Dr. J.D. Gray served for many years as pastor at First Baptist Church, New Orleans. He often delighted in telling a Civil War story from 1865.
The First Baptist Church, Columbia, S.C., was a seedbed for secessionists, so it was one of the first places Federal cavalry went when Gen. Sherman was busy torching Georgia and South Carolina. The cavalry officer asked a man in front of the church, who happened to be the church sexton, or custodian, if this were, indeed, the First Baptist Church. The sexton replied, “No, sir,” and pointed to a church down the street.
The Federals burned the First Methodist Church in error.
Dr. Gray’s punch line was classic: “A lie is an abomination to the Lord, and a very present help in time of trouble.”
Scripture condemns lying, of course, but it’s true that some notable lies saved people.
One example was Rahab of Jericho.
Commander Joshua, who succeeded Moses, knew he needed to defeat Jericho in order to take the land of Canaan. He sent two men as covert agents into the city, perhaps disguised as traveling merchants. It was common for travelers to seek out the home of a prostitute.
Thus, Rahab came into the picture.
Unashamedly the writer labeled her a prostitute over and over. Since no husband or children were mentioned, she may have been a slave with no choice in the matter. Nevertheless, she hid the spies from the suspicious king and saved their lives. Then she spoke what she’d heard about the exploits of the Hebrews and the greatness of their God. Rahab exacted a promise from the spies to save her and her family when the city was attacked. The scarlet cord she hung from her window was a signal of God’s favor.
Rahab cast her lot with a new people, just as Ruth of Moab did later on when she said, “Your people will be my people, and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16).
Much later the gospel writer Matthew explained that Rahab married a Hebrew named Salmon. She became the great-grandmother of the greatest Hebrew king, David, and she was included in the lineage of Jesus, the son of David. (Matthew also declared how Tamar and Bathsheba were part of this lineage, too, though they were not virtuous women.)
It’s intriguing to think of how we honor the Virgin Mary at Christmastime, and how we can also rightly honor a prostitute, Rahab, who became a woman of faith and was used of God in his redemptive purpose.
The late Dr. W.A. Criswell took the scarlet cord of Jericho and suggested there is a scarlet thread throughout scripture showing God’s mercy in calling and forgiving sinners.
