Thursday: The Covenant – Part 2
Read Genesis 8:21-9:1. What is the significance of God’s commitment to the preservation of life? How does God’s blessing fulfill that commitment?
God’s commitment to preserve life was an act of grace; it was not a result of human merits. God decided to preserve life on earth in spite of human evil (Genesis 8:21). Genesis 8:22 reads, literally, “all the days of the earth” (DRA); that is, for as long as this present earth remains, the seasons will come and go and life will be sustained. In short, God has not given up on His creation.
Image © Pacific Press at Goodsalt.com
In fact, the following text, which talks about God’s blessing, takes us back to the original Creation, with its blessing (Genesis 1:22, Genesis 1:28; Genesis 2:3). The Lord, in a sense, was giving humanity a chance to start over, to start fresh.
Read Genesis 9:8-17. What is the significance of the rainbow? How does this “sign of the covenant” (Genesis 9:13, NKJV) relate to the other sign of the covenant, the Sabbath?
The phrase “establish … covenant” is repeated three times (Genesis 9:9, Genesis 9:11, Genesis 9:17), marking the climax and fulfillment of God’s initial promise (Genesis 6:18). Following the preceding section, which parallels the sixth day of the Creation account, this section parallels the section covering the seventh day of the Creation account, the Sabbath. Inside the text the repetition, seven times, of the word “covenant” resonates with the Sabbath. Like the Sabbath, the rainbow is the sign of the covenant (Genesis 9:13-14, , Genesis 9:16; compare with Exodus 31:12-17). Also, like the Sabbath, the rainbow has a universal scope; it applies to the whole world. Just as the Sabbath, as a sign of Creation, is for everyone, everywhere, the promise that no other worldwide flood will come is for everyone, everywhere, as well.
| Next time you see a rainbow, think about all of God’s promises to us. Why can we trust those promises, and how does the rainbow show us that we can trust them? |
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Most of us think of rainbows as pretty colours in the sky. They occur when the sun shines on rain. They look their best when the cloud behind the rainbow is in shadow and the sun is low in the sky. It is then that you are likely to see a double rainbow. You can always tell when a particularly bright rainbow occurs here. The local Facebook community pages light up with dozens of photographs taken on phones with comments like "WOW" and "OMG". I sometimes wonder if people really know that "OMG" for a beautiful rainbow, is probably one of the most appropriate uses of the acronym!
Rainbows are the result of light reflection and refraction in raindrops. There are actually two reflective paths that produce rainbows. The secondary reflective rainbow is not always visible but when it does occur you will see a double rainbow, and given the right conditions they can be spectacular. There are also refractive phenomena that sometimes show up like short bits of rainbow on the "wrong" side of the sky (towards the sun).
The refractive index of water is 1.333. that is a measure of how much the light path bends as it passes from a vacuum into water. In actual fact it is much more complex than that and depends on the temperature and the wavelength of light. The expression for describing the refractive index is quite long (much longer than the one you would have encountered in high school physics) so I won't quote it here.
Why am I mentioning all this scientific stuff about rainbows? Well I want you to understand that a rainbow is much more than just a pretty bit of colour in the sky. It is in fact a doorway into understanding some of the deepest relationships in physics (and is partly the reason why I was attracted to study physics in the first place.)
Now for the theology bit: Just as the rainbow is the tip of the iceberg in understanding and appreciating some of the big ideas and relationships of physics, so too God's promises are much more than just pretty things in the sky. They are worth studying and understanding. It is no accident that God chose the rainbow as a sign of his promise. Like the rainbow, there is much more to enjoy, appreciate and understand, if we are willing to take the time to explore.
Sometimes it is necessary to break things down in order to build them up again... God did this with this world through The Flood. He can do this to our lives... it might be somewhat painful, but in the end, worthwhile!
Let us continue to let Him build us back together...
Some more symbolism with the rainbow…
Before the Flood, it seems the Garden of Eden was still there and perhaps people went to the entrance to communicate with God and offer sacrifices. Now, with the rainbow in the sky as a symbol of communication between us and God, we are encouraged and reminded to “look up to” God, like a small child to a parent, a reminder to be in awe of our Maker and Father. Also, Jesus spoke so much of the kingdom of “heaven”…another reminder that God is spacious as the heavens or sky. His grace comes from a wide open heart, with more than enough room for all.
Another beautiful thought I’ve heard is that the rain”bow” is curved like a hunting bow, and notably facing towards God, not us. To accomplish this covenant of safety and grace until the end of time, the arrow of sacrifice flies to God’s heart, not ours.
And lastly, a rainbow 🌈 forms when light interacts with water droplets 💦 …. we experience the light of Christ’s countenance shining upon our tears. He promises to make all things beautiful in His time (Eccl. 3:11; Rom 8:28; Rev 21:1-2 NIV). God rules beautifully: The apostle John saw Christ sitting on a throne in heaven, encircled by rainbows (Rev 4:2-3,10-11).
One of the main reasons I am encouraged by God's use of signs such as the rainbow and the Sabbath is that when seen in God's view, they both bring enjoyable thoughts to our minds. Rainbow-God will protect this earth in spite of humanity's unworthiness. Sabbath-He has given us a day to relax from work and enjoy His Creation. I find that God's ways are the best ways because He gives us a safeguard to buoy our spirits up and support us on our Christian journey.
God's plan all along, he knows we can not do it( our thoughts are evil) so he acted on the promise he made to Adam and Eve for deliverer, who will make it happen, we cannot do it, so he did it for us. Even the holist person( in their own eyes) is imperfect.
Lessons learned:
The LORD told Jonah to tell Nineveh He was going to destroy the city, he preached for 40 days and everyone repented
Jonah 3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
Noah preached for 120 years but the population did not repent!
The LORD said He would do it, He did it and I believe Him
and He has promised not to do it again and I believe Him!
Gen 6:13 And God said unto Noah,
Gen 6:17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.
Gen 7:4 For in seven more days I, the LORD, will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights. And I will destroy from off the face of the earth every living thing that I have made.
Gen 7:23 And every living thing which was on the face of the earth was destroyed, from man to cattle, and to the creeping things, and the fowls of the heavens. And they were destroyed from the earth, and only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark.
After the flood Gen 9:8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
Gen 9:15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
Is this a pattern with the LORD? Yes, I believe it is - see what He said through Jeramiah:
Jer 18:7-10 MKJV The instant I, the LORD, shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck it up and to pull it down, and to destroy it; (8) if that nation, against whom I have spoken, will turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do to them. (9) And the instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build it and to plant it; (10) if it does evil in My sight, not to obey My voice, then I will repent of the good with which I said I would do them good.
What might be the real reason behind God’s decision to give mankind another ‘chance’? How significant is this second chance and toward what end has it been given? I see this ‘second chance’ to be the continuance of the original design for man to be able to live forever.
We started out as a creature made of flesh, bone, and water. A new body will be given to us when being translated to the state of living life eternally. This walk on earth toward eternal life needs the body; it has to start whiles we are in the body as we live the Word of God in Spirit and Truth.
I find God’s newly commenced covenant with man to reassure the believer that He will be faithful to uphold His promises and to continue to make available for man to walk the path of life by faith toward eternal life.
When the believer’s faith is ready to accept the Creator’s Word as Truth because He spoke it, then we will not need any more signs to support our trust in Him. Regardless of rainbows or miracles being presented as a visual sign, the believer needs to learn to trust Him explicitly without them through good times and the trying times.
The next time is see a rainbow, I will remember the heavenly Father’s unconditional Love and Faithfulness and remind myself to always love Him and to remain faithful.