[Rahab said], “Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them—and that you will save us from death.”
“Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land…. This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on them. But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.”
“Agreed,” she replied. “Let it be as you say.” So she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
The idea of having blood on one's head, or bloody hands, reflects bloodguilt—having responsibility for an innocent person’s death. The Hebrew spies would accept guilt if Rahab or her family were killed in the coming onslaught of conquest. It was because they accepted her as their equal, as a fellow-believer in YHWH, as their kin, as unworthy of slaughter. “Our lives for your lives.”
Notice also the similarity to how cities of refuge would function. A manslayer risked his life if he left his haven, which gave the kinsman avenger the right to kill him with impunity; no guilt accrued to the avenger in that case. Similarly, if a member of Rahab’s family decided to forego refuge in her home because he scorned or doubted the protection it offered, it was fair game to kill him along with all the other pagan residents of Jericho because God had decreed its complete overthrow (Leviticus 18:24-25, Deuteronomy 20:17, Joshua 6:15-21).
The spies’ oath placed Rahab and her family under the pro-life principle of Genesis 9:5-6. They were conscious it would be wrong to kill an innocent person, and concluded that Rahab’s faith in God made her innocent of the idolatry that was bringing judgment on her city. The scarlet cord would mark her out from among all the other people in Jericho and make her home a refuge. If she were killed within that sanctuary, her killers would answer to God.
They also recognized that her life was of equal value to theirs. Her life was not less valuable because she was not one of them, or of another culture; their lives were not more valuable to God because they were of "the chosen people."
The principle that we’re responsible for the well-being of others is found elsewhere in scripture, and concerns not only physical/temporal life but also spiritual/eternal life as well:
►Ezekiel 3:18-21 - God appoints a watchman to warn people of the danger of continuing to sin. If the watchman fails to warn and disaster comes, the blood of the dead is on the watchman’s head; he answers to God. If the people hear the warning but don’t heed it, their blood is on their own heads and they answer to God. See similar themes in Ezekiel 20 and 33:1-16.
►Acts 18:5-6 - Having first given the gospel to God’s chosen people and been rejected, Paul declared his innocence in the matter. “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
►Acts 20:26-27 - Again, after faithfully sharing with the Ephesians the bad news of coming judgment and the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ, he could say, “I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.”
Thus, if I do something that endangers my life, my soul, then my death is on my head and I answer to God for it. If someone else causes my death, then my life (soul) is on his/her head. Someone answers to God for every human life that is lost.
Summary
It’s a serious business to swear, as the spies did, to protect another person, to keep her physical life intact. It’s also a serious responsibility when a soul is in danger of eternal destruction.
God is concerned with all aspects of human life–eternal as well as temporal, physical as well as spiritual since He is the living God, the source of all life (I Timothy 4:10; John 1:4, 5:26, 6:63).
Contrary to the independent nature of our culture, God tasks us with responsibility for more than just our own lives. He gives us, and we must accept, responsibility for the lives of others.
The prophet Samuel said, “Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you.” —1 Sam 12:23
Jesus said, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. —Matthew 18:6 [see also Mark 9:42, Luke 17:2, 1 Corinthians 8:12]
Remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. —James 5:20
Next: God hears their cries
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Image credit - The red cloth (Il drappo rosso) by Aurelio Tiratelli (1842-1900), (https://www.wikiart.org/en/aurelio-tiratelli/the-red-cloth)
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