THE RED ROPE
And God
Almighty looked to the angels and said, “… get my daughter out of there …” So, the angels began to work out His
sovereign plan! It would not be a
coincidence, nor even just a consequence of their visit, but the two strangers
would accomplish, albeit unknown to them, the divine counsel of God in Heaven!
Many
centuries ago, a Bedouin shepherd watched his two youngest kids, twins, Reuel
and Bathel, play in the sand outside their tent. The Spring New Moon festival was next week
and he wanted to surprise them with some sort of toy. Soon enough life would become mostly toil for
them also; but for now, he wanted to surprise them and watch them laugh and
play. But, times were hard and little
could be wasted.
The old
man loved the solitude and serenity of the sand dunes. In the quietness of Sinai, he could hear the
Maker whisper. Away from the city he had
deliberately wandered to escape the demonic din, the noise, the busy-ness
… Out here, under the stars, he could
almost hear the songbirds of Eden! He
felt divinely delivered and could sense heaven’s provision and protection. He whispered to himself, “God watches … He
leads me to green pastures …”
The
family came together after a long day tending the flocks. The sheep were safely secured in their folds,
and the women had prepared a great feast to celebrate the New Moon! There was music and laughter and so much to
eat! Then old Jethro stood and motioned
for silence. All his family smiled as he
snapped his fingers at the young twins, fidgeting in the twilight. He began, “… we thank God Almighty for the
coming of Spring and the promise of life seen as the desert blossoms…” Then old Jethro added, “… and I thank all my
sons and daughters for all their labors for the family; and I thank my wife for keeping us all fed
and warm.” And all smiled as he raised a
bag with a surprise. “…and for little
Jethro, my Reuel, and little Bathel, his sister, I have a gift!” Reuel let his twin sister, Bathelshaddai,
open the bag; and, they gasped and then squealed, “…Papa! A red rope!
How did you dye it red?! We can
play so many games with it! Let’s all
play jump rope…” later, their mother
rolled up the red rope and placed it between their exhausted, sleeping bodies,
in the back of the tent. The older ones
had laughed as the twins tugged and pulled and spun with their new toy, their
red rope.
Years
later, old Jethro went into the city, as he would do only on rare
occasions. He left the older boys
watching over the flocks; and the older girls were left tending to the
camp. Jethro junior, Reuel, now a teen,
was left to watch over his aging mother, who had a hard time seeing much
anymore. Bathel had begged to go with
her father on the visit to the pharmacy for his wife’s eye salve. Old Jethro reluctantly gave in to Bathel’s
pleading; and, she was so excited to see the city!
As they
approached the walled city, Jethro warned Bathel to stay near to him at all
times. “… oh father, you worry about
everything and nothing …” She was a
little startled when he roughly snapped back, “… I mean it, dear child!” She wondered, “… what could be so bad to
raise his ire so quickly?” Soon enough
they passed through the city gates; and all eyes were on the new girl! The young men smiled strangely and winked her
direction. Jethro just stared, coldly,
back at them. But, Bathel was enjoying
the attention. Jethro took her hand and
they went straight to the pharmacy.
They
got the eye salve and headed for the gate; but, Bathel sweetly, but slyly,
asked, “… can’t we stop and get something to eat before we leave, father?” “… o.k. – but then we immediately leave for
Sinai.” But, as they sat at the shady
bistro, waiting for their order, the waiter was pestering Bathel for her
name. Jethro sat there wishing he had
packed more food so they could have avoided this stop. But, it was the beginning of his worst
nightmare.
A
couple of years went by and old Jethro was at his wits’ end. Old Jethro warned, “… I am worried. Men are hard there…” as Bathel considered
leaving the desert for the city. Reuel
pleaded with his twin sister, Bathelshaddai, “… Bathel, the City is not the way
back to the Garden! God Almighty made
THIS place; man made the city … remember the stories of Sodom and
Gomorrah?!...”
But,
her man was at the outskirts of their camp, anxiously smiling. Her family pleaded with her one last time;
but, she had made her choice. With moist
eyes, Reuel hugged goodbye his twin, Bathel, handing her a going-away
gift. She opened the bag, and smiled
tenderly. It was the red rope, their
childhood toy. Reuel whispered to
Bathel, “… I will pray for you daily; and, may this cord bind together our
hearts, forever…” Bathel could only look
away into the distance as she replaced the red rope into the bag, and turned to
walk away.
