Joshua 2:18, 21 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee….And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.
The faith response of Rahab is something to behold, and emulate. Because of her faith in the Lord as her God, she hid the spies, sent them away safely, and showed them kindness. Moreover, she then obeyed the Lord by hanging the scarlet thread out her window, thereby saving her house and family.
Rahab could not possibly know what was going to happen: that the walls of Jericho would come tumbling down, but her house would stand and her family saved. She could not possibly know anything about the symbolic significance of the scarlet thread. But she obeyed as she was told, even though she couldn’t understand, simply because she believed God. And so it happened.
We do not know, and cannot judge, whether her family was saved eternally or not, but they were blessed and their lives were spared because of her faith and obedient response. The family could not be eternally saved by her faith, for each person must personally believe. But it is helpful to know that blessings come to families in which only one person believes, though that person’s faith cannot save others. Her witness and influence, however, may well have converted the family.
Nevertheless, Rahab is mentioned by name in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Her example is instructive for us today: trust and obey, whether you can understand everything or not. Only believe! We may not understand exactly how the scarlet blood of Jesus cleanses us from sin. But we believe it does, so we act accordingly.