Rainbows fascinate me. I remember being a child and playing with the hose, making a mist out of the water, and seeing the rainbow produced by it. Even more remarkable was the sight of a real rainbow in the sky. I remember looking up, just after it had stopped raining, and seeing a beautiful rainbow as the sun began to show itself through the clouds.
People have attached many meanings and stories to rainbows. Small children probably think about the funny little man with a green suit sitting on a pot of gold at the end of one. While people tell many stories about rainbows, let’s remember together the purpose God gave to the rainbow when He made the first one:
“Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying…‘I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.’ God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh.’”
-Genesis 9:8, 11-15
When the rainbow appears in the cloud, it is more than a beautiful part of God’s wonderful creation. It is a reminder to us concerning God’s covenant that He would never again cover the earth with water. When we see the rainbow, God also sees the rainbow and remembers His promise.
Since the time of Noah, God has never covered the entire earth with water. The rainbow reminds us that God always honors His word; He always keeps His promises. It is comforting to know that God is true. Let us imitate God by keeping our promises as He keeps His.
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