place to belong. A new identity. A new family. A new future. A new legacy.
Some people only know the old chapter. But God is writing a new one.
Heaven Remembered Rahab by Faith
When the New Testament talks about Rahab, it does not hide her past, but it also does not stop there.
Hebrews 11 says Rahab did not perish because she received the spies with peace, and James 2 says Rahab was justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way.
So heaven did not just remember what she had been. Heaven remembered what she believed. Heaven remembered what she did by faith.
That is important. People may keep bringing up the part of your story that shames you. But heaven has another record. Heaven remembers your faith. Heaven remembers your obedience. Heaven remembers the day you chose God. Heaven remembers when you protected purpose. Heaven remembers when you tied the rope. Heaven remembers when you said, "As for me and my house, we are coming under covenant."
Rahab teaches us that faith is not just what you say. Faith is what you act on. She believed. Then she hid the spies. Then she asked for her family. Then she tied the rope. Then she gathered her household. Then she waited in faith.
Faith has movement. Faith has obedience. Faith has evidence.
Rahab Went From a House in the Wall to the Family Tree of Jesus
Now here is where I need somebody to get excited. Rahab did not just get rescued. Rahab got rewritten.
Matthew's genealogy says Salmon begat Boaz of Rachab/Rahab, and Boaz begat Obed of Ruth, and Obed begat Jesse. That line leads into David's family line and ultimately to Jesus.
Do you see the grace of God? A woman with a past becomes part of the family line connected to the Savior. A woman people may have called unclean becomes connected to the Holy One. A woman who once lived in Jericho becomes attached to the lineage of Jesus.
That means redemption did not just visit her. Redemption flowed through her. That means her story did not end with what she used to do. Her story continued with who God allowed her to become.
Somebody needs to hear this: You are not just being saved from something. You are being saved for something. You are not just coming out. You are coming into purpose. Your life can still carry legacy. Your story can still bless generations. God can still put your name in places people never expected it to be.
The same Rahab they called a harlot, God connected to heritage. The same Rahab who lived in the wall, God brought into promise. The same Rahab who had a red rope in her window, God placed in the family tree of Jesus.
That is what grace does. Grace does not just cover. Grace transforms. Grace repositions. Grace gives legacy.
What We Glean From Rahab Today
Your past does not disqualify your purpose
One decision of faith can shift a whole family
God can use unlikely women in unforgettable ways
Sometimes the woman everybody judged is the one God trusted
You can live in a broken system and still hear God
You can be surrounded by walls and still believe for deliverance
Faith without action is incomplete
What you hang in your window matters
And today, the question is: What are you hanging out of your window?
Are you hanging shame? Are you hanging fear? Are you hanging bitterness? Are you hanging defeat? Are you hanging "I'll never be more than what I used to be"?
Or are you hanging faith? Are you hanging covenant? Are you hanging the blood? Are you hanging the testimony that says:
"My house is marked."
"My family is covered."
"My future is not over."
"My past did not win."
"My God is able."
"My Jericho is coming down, but I am coming out."
That Red Rope Still Speaks
That red rope is still preaching. It preaches to the woman who feels disqualified. It preaches to the man who feels ashamed. It preaches to the family that needs saving. It preaches to the person living inside walls that are about to fall. It preaches to the one who says, "Can God still use me?"
And the answer is yes. Yes, He can. God can use your life. God can use your voice. God can use your testimony. God can use your house. God can use your scars. God can use your survival. God can use your faith. God can use the part of your story that other people tried to bury.
Rahab did not have a pulpit. She had a window. Rahab did not have a microphone. She had a rope. Rahab did not have a title. She had faith. And sometimes all you need is enough faith to tie the rope.
Tie It While You Are Still Waiting
Tie it while the wall is still standing. Tie it while people are still talking. Tie it while the family still looks far off. Tie it while the city still looks powerful. Tie it while you are still waiting. Tie it while your hands are shaking. Tie it while your heart is hoping. Tie it while your past is trying to accuse you.
Tie it and say: "I believe God. I believe mercy. I believe covenant. I believe the blood. I believe my family can be saved. I believe my story is not over. I believe God can take me from shame to significance. I believe there is purpose on the other side of this wall."
Because when the walls fall, the rope will still be speaking. When everything else is shaking, the covenant will still stand. When judgment passes through, mercy will know where to stop. And when God gets through with your story, people will not be able to define you by where He found you. They will have to recognize you by where He brought you.
Declaration
I am not my past.
I am not my label.
I am not what people called me.
I am not what shame tried to make me.
I am marked by mercy.
I am covered by covenant.
I am saved by grace.
I am moving by faith.
My house is coming under the blood.
My family is coming into purpose.
My future is still alive.
The wall may fall, but I will come out.
Because God has tied redemption to my story.
And I am holding on to that red rope.
Closing Prayer
Lord,
Thank You for the story of Rahab. Thank You for showing us that nobody is too far gone for grace. Thank You for reminding us that a painful past does not cancel a powerful purpose.
Help us to believe You before we see the walls fall. Help us to move in faith. Help us to cover our families in prayer. Help us to use our homes, our voices, our testimonies, and our obedience for Your glory.
Lord, give us courage to tie the red rope. Give us courage to stand under covenant. Give us courage to believe that what You promised, You are able to perform.
And every person reading this who has felt labeled, overlooked, ashamed, or disqualified, remind them today: You still have purpose. You still have value. You still have legacy. You are still here for a reason.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.