The House On The Wall

“Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to
spy secretly, saying, ‘Go, view the land, especially Jericho.’ So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there….Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for
her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall”
(Joshua 2:1, 15 NKJV).

For protection from their enemies, Jericho was encased in a wall around the city. Houses were built into the wall and became part of the wall
itself. Such was the house of Rahab. Some commentaries say she ran
an inn, but she apparently also was a prostitute. The description of her
in Joshua 2:1 was a “harlot.” It was a perfect cover for the spies that came to Jericho since she probably had a lot of traffic in and out of her place, and they would have been able to gather information from
Rahab and her patrons.

When word reached the king of Jericho that two strange men were at
her place, he suspected that they were spies and sent men to apprehend them. She hid the spies and later let them down the wall by a rope from her house. Before the spies left Rahab, they gave her a promise that
they would not harm her or her family when they invaded the city
because of her kindness to them. She had made a declaration of faith
in their God saying, “He is God in heaven above and on earth
beneath” and related that the inhabitants of Jericho were terrified
of what they heard about the Israelite God.

In return for her cooperation, they assured her that her family would
be spared providing she hang a scarlet cord from her window on the
city wall and have all her family inside her house when they conquered
the city. She believed them and hung the scarlet cord from her
window as insurance.

The day came when Joshua began his seven-day march around the city
to capture it and destroy its occupants. The popular story of the “Walls
of Jericho falling down” is well known, even having songs written
about it.

Two amazing things happened on the seventh day after the seventh
march around the city walls. One, the walls fell down “flat.”
(Joshua 6:20). I haven’t been able to locate information of the likely dimensions of the wall, but it would have been substantial enough
to ward off enemy attacks. Can you imagine the debris that the wall would have created when it fell! It would have been like climbing over mountains of wall material to enter the city. I recall one minister
giving his opinion of one possible explanation, and he could be right.
He said it’s possible that God just opened up a fissure in the earth
under the walls and they fell down “flat” into the earth allowing the attacking Israelites to easily enter and take the city. Whether that happened or God “leveled the falling debris so that it was flat,” it
was His doing. Joshua was able to completely conquer the city.

Secondly, “the house on the wall” was still standing. Though the walls
fell all around it, Rahab and her family were safe inside her house.
“Go into the harlot’s house, and from there bring out the woman and
all that she has, as you swore to her” (Joshua 6:22 NKJV). Every
stone and every bit of mortar in the wall crumbled and fell but “the
house on the wall” held and her family survived the annihilation
of the inhabitants.

There are so many “tidbits” of lessons in this story, it would be
hard to use them all in one article. Let’s look at some:

A basic one is acknowledging who God is. Rahab had heard of the
“God of heaven and earth” and was in awe of His reputation. She recalled all the things they had heard about God leading Israel from Egypt and His mighty works and finally bringing them to their border.
She didn’t mention Moses and Joshua; she said they knew that
“the Lord” had dried up the Red Sea, overcame their enemies and brought them to her city. The greatest witness we can give is how
great our God is, not what we have accomplished, even with His help.
Let the world forget our names and organizations, but let them
never forget our God!

Rahab was faithful to hang the scarlet cord out her window. She didn’t know when they would be coming, so she didn’t take a chance. She
hung it out the window through which she had let them down. Just as
the Israelites painted blood on their door frames in Egypt to preserve
the lives of their firstborn sons, she relied on the scarlet cord to protect her family. We don’t know when the Lord is coming back, so the only
safe place to be is under His blood, forgiven and obediently waiting
for His return.

She kept her family under the protected roof of her house on the wall. Remember the ark? Only those who were sequestered inside were
spared from the destructive world flood. The scarlet cord, Rahab’s
house and the ark are types of the safety we have in Christ. We are confident that we are completely safe as long as we stay with Him.
We leave Him at our own peril. Only the people who were inside
Rahab’s house were saved. Had they left, they would have perished.
The occupants of her house were taken outside the accursed city and escaped the holocaust that followed the invasion, because they stayed
in the house in the wall and were under the protection of the
scarlet cord.

Her house stood when all around her was falling down. Is your “house
on the wall” secure? Will it stand when the world falls apart? Is
the cord hanging out the window to identify you as “one of His”?

The evangelistic message is that she saved her household from destruction. Of course, Jesus is the Savior; but we can give our loved ones a message of hope to cling to when their walls are falling down around them. There is only one way they can be saved: They must
accept the message that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
He made the Way; He is the Truth and He gives Life to all who
come to Him and stay. Rahab’s family had to believe the message
she gave them about staying in her house or they would not
have survived.

Where will your house be when you hear the shout after the sound of
the trumpet and the walls fall down? It will be too late to find safety
once they begin to fall. Preparations have to be made now while
there is time and Grace is still available. Hang the scarlet cord
(Jesus’ blood) over your soul, gather your loved ones and be safe.

Now, you’ve hung out the scarlet cord, you have given your family
the message and you are waiting for the Lord’s return—but the walls
of your life are crumbling and falling down. What do you do? First,
you remember that God is still God and His Word is reliable. It
doesn’t matter if every stone in the wall by your house has sunk
into the ground or lies in a pile of rubble, the house will stand!
Stay in “the house on the wall” with the scarlet cord visible. Satan
cannot cross the blood of Jesus. There is nothing whimsical about
what God says. His Word is always true and forever dependable.

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man;
but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what
you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of
escape, that you may be able to bear it”
(1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV).

GOD IS FAITHFUL! Stay in the “house on the wall” until He comes. Under the protection of the scarlet cord (the blood of Jesus) is the only safe haven when the walls of the world begin to crumble.

Delores Adams
July 19, 2003
Copyrighted. All rights reserved.

The "Handkerchief" has been anointed and prayed over by several believers who care about you and want to help you realize your full potential in Christ Jesus Our Lord.

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~The Ten Commandments~