https://odb.org/2025/02/24/rainbows-and-gods-promises
We had to wake up at 5.00 am, and start our journey back to Petaling Jaya from Seremban at slightly half past five yesterday morning. After breakfast, we arrived back at our condo at 7 plus, and because I had to be in office early, I didn’t have time to write yesterday’s devotional. But I like yesterday’s topic on the rainbow very much and will thus write about it today.
Genesis 9:8–17 (NIV): 8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
17 So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”
As we can read from Genesis 9, the rainbow was put in place by God after the great flood that killed every living creature (except marine life and those animals in Noah’s ark and Noah and his family). The rainbow is the reminder to God of His covenant that He will never again destroy living creatures by flood waters. Thus, after Adam and his descendants and the living creatures created by God since creation, the human race and air breathing living creatures restarted from Noah onwards. As much as all of us are descended from Adam and Eve since Noah also descended from them, our lineage could be more directly traced to Noah and his family as the last surviving humans after the great flood.
The rainbow 🌈 besides being God’s covenant not to destroy living creatures again by water, is also a depiction of the colours in life. We see colours because light reflects colours to us, but all colours we see are a combination of the colours of the rainbow. Colours represent the joy and vibrancy of life, for if we are only black and white or shades of grey, life will be much more boring! Even if we were to look at the forest with its different tones of green, it is the colour of the flowers and fruits that bring life and beauty to the forest.
But most importantly, although we only see the rainbow as an arch due to the horizon and we being on the ground, in reality, a rainbow is actually a full circle. To capture the rainbow as a circle, we need to be up in the air, as can be seen in the photo above. You may read the scientific explanation of this below:
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/rainbow-full-circle/
The full circle of the rainbow represents God’s love, which is forever and eternal. It is never ending. Like Lamentations 3:22-23 proclaims, the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases as it is renewed every morning great is thy faithfulness. The day will come when Jesus returns, and He will rule the earth, and at the end of time, we will dwell with God in Eden recreated in the new heaven and new earth and the new Jerusalem. It will be for eternity like the full circle of the rainbow 🌈. It will be full of the vibrancy and joy of life like the colours of the rainbow!
Whenever we are down and sad, I pray that the Lord will show us His rainbow, and may we remember His everlasting love for us, His covenant with humanity and the living creatures on earth! May the beauty and the colours of the rainbow bring joy to us in our days of sorrow and tears.
Have a good week ahead, everyone!
Ronnie's Thoughts 