After the Rain, the Rainbow!
For the past week or so the Chicagoland region has experienced a great deluge of rain! While it was needed to avoid a serious drought, some of us were wondering if we should begin building an ark!
Looking at the world through the lens the bright, brilliant sun provided for us today, it was evident that the rain did a great deal of good work. The grass was greener and the flowers had burst forth with all their splendor. I couldn’t help but think of just what happens after the rain, somewhere if you’re looking closely, you’ll see a rainbow:
2 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. Genesis 9:12-16 (KJV)
After the flood that destroyed all the people of the world, except Noah and his family, God made a decision that has impacted the world since that time. He decided to make a covenant with mankind and with every living creature that roamed the earth that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood. He even stated that this covenant would be good – for perpetual generations. The sign that this covenant would be remain in effect would be the rainbow.
Today, as a result of the finished work of Jesus, God did not take away that covenant made in the days of Noah, He added to it:
6 But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises. Hebrews 8:6 (NLT)
This covenant far exceeds the Abrahamic Covenant, the Covenant made with Moses, even the covenants made with Israel. This covenant assures us that our sins are forgiven, we’ve been granted a new birth, we’ve been redeemed from the curse of the law, we’ve been set free to serve as God’s ambassadors. Now this promise reflects as a true rainbow!
Maria