The Sabbath, the rainbow, and circumcision are the three great covenants established by God at the three critical stages of the history of humankind: the creation, the re-establishment of humankind after the flood, and the birth of the Hebrew nation.
Today’s article focuses on the rainbow and God’s commitment to Noah and all generations following him.
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you
And with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark
I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” (Genesis 9:8-11).
A covenant or an agreement usually has two sides. One side stipulates their responsibility, and the other side agrees to theirs. Think about buying a car on credit. You get the car, but you have to make the payments.
In this case, God says to Noah and all of his descendants that he will keep one side of the covenant. Apparently, there is no responsibility placed on the part of humanity.
God’s action is nothing less than an expression of His grace toward the inhabitants of Earth.
Let’s not overlook the fact that God forms this covenant not only with humans, but with all the animals that traveled with Noah on the ark. We may have a casual opinion of the animal world, but God doesn’t. They are His creation. He has made them.
Our autistic grandson loves animals. Last week on vacation, he picked up a jellyfish on the beach and threw it back in the water without getting stung.
Several years ago, there was a large flying insect in their home. He caught it, his father took it, and Grayson appealed for mercy towards the bug, saying, “No, no, no, no, no, don’t hurt it.”
Apparently, Grayson understands what God’s up to when He protects the animal world along with humans.
The Rainbow
In the ancient world, a bow was an advanced instrument of war. When God puts the bow in the clouds, it is no longer a picture of war, but of mercy.
Rudy Ross is insightful when he thinks about the bow as circular. He sees the bow as God’s crown placed in the sky to remind people of his presence and his love for them.
God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:
I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 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.
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” (Genesis 9:12-16).
When I purchase something on credit, the lending agency sends me a monthly reminder of my part of the agreement with the company.
God had no one to remind him except himself, and yet God chose to put a rainbow in the sky to remind him of his obligation to be merciful towards sinful humanity.
In Victor Hamilton’s commentary on Genesis, he reminds his readers that it takes clouds to produce rainbows.
I produce videos with Rudy Ross and Bruce Kirby, When we worked on the video for today, I thought of times when both Rudy, Bruce, and I were in the operating room of a hospital.
The cloud was there, but so was God’s rainbow of mercy. The three of us are old men who can produce videos because of God’s mercy.
We all do well to contemplate the clouds we have experienced in life and look for the rainbows of God’s grace and mercy shining through them.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 