Josué 2

Josué 2

Clarke remarks, that the natural place of this verse is immediately after the first clause of v. 21. It is very unlikely that she would dismiss them before the above-mentioned conditions were agreed upon; or that she would discourse with them of matters of so much moment after they were let down, and were standing under the window, where others might overhear them; or that she would commence speaking to them in her chamber, and not finish till they had left the house. Joshua 2:16 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." Go to the hill country, Jos 2:22 1Sa 23:14,29 Ps 11:1 Joshua 2 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries In the Foreground are ruins of Jericho- Note the "hill country" that is directly west © Phoenix Data Systems RAHAB'S SAGE ADVICE FOR SAFETY As explained in the note on v15, it is appears that this conversation which extends through verse 21 was continued once the spies had been let down by the rope. 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 - Not only did she let them down by a rope, but she gave them wise advice to assure that they would not be discovered by the king's men. The hill country would have been toward the west (see the picture above) the opposite direction from that the king's men had gone to conduct their "wild goose chase" (cf Joshua 2:7)! Why does she say three days? I am not sure and the text does not tell us. The fact that she says Then afterward you may go on your way makes it sound like she has some information that is indisputable. Did God somehow put this truth in her mind? Did she hear the king's men make a specific pronouncement? Keil & Delitzsch feel that the hill country is most likely “the range on the northern side of Jericho, which afterwards received the name of Quarantana (Arab. Kuruntul), a wall of rock rising almost precipitously from the plain to the height of 1200 or 1500 feet and full of grottos and caves on the eastern side. These mountains were well adapted for a place of concealment; moreover, they were the nearest to Jericho, as the western range recedes considerably to the south of Wady Kelt”. God sometimes works in unexpected ways through unexpected people. George Bush - Notes Critical and Practical on the Book of Joshua - Chapter 2 16. Get you to the mountain. Heb. חהרח לכו hâhârâh lëku, mountainwards go ye. That is, to the mountainous region in the vicinity; not to any particular mountain. This is an extremely frequent sense of the word ‘mountain’ in Scripture. The Greek has here είς τὴν ὀρεινήν, to the mountainous region, Jericho, as we have seen, was encompassed by a range of high hills (see picture above). In some of the caves of these they might conceal themselves for the time specified. Joshua 2:17 The men said to her, "We shall be free from this oath to you which you have made us swear, Jos 2:20 Ge 24:3-8 Ex 20:7 Lev 19:11,12 Nu 30:2 2Sa 21:1,2,7 Joshua 2 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries FIRST STIPULATION REGARDING THEIR OATH The men said to her, "We shall be free from this oath to you which you have made us swear - Now the spies give the stipulations to their oath to protect Rahab and her family. As an aside one recalls Yahweh's command in Dt 7:2 in which Moses said "when the LORD your God delivers them (CANAANITES) before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor (chanan) to them." This instruction does not seem to apply to the two spies for it refers to instructions after the Israelites had invaded and defeated their pagan enemy. Also the agreement with Rahab was not an agreement to allow her to continue practicing her pagan beliefs, but ultimately was part of her entering into the Abrahamic Covenant by grace through faith. George Bush - Notes Critical and Practical on the Book of Joshua - Chapter 2 17. We will be blameless of this thine oath. It shall not be our fault if the said oath be not kept, provided the annexed conditions be punctually observed on thy part. We will be free from the reproach of being unfaithful to our engagements. These conditions they go on to state in the next verse. Joshua 2:18 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. scarlet thread: Jos 2:21 Lev 14:4 Nu 4:8 19:6 Heb 9:19 father: Jos 2:13 6:23 Ge 7:1 12:2 19:12-17 Es 8:6 Lu 19:9 Ac 10:27,33 Ac 11:14 2Ti 1:16 Joshua 2 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries THE SCARLET CORD of SALVATION IN THE "SAFE HOUSE" Safe house "is, in a generic sense, a secret place for sanctuary