Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 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. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember ethe everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.” (Genesis 9:8-17 ESV).
If the sun is shining while rain is falling, that is often a good time to look for a rainbow. The sunlight shines through water droplets to form a beautiful spectrum of color across the sky. Not long ago I was driving through some of the backroads from our house to town and turned the corner to find an incredible rainbow hanging the fields of wildflowers. The beauty of the rainbow was surprising and spectacular. A rainbow that appears after a storm can bring a hopeful promise of clearer weather ahead.
Originally God used the rainbow to give a sign of hope to Noah, and that is a reminder for us still today. After the world was destroyed by a flood because of the people’s sin, God promised never to send such a flood again. God promised not to let sin come between him and his people. The rainbow is a beautiful sign of hope because it is like a bow without arrows, as if hung on a wall after battle, never to be fired again. That reminds us of the promise that God will always love us.
When you see a rainbow, you can see it as a part of God’s beautiful creation. You can also see it as a sign of God’s beautiful promise of salvation, a promise God is sure to keep. Regardless of how rainy your day may seem, trust in the beauty God has prepared for you when you arrive at your heavenly home!