Rahab to many can be quite the enigma. Other than her general description and editorial labeling, and the telling of her aid offered under some degree of danger, which she offered the two Hebrew spies, what exactly is known concerning her? Of course, I am aware of and must deam such depictions of her in the 'low interpretations' as to who she was, 'an innkeeper' is what I find. And when I consider the low depiction of the Jewish Biblical context, we seem to arive at Rahab as the 'farmer's daughter image' coupled with the unscruplous traveling salesman. And further an association with 'those motels' of low reputaions. And the Jewish take upon the matter gets no better than this low base depiction.

In reality we do not even know her actual age, whether she was but a young girl, a child aiding in her father's legitimate 'innkeepers' profession. For certainly her love for her family and her concern for their well being in negociating her family's safe remove from Jericho seems more reflective of a family girl than a woman of the night with separate house and a bed for hire. What we have is what the Jewish report has first taken it into their view and hearts to notice about her. (See side story.)

Words themselves can have both low and carnally connected meanings as well as high and wholesome meanings. Often what is taken as to those meanings says more about the describer of the meanings of those words than it does about the reality and true meaning of the words in the more objective sense their real meaning.

In relation to a priesthood church lesson given, the discussion of the lesson turned to the various women which the Bible has stated as being in the ancestry of Jesus Christ. There was mother Eve, Sarah, Rebekah, Leah, with hardly a mention of Rachel, Tamar, Rachab [Rahab], Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary. And the discussion filtered on into the judgment ended in rating these women as of being of high or low moral character. And one brother even ventured to state that he did not expect to see all of them in the next life in the Celestial Kingdom, he presuming that he would be there of course. There was even one direct statement concerning Rahab herself not qualifying to be there.

This rubbed me the wrong way and I was glad when such comments were taken to task along the lines of the mercies of Christ, the significance of and gift of the atonement open to all who are the truly repentant. And final a number of us concluded that there would be many a righteous woman and man in the Celestial Kingdom who had under gone the process of repentance and forgiveness and that God remembered their sins no more and certainly they will be the 'righteous' heirs to the Celestial Kingdom of God.

This brings me back to Rahab. What do we know of her for sure? And in the eternal sceme of things is it really any of our business to either know or concern ourselves with such low base depictions of persons we really know much of nothing about.

When I read and consider Rahab, I consider her as working in a family provided 'Inn' of highest reputation, and not the sleeze motel in the shady neighborhood of the city. I like to think of that Inn where Joseph sought to have he and Mary stay that night. And Rahab as a youth member of the family doing the common wholesome chores of cleaning and maintaining the inn.

One Jewish held tradition is that when Rahab's family were delivered safe from Jericho, they did join with the people Israel, who were not only made up of those of the tribes of Israel but also of those who did remove from Egypt with them and many of whom had also adopted the religion of Israel and the God Jehovah as their own God and religion. It is even reported in the Jewish Encyclopedia that Rahab became one of the wives of Joshua which counter relates to that report in the scriptures that makes her but Boaz's mother, Rachab (Matthew 1:5).

And yet the timeline of Rahab befriending the Hebrew spies when Israel first entered into the promised land seem to be some number of generations removed from when Boaz took it upon himself to act as the near kinsman and redeem the properties of Elimelech and Manlon, the dead, upon a surogate produced son Obed raised to be the son of Naomi and the Ephrathite house of Elimelech. That old Rahab would have to be pretty old to stand as Boaz's mother, but perhaps as I consider it possible, it was a daughter of Rahab who was mother of Boaz and very possible the maternal connecting link between the Epraimite family of Elimelech and the Jewish family of Boaz, but that's another story [See Messiah ben David ~ Messiah ben Joseph].

The 'Scarlet Cord' has been used in various meanings. In terms of finding Christ it is that link unto the redemption and salvation of the Lord. Without that lifeline of the atonement all mankind would be forever lost in their sins with without forgiveness or salvation. In terms of Rahab's scarlet rope or cord it was an avenue of escape from the evils of that wicked pagan city of Jericho to the truth of the religion of Jehovah. Whatever Rahab and her family's background had been, their escape from the destruction of the city of Jericho was a welcome releif and blessing of a much better and righteous way of life.

This hope of redeption through Jesus Christ is held out to all men. All are invited to him to come and partake of his richness, goodness and mercy with promise of the blessings of heaven to the truely penentant. For there is no man who is without sin and all are in need of the Saviors redemptive powers. Akin to this symbolism of the scarlet cord of Rahab comes the scarlet 'string' of Rachel. Rachel is looked to as the 'Eternal Mother' of Israel and that is above the positioning of her sister Leah. As Matthew points out, it was Rachel who weep for the deaths of 'her' children when King Herod ordered the death of all the sons of Israel of Ramah from the age of 2 down. This matriarchal position of 'Mother Rachel' is further explored and expounded upon in the pages of the link above as Messiah ben David ~ Messiah ben Joseph. And the significance of the red cord or string may well be that cord which connects the Mothers of the ancestry of the Christ, including Rachel, for she is not only one such mother, but the Mother of all Israel in her position.