God’s Rainbow
All of us thrill to see a rainbow in the sky. It is like a promise to us, a reminder that God is there and that He cares. In this post, I want to ponder over why God put the rainbow in the sky, what the rainbow means to God, and how God uses the rainbow.
1. The rainbow is the token of God’s covenant that He has established between Himself and all flesh that is upon the earth.
We can read about the rainbow in Genesis 9:8-17.
“8And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, 9And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; 10And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. 11And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. 12And 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: 13I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. 14And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 15And 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. 16And 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. 17And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.”
The rainbow declares God’s covenant between Himself, man, and every living creature of all flesh. It is a promise to us that “the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.”
2. The rainbow is the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord
We can read about God’s rainbow in relation to His glory and holiness in Ezekiel 1:26-28 and Ezekiel 10:1-4.
“26And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. 27And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. 28As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face….” (Ezekiel 1:26-28)
“1Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne. 2And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in my sight. 3Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court. 4Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD's glory.” (Ezekiel 10:1-4)
Today the rainbow is often used as a symbol of pride, man’s pride. But that is Satan’s distortion of this beautiful symbol, and a dangerous distortion at that. The Bible warns, “15Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world… the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof….” (See I John 2:15-17)
Do not misuse God’s rainbow. God made it as a symbol of His glory, not of man’s pride. Using the rainbow as a symbol of man’s pride gives glory to man, not God. This is a serious thing because God has warned, “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another.” (Isaiah 42:8a)
Thank You, God for Your beautiful rainbow that shows Your love to us and reveals Your glory and Your holiness.