or suitable to hide people from the law, hostile actors or actions, or from retribution, threats or perceived danger." Unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord (tiqwah) of scarlet (saniy/shaniy) thread (chut) 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 - The spies make it clear that if there is no cord of scarlet thread, they cannot assure her salvation. Their instruction is to remain in her house while the Israelites are destroying the population of Jericho. The cord of scarlet hanging from her window would be clearly seen by the Israelite soldiers again and again as they would march around the walls (Joshua 6:12–15). Obviously every Israeli soldier would have been clear instructions to spare every soul in the house marked with the scarlet cord. Compare the instructions in Exodus the night of the Passover... "And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning. 23 "For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you. (Exodus 12:22-23+) It would be a measure of Rahab's faith whether she would keep the cord in the window and retain her family in her house. And in a similar way it would be a measure of her relative's faith if they actually came into her home during the siege of the Israelites began. Seven times around the city would have allowed every soldier plenty of exposure to the "safe house." Paul Apple - Turning the shame of the scarlet letter A for adulteress into the trophy of the scarlet thread of God’s redemption and deliverance Keith Andrews - She was told to leave a scarlet rope, the color of blood. This was no coincidence. Throughout the Scriptures blood is shown to cover our sin. Without the shedding of blood there is no redemption of sin. It is the blood of Christ that rescues us from destruction. Utley on cord (tiqwah) - The term “rope” (chebel) in Joshua 2:15 is different from the term (tiqwah) used in Josh 2:18 and Josh 2:21. The first (chebel) implies a corded strong rope, the second (tiqwah) a much smaller, weaker rope, or thick thread. By putting out this small rope/thread it did not draw undue attention to her home by the inhabitants of Jericho. The color scarlet (saniy/shaniy) is often associated with the tabernacle color, but must have also been a common color for thread (cf. Ge 38:28, 30). These spies may have had it with them. The dye color came from a worm Utley on gather to yourself into the house - In the OT salvation has to do with physical deliverance. Notice Rahab’s whole family is delivered by her act of faith. This corporate concept is not only common in the OT, but extends to the “household” conversions of the NT (cf. Josh 2:2; John 4:44, 53; Acts 11:14; 16:14–15, 31–33; 18:8; 1Cor. 1:16). (ED: OF COURSE NO INDIVIDUAL IN A HOUSEHOLD IS SAVED WITHOUT PERSONAL FAITH IN MESSIAH!) Francis Schaeffer - “In the preaching of the Christian church, all the way back to Clement of Rome . . ., this has been taken as a sign of the blood of Christ, the Lamb.” George Bush on the cord of scarlet thread - It answered, therefore, the same purpose with the blood sprinkled upon the door-posts in Egypt, which secured the first-born from the destroying angel. What the Bible Teaches has an interesting note - There has been much written and preached about the scarlet thread mentioned by the spies. It was used by Rahab to let the spies down from the window and was to be retained by her and displayed in the window of her house. Some have thought that it is a fitting picture of the death of the Lord Jesus, in a similar way to the application of blood from the lamb of the household, to the door posts and lintel in Egypt, prior to the passover night (Ex 12:7). There may well be that typology within the narrative, however, it is not something that the New Testament supports and therefore cannot be pressed. The salvation of Rahab in the New Testament is a picture of faith and works and not of sheltering under the blood of Christ. It is a mistake to read more into the narrative than is supported by the New Testament simply based on the colour of the cord. (What the Bible Teaches - Joshua) Related Resources: See discussion of Typology-Study of Types What is biblical typology? | GotQuestions.org - Excerpt - We should point out the difference between an illustration and a type. A type is always identified as such in the New Testament. A Bible student finding correlations between an Old Testament story and the life of Christ is simply finding illustrations, not types. In other words, typology is determined