The Scarlet Cord (II)

Another Scarlet Cord

In my previous article on the Scarlet Cord I addressed what the imagery of the cord in the window would have reminded an ancient Israelite of, as well as what it ultimately pointed to in the shed blood of Christ as our perfect Passover sacrifice. In this article, I want to point out another notable connection:

After Tamar (a foreigner) was mistaken for a prostitute by Judah, she gave birth to twins and her midwife wrapped a scarlet cord around her son, Zerah.

When you read that, doesn’t your mind jump to Joshua 2? Rahab was a prostitute and a foreigner, and she also had a scarlet cord as an important facet of her account in Scripture. Not only that, but both of these women are specifically highlighted in Jesus’ genealogy.

I am not claiming there is some amazing implication here, but the connection of these two women by their similarities, the red cord, and the fact that God saw fit to state in the genealogy of Christ that they are both his relatives is significant and shouldn’t be divorced from the connection between Christ and the Passover. All of these things are pointing toward the glory of Christ and how all of redemptive history is tied together in the scarlet cord (remember, the New Covenant, which is the apex of God’s covenant fulfillment, was inaugurated by the blood of Christ—Hebrews 12:18) that is his birth, life, death, resurrection, Kingship and dominion over all things. Given the multiple connections to Christ with the red cord and the symbolism from Joshua 2 that pointed to the Passover, I do think it is right to connect Rahab’s cord to the blood of Christ IF you draw it out properly. There is a real danger in seeing red and assuming it points to the blood of Christ—that is not good exegesis, and we must be better Bereans than that as we dig into the Scriptures.

P.S.

In my first installment on the scarlet cord I failed to point out an important connection: there is one additional argument—maybe one of the strongest, as it is grounded in a repeated requirement—for how what happened in Joshua 2 was specifically referencing and pointing back to the Passover in Egypt. Consider the following:

Exodus 12:22 (LSB): “And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and touch some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the doorway of his house until morning.

Joshua 2:19 (LSB): “And it will be that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be free; but anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him.

There is a direct connection between the Passover in Egypt and the Passover in Jericho because of the requirement imposed upon the members of each household that would protect them from the destruction happening just outside each door.