ROPES, LESSON 1: RAHAB

Ropes Lesson 1: Rahab

The following Bible stories were selected because of their “rope connection” to ropes course activities planned for 8-14 year olds at a weekend retreat. These lessons can also be adapted to suit younger classes. Please note the craft and activities ideas located at the end of the third lesson.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 “Two people can resist an attack that would defeat one person alone. A rope made of three cords is hard to break.” (GNT)

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Cord

“The materials of which cord was made varied according to the strength required; the strongest rope was probably made of strips of camel hide, as still used by the Bedouins. The finer sorts were made of flax, (Isaiah 19:9) and probably of reeds and rushes. In the New Testament the term is applied to the whip which our Saviour made, (John 2:15) and to the ropes of a ship. (Acts 27:32)”

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

CORD

kord (chebhet, yether, methar, `abhoth; schoinion):

“(1) The Arabic chab'l corresponds to the Hebrew chebhel and is still the common name for cord or rope throughout the East. Such ropes or cords are made of goat's or camel's hair, first spun into threads and then twisted or plaited into the larger and stronger form. Chebhel is translated rather inconsistently in the Revised Version (British and American) by "cord" (Joshua 2:15 Job 36:8, etc.); by "line" (2 Samuel 8:2 Micah 2:5 Psalm 16:6; Psalm 78:55 Amos 7:17 Zechariah 2:1); by "ropes" (1 Kings 20:31), and by "tacklings" (Isaiah 33:23).”

Lesson 1: Joshua 2 & 6 – Rahab

Lesson 2: Mark 2, Luke 5 – Jesus heals the paralytic                                               

Lesson 3: Acts 9:19-25, 2 Cor.11:33 Saul lowered in a basket

LESSON 1

Rahab – Joshua chapters 2 and 6

Joshua was the new leader of the Israelites, commissioned by the Lord before Moses died. Ready to cross the Jordan River and take possession of the promised land, he first sent two spies to look over the land, particularly Jericho, a fortress city surrounded by high walls so thick that some people lived in homes inside the walls. One of those people was Rahab, a woman of questionable reputation, whose home may have included an inn where strangers could stay.

Rahab, like the other Jericho inhabitants, had heard about the miracles the Israelite God had performed for His people. She knew about the Red Sea drying up, and the destruction of the Amorite kings. But her response to this information was totally different from that of her fellow citizens. While they hurried to close up their gates and defend their city, she made a very dissimilar choice, and that made all the difference.

When the spies arrived at Jericho, they surreptitiously entered through the gates and headed into Rahab’s house. Someone must have been watching though, and correctly guessed who they were and what they were about. The king of Jericho was notified and he demanded that Rahab turn over the spies.

Rahab, however, had other plans. Before hiding the spies under stalks of flax she had laid out on her roof, she told them she was aware of what their God had done for them. She had drawn the amazing conclusion that their God was the real God! Instead of remaining fearful and discouraged, like her fellow citizens, by what this true God of heaven and earth was doing, she made the decision that this God was the God she must follow, whatever the cost.

This may be a good time to present the Gospel. Rahab had a choice to make, based on what she had heard and understood. She could have chosen to stand with her fellow citizens against this foreign God. But instead, she chose to believe in the Israelite God as the true God, in opposition to all those around her, and acted accordingly. We have to make a similar decision when we are confronted with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Either we choose to follow Him, despite what others around us may say or do, or we choose to follow the crowd to our ultimate judgment.

Having made her decision, Rahab hid the spies and told those who had come to capture them that the men had already left the city. As a result, the king’s men hurried out the city gate in search of the spies, but never found them. You may wish to use this opportunity to remind the students that it is not okay to lie! In fact, God hates lying. However, under this extreme circumstance, and in her relative ignorance about the true God, He overlooked Rahab’s lie and saw her faith instead.

Before sending the spies back to Joshua, Rahab pled for her own life, and that of her family. She wanted confirmation that none of them would be killed when Jericho was conquered (which she strongly believed would happen). The spies agreed - with two caveats: that she would not tell anyone what they were doing, and that when the Israelites arrived, she would tie in the window the scarlet red rope that belonged to her. She agreed and helped them to escape down the wall by the red rope.

Rahab followed through on both of these conditions. We all know the ending of this story. The Israelites came to Jericho and by the Lord’s command, they marched around the city one time each day for six days and then marched around it seven times on the seventh day. Then they blew the trumpets and shouted, and the great wall of Jericho fell down flat! The Israelites rushed in and destroyed the city and its citizens. But, per Joshua’s command, they saved the lives of Rahab and her family. She lived among the Israelites for the rest of her life, became the wife of Salmon and the mother of Boaz, the great-grandfather of King David. Rahab, along with Ruth, another foreigner, are in the lineage of the Lord Jesus Himself. Such grace God bestows on any who turn to Him, no matter their background!

Thoughts for the teachers:

Consider the following quote in regards to Rahab being in the lineage of Jesus: “Poor Rahab, the muddy, the defiled, became the fountainhead of the River of the Water of Life which floweth out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.” Wm McKay, 18^th century preacher

According to Doug Batchelor, in “Red Rope of Rahab” at www.amazingfacts.org , flax, the plant Rahab stored on her roof, was used for two things. The softer part of the plant was made into linen cloth. The rougher part was twisted together to make rope. Rahab may have made both cloth and ropes, colored them with red dye, and sold them as a side business.

How fitting that the color she chose for her dye was scarlet! Many Bible scholars believe that this scarlet rope, among other Old Testament references to red items, symbolically pointed to the blood of Jesus which He would someday shed on the cross for our sins. In this case, the red rope first saved the lives of the spies as Rahab helped them descend the wall with it, and then saved her own life, and that of her family, when she later hung it in the window. It’s all about the rope!