June 18, 2021
Genesis 9:13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
Rainbows are attention grabbers. It doesn’t matter where we are or what we are doing, when a rainbow appears in the sky, our eyes are drawn to it in wonder. Rainbows are divinely beautiful!
In the Bible we learn of the very first rainbow. God displayed it to Noah after the great flood. Noah had just witnessed the power of God’s judgment poured upon the earth because man had become continuously evil. In Genesis 6:5 we read, “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” God did away with the evil but in grace He preserved Noah and His family. Genesis 6:8 reads, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” God protected Noah from His hand of judgment. He was a witness of God’s judgment but was not a recipient of it. Noah trusted and obeyed God’s instructions to build the Ark. (Genesis 6:12-22, Genesis 7:5) How glorious the very first rainbow must have been after seeing God’s judgment and destruction.
Waters came from above and below compounding in momentum, rapidly moving across the earth annihilating the surface. Yet God remembered Noah and all the others that He preserved on the Ark. (Genesis 8:1) After 40 days and 40 nights of continuous rain, God closed up the rain from heaven. (Genesis 7:12, 8:2) He then dried the ground, and the vegetation returned. Noah was able to step onto the land again. He saw the mighty hand of God wash away the evil from the earth. Yet Noah, his family, and every kind of animal were safely preserved by being cooped up in the Ark for almost a year.
In humility and gratitude for God’s faithfulness, Noah built an altar and gave sacrifices unto the Lord. (Genesis 8:20) In the midst of his worship, God shined forth a rainbow as a token of His promise to never destroy the earth by water again. (Genesis 9:11-17)
Why a rainbow? I think of how a rainbow contains all colors. With the dismantling of the earth by water, the earth was likely dissipated into brown mud and muck. How much more special it would be to see a brilliant colorful rainbow after that destruction? Though the rainbow contains every possible earthly “color”, only seven of them are visible to the human eye. Seven in Scripture is the number of completion or perfection. We see the number seven used throughout the Scriptures.
We read of a rainbow again in Ezekiel 1:28 and in the last book of the Bible, Revelation, chapters 4 and 10. The book of Revelation is where we read of the completed work of Christ. The final judgment and wrath of God come to it’s fulfillment. Then we see Jesus Christ in all His power, majesty, and splendor seated upon the throne surrounded by a glorious rainbow! Then God will create a new Heaven and new Earth. (2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1)
One day our Creator will complete His judgment. God’s first judgment of the earth was by water. His last and final judgment will be with fire. (Malachi 4:1, 2 Peter 3:7, Revelation 20:9)
When the disciples asked Jesus about the end of the world, He answered in Matthew 24:35-39 “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
Mankind was not ready for the global flood in Noah’s day and Jesus said, mankind will also not be ready for His return and final judgment either. The Bible tells us that Jesus’s return will be unexpected, like a thief.
Matthew 24:42-44 “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”
2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”
Those who are saved and prepared like Noah, should be ready. In 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4 reads, “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.”
God expects His children to be ready. But those who are not anticipating the Lord’s return, will be caught off guard. In fact, the Bible tells us that there will be scoffers in the last days – people who taunt and make fun of the promises of God – those who don’t believe in the global flood, the rainbow covenant, and the final judgment of fire.
2 Peter 3:3-7 “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”
Judgment by fire is coming but I’m so thankful that God is patient with us. He gave grace to Noah and mankind was given another chance. As Noah was safe in the Ark, we are safe in Christ. God gave us salvation through Jesus, His Son. (John 3:16, Romans 3:22-26, Romans 8:1, Romans 8:39, 1 Corinthians 15:22)
Rainbows are a display of His covenant of mercy and patience towards us. In 2 Peter 3:8-9 we read “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
God wants us all to repent! Time is ticking and the end is imminent. Jesus said, “Surely I come quickly.” (Revelation 22:20) Just as death ends our personal time on earth, God will close the book of all time and those who have rejected Christ will perish.
The next time a rainbow grabs our attention, let the beauty of the rainbow challenge us to pray. God has extended His grace to us through Jesus Christ. Pray specifically for those who mock the significance of the rainbow. Pray for those who are not ready for God’s final judgment. Pray for them to repent of their sins and place their faith in Jesus Christ. God is able to make all things new!
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
In Times Like These 