The Scarlet Cord
By Joan Wolf
Reviewed by Martha Artyomenko
This is a fictional tale of the biblical story of Rahab, and while many liberties were taken with the story, it is a good rendering of what the story of Rahab might have been like.
Kidnapped from her family, Rahab is a feisty young girl, with a determination to survive and escape. By what seems like a coincidence, a Hebrew in hiding rescues her, and returns her to her family. Her family is eternally grateful, which later in the story, they have the chance to repay the favor!
The mystery in our minds when we read the story of Rahab, is how did a harlot come, from another land come to know about God and serve Him? How did she become a wife to an Israelite and be part of the lineage of Jesus? This book is only one of the ways that it could have happened.
Ms. Wolf weaves a tale of historical accuracy, which includes some reference to the wicked practices of the city of Jericho, but she is very light in her description, making it very tasteful, if there is a tasteful way to describe wickedness.
As Rahab grows, her family is concerned about finding her a proper husband. They fear that the country may be lacking in proper or rich enough mates, but their time in the city ends up wrought with fear of the coming Israelites, and lustful men seeking with wandering eyes instead of potential mates? Will Rahab end up being used by wicked men or will she escape and be able to be with the man she loves, even if it is said it is an abomination? Can she learn to love the true God of the Hebrews or will she reject it in the face of rejection from her family?
I found this rendering of the story of Rahab to be interesting. I don’t want to spoil the story, so I will not comment on all I found interesting, but I found great liberties were taken with the title she was given by Joshua “Rahab the Harlot”, in that she was not a harlot in the book. I loved how the history of these little known nations were woven through the tapestries of the story, spinning a tale that kept me reading and will intrigue you as well.
This book was provided for me for review from BookSneeze.