by Scripture. The Holy Spirit inspired the use of types; illustrations and analogies are the result of man’s study. For example, many people see parallels between Joseph (Genesis 37-45) and Jesus. The humiliation and subsequent glorification of Joseph seem to correspond to the death and resurrection of Christ. However, the New Testament never uses Joseph as a model of Christ; therefore, Joseph’s story is properly called an illustration, but not a type, of Christ. Scarlet (08144) saniy/shaniy is a masculine noun always used for the color scarlet. In Isa 1:18 God says Israel's "sins are as scarlet" but promised that "They will be as white as snow." (the implication being that they would be forgiven if they repented and believed in the Messiah). See discussion of tola where the two Hebrew words (saniy/shaniy and tola) occur juxtaposed in many of the passages in Exodus that describe the scarlet decorations of the Tabernacle. Saniy/shaniy describes the scarlet thread on the twin Zerah, who was listed with his twin Perez in the line of Messiah, these twins being born to Tamar after Judah had illicit relations with her, thinking she was a harlot (Mt 1:3). In Josh 2:18 we see another harlot Rahab, where saniy/shaniy described the scarlet thread she was to show from her window so that she would be spared ("redeemed" so to speak) by the Israelites when they utterly destroyed Jericho. So in both of these uses we see the scarlet is part of the so-called "scarlet thread of redemption" which many writers see beginning in Genesis 3:15 (although there is no specific mention of a scarlet color, there is an implication that blood was spilled to prepare animal skin coverings for Adam and Eve). The uses of saniy/shaniy in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers are essentially identical to the uses described in more detailed under the word study of tola. In Isaiah 1:18 Jehovah refers to Israel's "sins are as scarlet (saniy/shaniy)." Saniy - Ge 38:28, 30; Ex 25:4; 26:1, 31, 36; 27:16; 28:5f, 8, 15, 33; 35:6, 23, 25, 35; 36:8, 35, 37; 38:18, 23; 39:1-3, 5, 8, 24, 29; Lev 14:4, 6, 49, 51-52; Num. 4:8; Num. 19:6; Jos. 2:18; Jos. 2:21; 2Sa. 1:24; Pr. 31:21; Song 4:3; Isa. 1:18; Jer. 4:30 Cord (08615)(tiqwah from qavah - to wait for) meaning “cord,” is only found in the story of Rahab (Josh. 2:18, 21). The two Hebrew spies told her to put a scarlet tiqwāh outside her house’s window on the city wall. The presumed root of this word has a Biblical Hebrew meaning of “to wait for,” a derived sense of the more primitive meaning “to twist,” “to stretch”. There may be some intentional double meaning of this term, since in Biblical Hebrew the word tiqwah in other contexts usually means “hope”. (e.g., Ps 62:5) (See Definition II below) John Hartley - (See Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. page 790-791). 1994d ‏תִּקְוָה‎ (tiqwâ) <H8615> I, cord (Joshua 2:18, 21, only). 1994e ‏תִּקְוָה‎ (tiqwâ) <H8615> II, hope. This root means to wait or to look for with eager expectation. It is used for the wicked who make an attempt to destroy the life of the righteous (Psalm 56:6 [H 7]; Psalm 119:95). Waiting with steadfast endurance is a great expression of faith. It means enduring patiently in confident hope that God will decisively act for the salvation of his people (Genesis 49:18). Waiting involves the very essence of a person's being, his soul (nepesh; Psalm 130:5). Those who wait in true faith are renewed in strength so that they can continue to serve the Lord while looking for his saving work (Isaiah 40:31). There will come a time when all that God has promised will be realized and fulfilled (Isaiah 49:23; Psalm 37:9). In the meantime the believer survives by means of his integrity and uprightness as he trusts in God's grace and power (Psalm 25:21). His faith is strengthened through his testings, and his character is further developed (Psalm 27:14). Israel is encouraged to hold fast to love and justice, i.e. they are to follow the law faithfully and maintain consistently the standards of justice, at the same time preserving an attitude of godly love (Hosea 12:6 [H 7]; cf. Psalm 37:34; Job 4:6). During times of visitation and judgment, the righteous must exercise great faith (Isaiah 26:8; Lament. 