Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. The first instance of a rainbow that we find in the Bible is found in the story of Noah and the flood. When we face the hardest storms in life, find ourselves in the midst of unexpected battles, and wonder if there’s an end in sight, the rainbow reminds us that God remembers us, loves us, and will always be faithful to save us when we call upon him. It is rather remarkable that there are so few references to the rainbow in the Bible. Proud member When we see rainbows today, we know that every rainbow is still a sign of the covenant made thousands and thousands of years ago between God and all generations of humanity. God chose Noah and his family to carry out the plans of building the ark to save not only themselves, but all the animals on earth.
Instead, we can only really see seven color hues: Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. We can trust that God will remain faithful to his promise and that never again will another flood wipe out all life on earth. Of course, there are quite a few other details that we might notice from this story, such as God’s power over the elements as well as the constancy of seasons, earth rotations, and temperature changes on earth (Genesis 8:22). Remind us to meditate on your promises, to pray your promises over our lives and our families and the circumstances we need your help through.
It is intriguing that so many myths explain the rainbow as some sort of supernatural “bridge” (as we noted above), because the most important theme that the rainbow illustrates for us is God’s gracious and grand purpose of redemption (especially in light of his justness and holy judgment) to not only spare Noah and his family but also to give humanity (yet another) chance to start again. It existed indeed before, but it was then constituted as a sign of the covenant. In the "rainbow around the throne," ( Revelation 4:3 ) is seen the symbol of hope and the bright emblem of mercy and love, all the more true as a symbol because it is reflected from the storm itself. What Are the Pagan Roots of Halloween and Why Should We Care? Because of the continual evil and wickedness of mankind (Genesis 6:5-12), God decided to cause rain to fall for 40 days and nights and flood the entire earth — killing everyone and everything except for a man named Noah and his family and a bunch of animals that were kept safe inside of a wooden ark. The first instance of a rainbow that we find in the Bible is found in the story of Noah and the flood. God instructed Noah, his family, and all living creatures to increase and multiply and fill the earth. What Does "Blessed Are the Peacemakers" Mean in Matthew 5:9? Whether this was the first appearance of a rainbow in human history (because it had not rained yet as Genesis 2:5 seems to say) or it was just God repurposing the phenomenon that already existed (as Ken Ham explains), the Bible is very clear about what the rainbow symbolizes. The rainbow serves as the symbol of his loving covenant to all generations. And it is great news for us as well because this story clearly and beautifully points us to the time when God sent his own Son, Jesus, to die on a cross and then rise again to give humanity an amazing opportunity to escape judgment by being “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3; 1 Peter 3:20-22; 2 Peter 2:9). God made a powerful covenant rooted in grace, love, and forgiveness. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne” (Revelation 4:3). Pandemic Fatigue? Whatever we are going through, help us to put our faith in you and the promises you have given us. The rainbow continues to serve as a reminder of God’s covenant to never destroy all life with a flood again. And while it is certainly not a myth or even an allegorical story, there are still lessons that we should learn for our lives today. As fantastical as it may seem, this world-wide flood event really happened. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars” (Revelation 10:1). “And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. All rights reserved. Scientists have known for a long time that rainbows appear when raindrops act as “tiny prisms.”. Article Images Copyright ©, The Beautiful and Lasting Symbol of the Rainbow. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. God made a vow that he would never again wipe out all life and destroy the earth with a flood. of Please enter your email address associated with your Salem All-Pass account, then click Continue. We also find a few more uses of the word rainbow being used in the Bible. "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia". We can only imagine how awful things were for God to bring a flood to destroy the epidemic of wickedness. The Lord will always stay true to his promises. After several months of interesting events, God’s judgment was “restrained” and the rain stopped (Genesis 8:2), resulting in a rainbow that appeared in the sky. Truly, rainbows are quite spectacular and reflect the majesty of the Creator. Find out more about him here. For more on that topic, see this article. The rainbow is a symbol of Gods faithfulness and mercy. 1915. Article Images Copyright © 2020 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. “Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. Most of my days are filled with mundane events and scenarios. What Christians Should Know about Shiloh in the Bible, California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. To answer that question, we must look beyond the children’s coloring books and really weird movies to the Bible — the only truly infallible, inspired, and authoritative source of truth that we have. It serves as a reminder of God’s forgiveness, truthfulness, and that however great the trials are that we endure, God will remain faithful and good. Orr, James, M.A., D.D. We'll send you an email with steps on how to reset your password. However, every now and then something extraordinary takes place, prompting me to stand still and be in awe. As a matter of fact, one of the farthest-reaching (yet subtle) distractions in our contemporary culture happened in 1978 when an artist hijacked the rainbow to design a flag to represent the LGBT community and celebrate a lifestyle that is sinful, unnatural, and even destructive. the token of the covenant which God made with Noah when he came forth from the ark that the waters should no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. Bibliography Information God set the rainbow in the sky as a sign of his promise to Noah and for all generations to come. One example of this kind of remarkable event would be the appearance of a rainbow in the sky. In vision, Jesus first appears to the apostle John with hair that is white (Revelation 1:12 - 14). The rainbow reminds us that we can trust God’s faithfulness no matter what we are going through.