The Flood – The Rainbow

Devastation has hit. They say whole towns have been destroyed, wiped away by water. The hurricane hit Florida but the devastation carried right up the mountain line, basically following the Appalachian Trail. Bridges washed away. Dams on the verge of breaking. The roads now having missing chunks. Helene was here!

Interestingly, the kids and the parents classes this weekend were serendepetously looking at the Genesis passage of Noah’s flood. One of the tremendous part of the narrative is the giving of the rainbow.

 ¹³ I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
¹⁴ When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds,
¹⁵ I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.
¹⁶ When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
¹⁷ God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Long before what the rainbow means today, it was given a pure meaning, a solemn understanding, a virtuous symbol of God’s covenant with man.

Now remember, He didn’t promise to stop floods, to prevent hurricanes, to abolish storms. He just promised He wouldn’t destroy the planet completely, ever again, by water. ((NOTE: be prepared for the fire, His judgement is coming.))

Here’s the question, is this the very first rainbow? Was Noah’s family the first to witness such an event? If so, was light not split by water and crystal prisms? How did this work?

My thoughts are that the rainbow was around long before the flood. That the laws of nature weren’t transformed after the flood (though He could do that at anytime – think the stopping of the Sun.) I think God took the existing rainbow, gave it purpose and assigned it as a symbol of His covenant, of His grace.

This wouldn’t be the only time this happened, we see He took the cruel symbol of punishment, the cross, and turned it into a sign of grace. The brutal act of crucufixion now is a symbol of love, God’s love. We see He took Jacob, a broken man, in fear of his life, a life filled with deception and heartache … and changed his name to Israel … and promised His protection and the promise of Abraham would pass through him.

He took me, a sinner … and showed mercy and grace … and made a new creation.

God is in the recycling business, and He has a plan.

So, when you see the rainbow, don’t just think of Noah and the flood. Think of God takes normal things, common things, and creates something with purpose, something new, something powerful.

A rainbow isn’t just a rainbow. It’s a sign of God’s love.