3:19-33). Thus Isaiah confidently asserts, "I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him" (Isaiah 8:17). When God arrives on the scene with redemptive power, the response of those who have waited will be jubilant joy and great singing (Isaiah 25:9). Job amid his intense trial claimed that God was pulling up his hope like a tree (Job 19:10). Perhaps this statement is a response to his assertion of faith: "For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease" (Job 14:7). But his complete frustration had been expressed in exclaiming, "My days ... come to their end without hope" (Job 7:6; cf. Proverbs 11:7). The wicked too have hope. But since it has a false basis, it shall end with their death (Proverbs 11:7, 23; cf. Proverbs 10:28). God himself will cut them off (Job 8:13; Job 27:8). Job says, "Their hope is to breathe their last" (Job 11:20). Hope has an eternal home in man's heart. As long as there is a future, there is hope (Proverbs 23:18; probably an eternal future is intended). But only the believer can really express his hope in the future, for it belongs to Yahweh alone. And God supplies wisdom to insure that future (ʾahărît) and to substantiate hope (Proverbs 24:14). The wicked have no such future, ʾahărît (Proverbs 24:20), nor hope, tiqwâ (Proverbs 10:28). God is the source of hope for his people, and he has promised them a future and a hope (Psalm 62:5 [H 6]; Jeremiah 29:11). Jeremiah says to besieged Judah, "There is hope for your future" (Jeremiah 31:17). Zechariah calls God's people, "prisoners of hope." And he summons them to look forward to experiencing God's restoration (Zech. 9:12). Therefore, Yahweh himself is called "the hope of Israel" (Jeremiah 14:8; Jeremiah 17:13; Jeremiah 50:7; cf. Psalm 71:5). God expresses hope in man. He planted Israel and made her a fully prepared vineyard. His hope or purpose was for her success, i.e. that she yield fruit; this was parabolically expressed by placing a wine press in the vineyard (Isaiah 5:2ff.). However, she only yielded wild grapes. Therefore he had to judge her severely (Isaiah 5:5f.). But his hope continued, for he planned a new vineyard that could some day be productive (Isaiah 27:2-6). (See Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. page 790-791). Baker (The Complete Word Study Old Testament ) gives the two definitions of this Hebrew word - I. A feminine noun referring to a cord, a line. It refers to a piece of rope or a cord made of bright red thread with a tinge of orange that Rahab placed in her window (Josh. 2:18, 21). II. A feminine noun referring to hope, expectation. It refers to an attitude of anticipation with the expectation that something will happen, e.g., the hope of bearing a child (Ruth 1:12). A manner of life raises hope of certain consequences (Job 4:6). Because God cares for the oppressed and hopeless, even they have hope (Job 5:16; Ps. 9:18[19]). Hope can be equivalent to a longing or a desire (Job 6:8). The righteous person’s hope is ultimately and completely in God (Ps. 62:5[6]); the same cannot be said of the wicked (Prov. 10:28). The fear of the Lord gives hope (Prov. 23:18). A self-conceited person or a person wise in his or her own thinking is more hopeless than a fool (Prov. 26:12). Even when they were in exile, God let His people know that He had a hope to give them, a positive future (Jer. 29:11). The hope for the success of Israel was lost in her captivity (Ezek. 19:5); but God gave Israel hope to return from there (Ezek. 37:11). Hosea speaks of Israel’s recovery and hope of full restoration (Hos. 2:15; Zech. 9:12). Tiqwah - 33x (I) NAS with sense of cord = Jos. 2:18; Jos. 2:21 (II) FOLLOWING VERSES USE TIQWAH WITH MEANING OF "HOPE" NAS - expectation(3), hope(28), longing(1) = Ruth 1:12; Job 4:6; Job 5:16; Job 6:8; Job 7:6; Job 8:13; Job 11:18; Job 11:20; Job 14:7; Job 14:19; Job 17:15; Job 19:10; Job 27:8; Ps. 9:18; Ps. 62:5; Ps. 71:5; Prov. 10:28; Prov. 11:7; Prov. 11:23; Prov. 19:18; Prov. 23:18; Prov. 24:14; Prov. 26:12; Prov. 29:20; Jer. 29:11; Jer. 31:17; Lam. 3:29; Ezek. 19:5; Ezek. 37:11; Hos. 2:15; Zech. 9:12 Note Hosea 2:15 = "Then I will give her her vineyards from there, And the valley of Achor as a door of hope (tiqwah)..." What a dramatic "turnaround" from the use of Achor in Joshua 7:24, 26! Thread (02339)(chut) means thread, cord, line. "A masculine noun referring to a thread, a cord, a ribbon, string. It was a light, fine, string-like material placed together. It can mean an insignificant piece of material of little worth (Gen. 14:23). It was used of larger and broader pieces of material of various colors (Josh. 2:18; Song 4:3) or strong cords or ropes (Judg. 16:12; Eccl. 4:12). It was used in a proper size and form as a measuring line (1 Kgs. 7:15; Jer. 