Years
later, Bathel desperately warned her daughter, “… Nehushtan, get out of
here! Do not make the same mistake that
I made …” “… oh mom! …no wonder Father left you! All you do is whine and whimper. Come out with us tonight?! Let’s hit some taverns? Isn’t that where you met my old man? Which one was it? … the one dad named me after? … ‘the Snake Pit?’!? See ya later;
gotta go …” Bathel sobbed herself
to sleep, clutching to her last connection to the desert, the red rope Reuel
had given her. She was mumbling, “…
gotta get back to the desert …”
It was
not all that long before Bathel sat in a quiet, dark room with Nehushtan. The Jerichoites still treated them as outsiders. Sure, they wanted them around until they got
older. But playing around has a way of
wearing you down. Soon your youth was
all used up! Men want young, soft
things, not old wrinkled whores. Then
Nehushtan announced, “… I think I will name her Ra-hab, the ‘chaos
creature’! That’s even better than
‘snake-girl’?! She oughta be a
terror!?” Bathel had a distant look in
her eyes as she toyed with the childhood keepsake that Reuel had given her,
their red rope.
Years
later the impudent child stole her grandmother’s red rope, just to annoy the
old woman. For the longest she just let
her believe it was lost. “Granny B, tell
me, again, about that old, red rope you once had. What was the big deal about it?” She would tease her mercilessly. But, for some reason, Ra-hab wanted to hear
the story, every so often …
Across
the river, Moses met with the leaders of the clans. He rehearsed with them how their fathers had
left Egypt decades ago, but how they fell back in fear, without faith, and died
wandering in the wilderness. “You must
be strong and full of courage! Trust the
Lord! Joshua, lead them to victory, in
the name of the Lord. But, I will not be
able to go with you …” So, Joshua sent
out two spies, Daniel and Samuel, to look for options as they attacked Jericho.
The two
spies decided to pass off themselves as jewelry merchants from Egypt, taking
some of the jewels that their parents had gotten as spoil from the Exodus so
many years ago. As they sat in a tavern,
they noticed some stares, and they decided to deepen their cover by asking
about any local brothels. Several
laughed and told them, “… check out ‘Rahab’ down the street; she’s cheap and
easy …”
As
Daniel and Samuel entered Rahab’s house, she gave them a glaring look as she
held out her hand for silver. Trying to
hide their accent, they told Rahab, “… all we want is a piece – of bread – and
a bed for the night.” Rahab startled
them, accusing them, “… I know who you are!
The whole town is trembling in fear.
We heard what you ‘desert people’ did to the Ammonites and
Moabites. Everybody is scared to
death. But, I KNOW that your god has
given you this land. I will hide you if
you swear to deliver my family. Quick,
on the roof …”
Meanwhile,
a snitch at the tavern told the soldiers that he saw two strangers go into
Rahab’s house. They all raced over, but
Rahab laughed, “… men come and go all the time!
They paid and left to the East – hurry and try to catch them…” Next, the spies told Rahab, “…we need a sign
to mark your house to protect you when we return.” Rahab quickly responded, “I have an old red
rope that belonged to my Granny B; I will hang it from my window. Nobody will pay any attention to a red rope
in MY window! But, when you return, tell
your soldiers to look for this red rope?!”
“… o.k.” the spies replied, “… anybody in the house with the red rope
will be spared; but, only those in that house!”
Listening in the next room, old Bathel remembered two angels that
visited Lot?!
Joshua
eagerly debriefed the two spies, “… so, what did you see? Any weak defenses? Any secret passages? … by the way, did you happen to meet an old
lady called ‘Bathel’? Moses once
mentioned her, being his relative – his wife’s aunt, or something like
that. Never mind. No telling if she’s even still alive!” “… no…” the spies replied, “… but we met this
crazy whore, don’t ask, named ‘Rahab’ who lied for us and saved our lives! We promised to get her out when we
attack. But, no, we met no ‘Bathel’ …”
“Granny
B! and, Mama! They’re here! They’re taking us out of here! The ‘desert people’ are here! They saw your red rope!”
Meanwhile,
in a Sunday School class, in the 21st century, somewhere in rural Alabama,
somebody asks, “… what is the significance of this scarlet cord, this red rope,
in the story about the battle of Jericho?”
The teacher responded, “… in this story we see an emphasis on divine
providence, God’s protection and His provision; we see God’s deliverance … kinda
like Lot was visited by the angels … and, I am reminded of what Paul said in
Acts 17:26-28, ‘… He has determined the times before appointed and the bounds
of their habitations; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel
after him and find him, though he is not far from every one of us.’ – but, why
the ‘red rope’ -- who knows?!”
And God Almighty looked to the angels and said, “… get my daughter out of there …” So, the angels began to work out His sovereign plan! It would not be a coincidence, nor even just a consequence of their visit, but the two strangers would accomplish, albeit unknown to them, the divine counsel of God in Heaven!
