Flax And The Scarlet Cord

I don’t know if this has ever happened to you, but last night I woke up at 1 AM with a verse on my mind from scripture I haven’t thought of in a long time. My first thought was, “where in the world did that come from?”  The verse was Isaiah 1:18…

“Come now, let’s settle this,”

says the LORD.

“Though your sins are like scarlet,

I will make them as white as snow.

Though they are red like crimson,

I will make them as white as wool.”

This morning, I found myself in Joshua 2, and the story of Rahab hiding the spies. What were her choice of weapons for deliverance? Bundles of flax… Which, when bleached, is used to make white linen. And a scarlet cord hanging from a window.

OK God… I’m thinking there’s something you wanna teach me here…

When I think of God’s great acts of deliverance, my mind often pictures seas parting, walls crumbling, or fire falling from heaven. But in Joshua chapter 2, salvation is hidden in plain sight... wrapped in bundles of flax and a scarlet cord. These ordinary objects carried extraordinary meaning, becoming signs of God’s redemptive plan.

The Bundles of Flax: Humble Shelter

Rahab’s rooftop was not a fortress, but it became one. When she hid the Israelite spies under bundles of drying flax, she turned agricultural bundles into a shield against Jericho’s king.

Flax was the raw material for linen… common, unremarkable. Yet God used it as the means of concealment and protection. The lesson is striking: God’s providence often comes clothed in the ordinary. No angelic army, no fiery miracle... just stalks of flax, a faithful woman’s courage, and the unseen hand of God.

Faith does not always roar with drama; sometimes, it whispers from under piles of drying plants.

The Scarlet Cord: Refuge in Plain Sight

Later, Rahab was told to hang a scarlet cord from her window. To me this sounded unusual, maybe even dangerous… like marking her house as a place to check out by the king of Jericho. But in her culture it was not. In ancient Canaanite cities, a rope or cloth hanging from a window was often a way to mark a house of refuge or shelter... a signal that safety and hospitality could be found inside.

For Rahab, the scarlet rope carried double weight: it was both a cultural sign of welcome and a divine sign of salvation. When Jericho’s walls fell, that crimson cord became the difference between destruction and deliverance.

The echoes are unmistakable:

• The lamb’s blood over Israelite doorposts in Egypt.

• The priestly garments of scarlet and white linen.

• And ultimately, the blood of Christ, the scarlet cord hanging on the cross, marking the place where His people could find rest and hope for eternal refuge.

What looked like an ordinary rope became a lifeline of redemption.

Ordinary Means, Extraordinary Grace

Together, the flax and the cord reminded me today that God delights to work through humble, everyday means:

• A pile of flax became a hiding place.

• A scarlet rope became a covenant marker.

These images teach me that God doesn’t need grandeur to save. His extraordinary grace is often woven into the fabric of ordinary life.

Living Under the Flax, Marked by the Cord

For me today, Rahab’s story is more than history… it’s an invitation. The “bundles of flax” in my life may look like small acts of faith, daily choices of obedience, or quiet courage when no one sees. Small faith steps, like standing without falling, going up and down stairs, having the strength to change over the laundry, changing a lightbulb in the office (which I was just able to do today). And the “scarlet cord” reminds me that my true refuge is not found in my strength but in the redeeming blood of Christ. It’s His blood that is providing the healing power to my body and leading me to a place of rest.

When life feels too ordinary, remember Rahab’s rooftop and window. In the flax and the cord, we glimpse the beauty of a God who turns humble materials into vessels of salvation and rest.

Matthew 11:28-30 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”