Crossing The River Jordan: Audra Lynn ‘The Chord Of Scarlet’

The Cord Of Scarlet

Joshua 2:12-21

“Now therefore, please swear to me by the Lord, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s household, and give me a pledge of truth, and spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” So the men said to her, “Our life for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the Lord gives us the land that we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.”

The Promise to Rahab

Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall, so that she was living on the wall. She said to them, “Go to the hill country, so that the pursuers will not happen upon you, and hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers return. Then afterward you may go on your way.” The men said to her, “We shall be free from this oath to you which you have made us swear, unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and gather to yourself into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father’s household. It shall come about that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall befree; but anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him. But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be free from the oath which you have made us swear.” She said, “According to your words, so be it.” So she sent them away, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.” -(NASB)

I heard Bible stories as a child, and they were adventurous and interesting but they seemed so far removed from me and my life.
The story of entering into the promise land, Joshua and Rahab seemed to be one of these stories, interesting from a historical point of view but how does that relate to me?

Since getting so very sick in so many ways for so long, the blessing to me has been the ability to stop and carefully consider certain things. Recently in the school of ministry I attend, we have been deeply studying the who, what, where, when and how of these stories to really get a sense of the context and how that relates to my life right here and right now.

I began a study of Joshua, but not as much in a historical sense but in the application of actually moving our lives closer into the promise land. That is the land of ‘milk and honey” that exists no matter what the situations we are facing and what challenges might seem impossible to overcome. I heard a very emotional concept that have overlooked and I have to say that the feelings behind it are stunning..

To think that Jesus’s great great great….great great…great grandmother was a prostitute named Rahab?

That the scarlet cord she let down as a sign is thought to be the origination of the “red light district”

A messiah that died for MY sins, who shouldn’t even give me a second look if I were walking by…Why me?

Who would write a story like that, that in the lineage of the Messiah would be such a person, such a harlot. I mean if I had a grandmother like that I might just not mention it in my autobiography, maybe just leave that one out, kind of sweep it under the rug….don’t you think.?

I have been listening to the artists at forerunner music and Audra Lynn has become a favorite. On Sunday I found her album “fading” and of course on it was a song called “cord of scarlet”. I have to say that it is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. The depth of emotion in this as she describes the love that he has for me, just me and just you.

Also what was interesting is this song is named the “Chord of Scarlet”. A “Chord” is to “play, sing, or arrange notes in chords”, as apposed to a “Cord” “a long thin flexible string or rope made from several twisted strands” so it takes this from the literal rope or cord to the melody and harmony of the greatest love story ever told.

Since Sunday I must have listened to this song 30 times or so as I have reached in and talked about things that I wanted to bury forever. I wanted to forget these things, move on and move forward, I am after all a man. But I am finding that to carefully consider the depth of things creates a freedom in me that I have never known.

Because this song moved me so much, I put some images together and both part one and part two of the song in one video, and after watching it for myself it occurred to me that in the past what I considered a “harlot” was so superficial and exterior motivated. Sure streetwalkers and prostitutes are harlots, hooker and hoars, but that’s not what the story is about.

The story is about me…

I was the harlot, I am the wayward bride, I was the helpless little girl tied up and scared, I am the girl in the bottle, just one of millions shut up tight running out of air and dying and I am Rahab I WAS the hoar and it hurts..

But God so loved the world…and at the end of this video, Jesus is holding my sins and holding me tight, bringing me back from bondage, with a depth of love that I can barely imagine.

And for that I am eternally grateful in words I cant express…To understand the author of this story and why he does what he does the song by Matt Gilman called Holy Holy tells the story. God always presses in because people matter to him.

We must read the bible and get the depth of the emotions from the text. Audra Lynn is teaching me that in this example of conveying the “Chord” or melody of the story rather that the literal “cord” of the text.

After watching this it occurred to me that if you pause the video at 12:00 minutes and put your face right up to the black square on the monitor you will see your reflection and that is who Jesus died on the cross for, he died for you, no matter what your past looks like….

Audra Lynn and “The Chord of Scarlet” On YouTube