The Gift of the Rainbow

‘Tis the season… For thunderstorms… And rainbows! If you’ve lived any significant amount of time… You have seen more than one rainbow. Rainbows are a glorious sight! They seem to come at the most unexpected times like a serendipitous reminder of the beauty and wonder of our God.

Technically, a rainbow is an arched spectrum of colors seen in the sky as light, refracted through water vapor suspended in the air. Colors are in order of their wave length from longest to shortest. On top is red, followed by orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. They are a breathtaking sight!

It is our wonderfully creative God who has set the rainbow in the sky. Without his permission, it would not be! He did this for a specific reason. In the book of Genesis chapter 9 verses 11-17, God establishes his rainbow as the sign of the covenant with Noah, and through Noah, to all the earth. He says, “Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” The rainbow is a sign from God that a flood devastated the earth, and he promises to not do that again! Scripture mentions rainbows only 3 more times (Ezekiel 1:28, Revelation 4:3; 10:1) they are used to describe Gods awesome appearance and announcements.

I don’t know about you, but when I see rainbows… They literally shout to me that our God is truly awesome! He gives us these visually stunning sights simply to remind us that he is a God who remembers his promises. We have a covenant keeping God!

I’m officiating at a wedding this weekend. It’s for my niece Britta and her fiancé Dan. The marriage ceremony is based on the form of an ancient covenant. They will be exchanging rings… the rings are a sign of their covenant with each other and before God. I will encourage them to wear them proudly! They are a reminder of promises made, and provide an important visual for everyone who sees them… similar to the rainbow!

The Bible talks of several covenants… reminders of the good promises of God….
I leave us with three thoughts:

1. Rejoice when you see a rainbow arching in the sky after the rain… it’s about our good God.
2. I think Abraham may have a point to argue with God.  “Noah gets a rainbow for his sign of the covenant….?”
3. Hope that made you laugh.

Pete Nelson

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