“And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.'” (Genesis 9:12-13, ESV)
In this week’s Old Testament reading from Genesis we read about God’s covenant with Noah and his family, and in fact, with all mankind, a covenant symbolized by the rainbow. The Lord instituted this covenant following the great flood in which He wiped out all life on earth except for the eight men and women and all the animals on the Ark. Now of course many people do not believe that this great flood actually happened. Its just a story made up to tell us how much God hates sin. Why would God kill innocent men, women, and children? Why would he judge honest and sinner people? No way did this happen.
Yet this is the word of God. We confess that it is true and relevant to our faith and our lives. So what do we learn from it? We learn that God takes sin very seriously. He sent this flood on the whole world because sin was running rampant. We get an inkling of how bad things were.y
We do not know how Noah and family felt about what had happened although they must have had a greater appreciation for the serious nature of sin. They knew now how much the Lord hated it. They had experienced the awesome power of His judgment that went to such great lengths to eradicate it. This is something we in the modern world should heed. God is indeed serious about punishing sin. Sin is not something that should be made light of, denied, condoned, redefined, or ignored.
And yet our contemporary society does exactly that. These days sin is not taken seriously. It is accommodated to suit current cultural trends. God Himself is redefined for no one wants to have a God who tells them what to do and how to live. In fact, the rainbow which God set in the sky to mark His mercy and grace has been co-opted by the world to represent the approval of sinful lifestyles and rebellion against God. For indeed those who reject God’s Word or seek to redefine it, to soften it so that it judges no one, have rejected Him. They have hardened their hearts against Him. They are in danger of a judgment that is as devastating as that worldwide flood. As with that judgment no one will escape except those called by God, who are, by faith, safe in the Ark of Jesus.
The Lord pledged to Noah, to all mankind, and all living creatures that He would never again destroy the world by flood. His pledge is the rainbow that we see after a rain shower. Now, every time we see a rainbow, we should rejoice as we remember God’s trustworthiness and love. The rainbow is a sign of God’s faithfulness to His covenant. It reminds us that He always keeps His promises even when we do not. Therefore we can trust Him to judge sin and condemn all those who reject Jesus and the salvation He brings, Yet we can also trust Him to extend mercy and forgiveness to all who come to Him and repent, no matter what their sin. We can trust that He will carry us through all the storms of life and lead us into eternal life.