11 ” Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never gain shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
12 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.”
13 “I set My rainbow in the cloud, and shall be for the sign of the covenant beetween Me and the earth.”
14 “It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; “
15 ” 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.”
16 “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.”
The double rainbow photo was taken when I was living high in the Colorado mountains. My home was near the lake in the photo. A strong summer storm rumbled through the area and the dark sky served as the perfect background for the wonderful rainbow in the eastern sky. I miss living there most of the time and then I remember the cold, windy days of winter . While nostalgic about the living so high in a beautiful location, the winter was long and the summer was oh so short. So what does this have to do with Genesis and God’s covenant with each of us? I will try to explain my recent understanding of the meaning of the covenant as it relates to our lives today along with citing recent research that seems to support the biblical version of the the early days of man on the new earth. Stories of the epic flood exist in many records of early man as recorded around the earth as well as in Genesis.
A fascinating recent documentary entitled Is Genesis History? reviews recent research by experts in the fields of geology, paleontology, microbiology and others offers new ways to view the history of man and the widespread impact of the flood. The basic arguments of creation versus evolution are reviewed as impacted by studies of the earth, its current and past creatures along with the geologic impact of the flood across the globe. Was the earth and its creatures the result of design by a supreme intelligence or did it just randomly happen as creatures crawled out of the mud after the flood? Fascinating stuff that sparks new ideas and concepts into our knowledge.
The rainbow covenant is a promise by God to favor man and to ensure that another worldwide flood event will not occur. The bible records many additional covenants (328 references), too many to cover in the summary. God in his infinite wisdom has made many covenants (agreements, promises, commandment) with man. Look up some of the covenants in both the New Testament and the Old Testament including the Ten Commandments given to Moses on the mountain for more about covenants with God and man.
A study of ‘the covenants is a wonderful way to understand the desire of God to mold us in His image. From the beginning God saved mankind and the creatures of the world through His covenant with Noah. The wonderful covenants of the rainbow show us His love for us. We just need to look to the sky after the storm to know that He cares for us. The beauty of the rainbow is a fitting symbol for the care He gives us each day. Look to the rainbow and praise the Lord for all the blessings He provides for us each and every day.