52:21)." (Baker - The Complete Word Study Old Testament ) Gilbrant - Seven times the OT uses this noun with the meaning, “thread,” “cord,” “string” or “line.” After rescuing Lot by defeating the four-king alliance that had plundered Sodom, Abraham returned the booty to the king of Sodom. He refused to take even a thread or a thong of a sandal, so that the monarch of this notoriously sinful city would never be able to claim that he was responsible for the patriarch’s wealth (Ge 14:23). Rahab used a scarlet thread to save her family after the two Hebrew spies escaped from Jericho. In order to escape the fate of the other inhabitants of the city when the Israelites attacked, she was to gather her family inside her house and have this cord tied in the window (Josh. 2:18). A scarlet thread is also mentioned in the poetry of the Song of Songs, as something to which the lips of the beloved lady are likened (Song 4:3). Delilah, in seeking to discover the secret of, and remedy to, Samson’s strength, once bound him with new ropes. Nevertheless, on being warned that he was in danger of a Philistine attack, Samson snapped these ropes as though they were a single thread (Jdg. 16:12). This Hebrew word is used of a line used to measure the twelve-cubit circumference of the hollow bronze pillars in the Temple. The term is mentioned in the context of both the pillars’ construction (1Ki. 7:15) and their later destruction by the Babylonians (Jer 52:21). In the latter reference, the RSV and NIV translate simply “circumference,” while the KJV reads, “and a fillet of twelve cubits did compass it.” The term also occurs in the well-known proverb, “A threefold cord is not easily broken” (Ecc. 4:12). (Complete Biblical Library - Incredible Resource) Chut - 7x - circumference*(1), cord(1), line(1), thread(4). - Gen. 14:23; Jos. 2:18; Jdg. 16:12; 1 Ki. 7:15; Eccl. 4:12; Song 4:3; Jer. 52:21 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE Masoretic Text and Septuagint (Lxx) Joshua 2:18 - The Masoretic Text runs: “Look, when we come into the land …”. The Septuagint has a different reading here: “Behold, we shall enter into the outskirts of the city ILLUSTRATION - The story is told of a man passing through a village in Basutoland. To his surprise he noticed some chickens with little red ribbons fastened to their backs between their wings. He asked the owner of the chickens what was the purpose of those red ribbons. He answered and told the traveler that the red ribbons protected his chickens from hawks that would normally attack them. During his fifteen years in the village, no chicken was taken by a hawk if it had that red ribbon on his back. Yet, many chickens that did not have the ribbon were carried off by the hawks. Blue, green, and other colors did not work except the red. What a lesson for us. The scarlet ribbon of Christ's blood protects us from the wrath and doom that awaits the unbelieving sinner and keeps us from the onslaughts of Satan who desires to take us captive at his will. Thank God for the blood of Christ! Theodore Epp - Faith in Action It is significant that it was a scarlet cord, or rope, that Rahab was to display in her window. This was symbolic of the blood of Christ, which, according to 1 John 1:7, cleanses us from all sin. In Hebrews 9:22 (note) we are told that "almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission." The protection that came to Rahab's household reminds us also of the incident of the Passover in Egypt. God instructed His people to sprinkle blood on the doorposts of their houses. He assured them that when the death angel came to slay the firstborn in Egypt, the houses protected by the blood would not be entered. They would be spared. The scarlet cord in Rahab's window protected her household just as the blood on the doorposts protected the Israelites in Egypt. The New Testament makes special mention of Rahab with regard to this. James wrote: "Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?" (James 2:25). Rahab had a faith that worked. She aided the spies in their escape from Jericho and hung a scarlet cord from her window. This was faith in action. