Cuerda Roja
What comes to mind when you think prostitution? Probably not a good thought. Some call it a victimless crime which by definition is an illegal act with no obvious injured party. But its not. There is a victim… the woman or the child. The number of prostitutes worldwide is estimated at more than 50 million with 75% being between the ages of 13 and 25. In surveys, 95% of these women and children say they want to leave. 95%!
It’s really modern day slavery, human trafficking. It’s a lucrative business and it ranks second worldwide in the illicit trafficking behind drug trafficking and ahead of gun running. It’s worse because the victims are human beings with value who are used and abused over and over and over again.
Saturday morning, I awoke and thought of Rahab. (I ended the night thinking of her too while at an iEmpathize event. ) Every time Rahab is mentioned in the bible, her profession, her shame, is mentioned alongside her. All except the genealogy of Jesus passage in Matthew 1:5. Why? Why don’t we say ‘Paul, the murderer’ or ‘David, the adulterer’? Why is her past always mentioned?
Rahab spared the spies that were sent into the Promised Land and by this saved she herself and her family were saved from destruction. (Joshua 2 and 6). She acknowledges that the God of the Israelites is the God of heaven and earth. Her acts of faith are made mention in the Hall of Faith (Heb 11:31). When James gives examples of those who had faith and works, he mentions Abraham and Rahab.
But she is a prostitute? (I know some versions tag a note that perhaps the Hebrew word is ‘innkeeper’ but the writer of Hebrews and James don’t follow this supposed translation.) She also lies? How worthy is this? Of course, Abraham and Peter for example lied too. But we cut them some slack even though they lied to save their own hide and in Abraham’s case perhaps even caused his wife to be raped by Pharaoh as a result. But Rahab? What a liar! Even though she lies to save the lives of these spies and God’s people.
But why still refer to her as a prostitute? Does she always carry this shame? I don’t think so. She is referred to as Boaz’s mother in Matthew 1. There’s a clue. Boaz who has held honor in the book of Ruth would have been shamed if his mother was shamed. I think Joshua, James and the write of Hebrews are pointing to her story as one of redemption, and restoration. God took on her shame. She was justified and made anew by her faith. She was a victim of abuse that was rescued by men who treated her with dignity. Think about it, they could have decided a prostitute, a pagan prostitute was not worth sparing even if they did make an oath. But Joshua (Yeshua, a type of Jesus), says “Go into her house and bring her out according to your oath.” He is saying she is worth saving. She is honorable., She has been made righteous. She is valuable.
In a few weeks, I am going down with a friend to Mexico to be a part of a forum that is the start of a Congressional Committee on helping end this issue in their country. (Mexican Congress, not US). It’s a total God-story of how I came to be invited. I feel like Brian and I are like those two spies handpicked by Yeshua. This journey is the beginnings of a partnership with some ministries in Mexico and a network of churches and ministries in Boulder.
Everyone hasn’t weighed in on the name but as I studied this passage, I thought of Red Cord (or Cuerda Roja in Spanish). Among those who want to end trafficking, they don’t like using the word ‘prostitute’ since it carries a false perception so in many ways using the story of Rahab could send the wrong message. But I was struck by this symbol, Rahab let down the spies through a window with a scarlet cord (or rope). It was this same scarlet cord that was to be the symbol that she was to tie to her window when they came back to destroy Jericho. That cord symbolized her protection, her resuce, her redemption. A cord is a strong bind of several threads. It’s hard to break. Like our partnership, it is made of several coming together as one for one purpose and in this case, of rescuing a woman from this form of slavery. The cord in the story is scarlet like our sins (Isaiah 1:18) and the scarlet blood of the Messiah by which He rescues us from our sin and shame and redeems us as His own.
So unless I get major pushback, I am going with Cuerda Roja as the name of our effort in hopes that we will be like a Scarlet Cord of rescue to countless thousands of children and women in Mexico who need rescuing.
