An Important Piece of String
“So the men said to her: ‘We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household to your own home. So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him. And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath which you made us swear.’ Then she said, ‘According to your words, so be it.’ And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window.” [Joshua 2:17-21]
Before a bridge was built across the Niagara Gorge, several lives were lost as people attempted to ferry across the turbulent, roaring rapids. You might be surprised to learn the first step in constructing a bridge over Niagara Falls was made by a 10-year-old boy named Homan Walsh. In 1848, Homan flew a kite from one side of the gorge to the other, which won him a $10 prize.
Someone on the opposite side caught the kite and tied a little stronger string to the end of the kite string, and the new, thicker string was pulled back across the gorge. The process was repeated with an even stronger string, then a cord, then a thin rope, then a thicker rope, and eventually they had a cable across the expanse strong enough to support workers, tools, and materials. Eventually, the two nations were connected by a sturdy bridge over which trucks and trains could pass. And it all started with one tiny kite string!
The Bible also tells of a woman who saved her whole family with a little red string. Rahab, a woman of ill repute, took a step of faith in her kindness to the Jewish spies sent to gather information about her city. As she helped them escape through a window, they promised safety to her or anyone she brought into her home when they returned to ransack the city – if she tied a red cord in her window. They respected their promise, and Rahab even became an ancestor of Jesus!
