Archived Verse Of the Week
July 04th, 2022
Genesis
9:12-17
And God said: "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." And God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth."
- BsL
Following the devastation caused by the flood, the ark successfully came to rest on Mount Ararat's summit. After leaving the ark, Noah and his family began to worship God by offering sacrifices upon the altar they made "unto the Lord", Gen. 8. 20-21. God then issued a particular set of instructions and established a covenant with them.
This covenant, or solemn agreement, applied to everyone and all living things for all time, not just Noah and his immediate family. The promise stated that God would never again flood and destroy the world. There would be clouds and rain, but never in the exact amounts that led to the massive flood that wiped out humanity in Noah's day. God then set a rainbow in the clouds as an enduring reminder of that covenant, declaring, "This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth."
So the rainbow had a dual purpose: It reminded everyone that God always keeps His promises when they see the sign in the sky. The covenant He had made was unconditional and would never be broken. So it is a sign of reassurance for the people of the earth. Secondly, God, Himself would see the sign and remember His covenant just as He said, "and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth." We know that God needs no reminders as He is omniscient or all-knowing, but the rainbow is there for us to be reassured that He never forgets.
Today we still look up to the glory of Heaven and remember that God is a covenant-making God who always keeps His promises. We are not so taken up with the rainbow, though its vivid colours speak of our Creator's beauty and glory. However, we look upon the One seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high. He is the One to whom God said, "Sit thou at my right hand," Ps. 110. 1.
We view the One who died but rose again in triumph as the conqueror of death, who ascended to the highest place in Heaven. Let us join with multitudes in Heaven and earth to worship the One enthroned on high.