The Rainbow causes God to Remember
It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." And God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth." (Genesis 9:14-17 NKJV)
We Remember
This weekend we are remembering. We remember that ever since Cain killed Abel, men have been destroying each other. Often it is over religious disagreements. Many are saying that the US needs to turn back to God as though we can sign people up to “believe”. One would think that Christianity was a big club and that with proper persuasion, Christians can get others to “sign up.” But true worship is a personal heart matter and the heart is evil and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). One cannot force people to “believe.” All Christians can do to help this nation is to preach the Gospel and pray that one by one people will understand their sin and turn to the Lord and trust him for salvation. The rainbow reminds us that there was a time when people lived a long time but they didn’t get better and better, they got worse and worse. When God saw that the imagination of men’s hearts was only evil continually and when He saw the violence in the earth, He regretted having made man. He decided to destroy civilization as it existed. He wanted to start over. Civilization needed a new birth.
The Rainbow
After destroying the earth with a flood (and yes, the Lord did do that), He changed the nature of things so that instead of the earth being watered with a mist, it would be watered as it is today—with rain and in some cases storms. But He put a beautiful thing in the clouds. He called it a rainbow. Every time we see a rainbow we are reminded that God has promised that He will never again destroy the earth with a flood. He has told us that it will be destroyed by fire one day, but not by a flood. Peter tells us, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. (2 Peter 3:10 NKJV).”
People didn’t believe Noah as he built his ark on dry ground. People don’t believe Peter either. But God keeps his promises. The earth will never again be destroyed by a flood. But the earth is going to be destroyed by fire.
This memorial day weekend, in the area where I live, we have been remembering a devastating EF5 tornado that destroyed a good share of Parkersburg and areas on to the east several years ago. We have also been remembering loved ones that have died, and we have been remembering soldiers that have died.
But God has been remembering as well. This weekend we have had some storms with beautiful rainbows in them. They remind us that God sees those rainbows and remembers that He has made a promise. (Now I will let the theologians discuss why God would need to be reminded of His promise, but that is what the text says.) God keeps His promises. He is not like some we know that simply do not keep their promises. The promise that God has made me is found in John 3:16-18:
This is God’s Provision
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
This is God’s Desire
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
This is God’s Results
He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
My Prayer
Lord, may we remember that we are all sinners in need of salvation. We give thanks that our sins and iniquities are not memorialized or remembered when we trust Christ. We would look at the rainbow and be reminded that You always keep your promises. You promise eternal life to the believer in Christ. You promise condemnation to those who reject Him. Help us to remember that You do keep your promises. Sometimes You take your time in fulfilling your promises but You can be trusted. Amen.
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of May 27, 2018