Wasson: God’s rainbow

When you gaze upon a rainbow in the sky, do you contemplate the Noahic Covenant? In an earlier passage, we learn, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Humanity was on the brink of extinction, but “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”

God chose to cleanse the world and begin anew with Noah and his kin. We read about the ark and the global deluge. After the waters receded, we encounter God’s covenant with Noah in Chapter 9. It was unwavering. God assured Noah, his family, and the living creatures that he would never flood the world again. The covenant remains steadfast, unaffected by the ebb and flow of humanity’s righteousness or wickedness.

The rainbow symbolizes the archer’s bow. God was incensed with the people of Noah’s era and eradicated them with his wrath. The bow’s position, with the arrow aimed at the heavens and away from the earth, mirrors the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, who was pierced for the sins of the world, thereby appeasing God’s wrath against sin. We can attain grace and atonement through repentance.

Interestingly, Noah preached repentance for generations, but the people mocked and scoffed at him. When the flood waters came rushing in, it was too late for them, and they perished.

Reflect on the following passages:

Genesis 6:11–12

Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

Hebrews 11:7

By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

Luke 17:26–27

Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

Have you ever wondered what it must have been like for Noah? God instructed him to build an ark to rescue people and animals from the coming flood. People had much longer lifespans in biblical times, so we believe it may have taken over 100 years for Noah to complete his task. In all that time, no one listened to him except his family, and they may not have had a choice in that culture to disobey the patriarch.

Do you feel as though no one is taking the message of repentance from sin and escaping God’s wrath seriously? Are we living in similar times as the “days of Noah?”

While rainbows remind us of God’s promise to Noah, we have been warned that the Day of the Lord is coming. This is judgement day, and imagery of fire is used to describe how God will refine the earth and its inhabitants.

In 2 Peter 3:10–11, we are warned, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness.”

God is no more tolerant of sin than he ever was. He is holy and merciful. Throughout history, God has pronounced judgment and provided a way of escape through repentance and grace. Time will run out eventually. We will either die or the Lord will return in our lifetime. Then, everyone will answer to God for how we have lived our lives.

What is your response? Are you trusting in the Lord for deliverance from judgment? Romans 8:1-2 encourages us, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”