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (see note Hebrews 11:1). QUESTION - What is the significance of a scarlet thread? ANSWER - The Bible mentions a scarlet thread in several different contexts, from an unusual childbirth to the high priestly garments to the conquest of Canaan. One reference to the scarlet thread in the Bible occurs during the birth of the twin sons of Judah and Tamar (Genesis 38:27–30). As Tamar was giving birth, the arm of one twin, Zerah, reached out of the birth canal, and immediately the midwife tied a scarlet thread to the baby’s wrist to designate Zerah as the firstborn. As it turned out, however, Zerah was not the firstborn; the arm was withdrawn into the womb, and the other twin, Perez, was born first. In the case of Perez and Zerah, the scarlet thread was to indicate who was to have the designation and privileges of the firstborn. To all appearances, Zerah seemed to be the one, but God had different plans, and Perez was the firstborn. In God’s providence, it was through Perez that the line of the Lord Jesus Christ proceeded (Matthew 1:3). The Bible also mentions scarlet thread or scarlet yarn as part of the tabernacle’s curtains (Exodus 26:1) and the high priest’s ephod (Exodus 28:6), along with threads of gold, blue, and purple. Scripture does not comment on the significance of those colors in the curtains or ephod, but some commentators surmise that the gold, blue, and purple foreshadow Christ’s glory, heavenly origin, and kingly position, while the scarlet thread represents Christ’s atoning work on the cross through the shedding of His blood. Another significant mention of scarlet thread is in Joshua 2. Two spies had been sent to Jericho in advance of the Israelites’ taking of that city. The spies were hidden in Jericho by Rahab the harlot, who expressed her faith in Israel’s God and protected the spies (see Hebrews 11:31). Rahab allowed the Hebrew spies to escape from Jericho by letting them down through her window by means of a rope made of scarlet thread. As they departed, the spies told Rahab, “Tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window” (Joshua 2:18), with the promise that she and her household would be kept safe in the coming invasion. By faith, Rahab obeyed: “And she tied the scarlet cord in the window” (verse 21). Later, when the walls of Jericho fell down and the Israelites took the city, Joshua commanded that Rahab and her family be spared (Joshua 6:22–23). Marking her home was, of course, the “cord of scarlet thread.” It’s easy to dismiss the color of Rahab’s rope as mere coincidence, but the scarlet color is significant. The rope in her window was a sign of her faith and led to her salvation, as she was not destroyed with the rest of Jericho. The scarlet rope—the color of blood—worked for Rahab much as the blood of the Passover lamb had worked during the exodus: every home marked with blood was spared death that night (Exodus 12:13). God’s mercy and forgiveness of Rahab the harlot was signified by a rope of scarlet thread, which becomes a symbol of the blood of Christ. Theologians and Bible students sometimes refer to “the scarlet thread running through the Bible.” By this they mean that the Bible’s theme is Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for the redemption of mankind. The blood of Christ runs throughout the entire Bible, symbolically. It is seen in the animals killed in Eden to provide garments for Adam and Eve, the ram that took Isaac’s place on the altar of Moriah, the Passover lamb, the institution of the sacrificial system, the scarlet rope of Rahab, and the thousands of years of sacrifices performed at the tabernacle and temple. The scarlet thread runs all the way up to John the Baptist’s declaration, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) and to the foot of the cross, where Jesus finally says, “It is finished” (John 19:30). “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22), and that’s why the symbolism of the scarlet thread in the Bible is significant. The scarlet thread is the theme of atonement found throughout the pages of Scripture. GotQuestions.org A T Pierson - The Line of Scarlet Thread - In the British navy there is a scarlet thread running through every line of cordage, and though a rope be cut into inch pieces, it can be recognized as belonging to the government. So is there a scarlet thread running all through the Bible—the whole book points to Christ. In the promise made to Adam appears, as it were, the first twig of the tree. Twig after twig is added, till we can count not only 200 direct promises of the Messiah, but 1,500, direct and indirect. Then as history comes to fulfill these predictions, each little twig in turn is set on fire, yet not consumed, till finally the whole tree becomes a great burning bush, and we take off our shoes and stand in awe, for it is holy ground. F B