stephen R Harrison

“Our Promise Keeper”

“So God said to Noah, ‘This is the sign of the covenant 

I have established between me and all life on the earth.’”

-Genesis 9:17

We tend to look for signs of things we hope will or will not happen. For instance, when I recently plugged my tire when it got a screw in it, I put soap and water on it. If it bubbled, it was a sign it was still leaking. In a more serious situation, someone feels for a pulse for a sign of life. God used signs to prove what he would, or in the case of the sign of the rainbow, what he wouldn’t do. In Genesis 9, God set a rainbow in the clouds as a promise that he would not flood the entire earth and destroy all life. It’s uncertain if Noah had ever seen a rainbow before, as some speculate it had never rained before the flood. Genesis 2:5-6 says a mist was going up from the land, watering the earth as God had not caused it to rain before Adam was created. Did it rain after Adam was created? Was the rainbow in the sky since the beginning? We can miss the point of the rainbow in Genesis, speculating on what most likely isn’t the focus of the Scriptures.

If the rainbow was pre- or post-flood, here’s the point not to miss – it’s the sign of God’s covenant with Noah that he would never destroy earth’s life with the flood again. An incredible fact can be lost that leads us to worship – God said, “Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears” (Genesis 9:14). Did you catch that? God makes clouds, rainbows, and even rain appear and disappear! He caused the flood. He created the cloud, raindrop, and the rainbow, now and forever, as a sign God keeps His word. This wasn’t just a sign to Noah, but “this is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth” (Genesis 9:17). The all-powerful Creator’s promise was a continuation of His commitment to His creation. 

God kept his word with everything that had life from that point forward. The rainbow (translated “war bow”) is God’s sign of redeeming grace. God no longer aimed the bow of judgment at humanity but toward the heavens. God would punish Jesus through the New Covenant, the substitution for our sins. First Peter 2:24 says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness”. Many symbols in the Great Flood point us to Christ’s redemptive work on the cross. The ark served as an example of salvation and redemption. Clean animals pointed to the sacrificial system, fulfilled by Christ our Sacrificial Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7). Both clean and unclean animals were on the ark, displaying how Jews and Gentiles would be saved through Christ (Galatians 3:28). The rainbow continues to serve as a constant reminder, giving us a hopeful perspective of God’s promise of redemptive grace and mercy through Jesus the Son.

Questions: 

In what ways do the elements in the Great Flood point us to Christ’s promise of the New Covenant?

How do covenant signs give us hope in the promises of God?

Are there any areas in your life where you doubt God’s promises?

Prayer:

Jesus, thank you for always keeping your promises. Your promise to all creation through the rainbow points us to Jesus, who took our judgment and punishment for our sins. As we look at the rainbow, may we worship you for your mercy, grace, compassion, and forgiveness. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.

Read: 

Genesis 9:12-17

Action Step:

Take time to see where the flood is mentioned in other parts of Scripture. 

Here are some references: 

Psalm 104:6-9

Matthew 24:37-42

Luke 17:24-30

Hebrews 11:7

1 Peter 3:18-20

2 Peter 2:5-10

2 Peter 3:3-9