Rainbow

Rainbow

“I am confirming my covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth.”

Then God said, “I am giving you a sign of my covenant with you and with all living creatures, for all generations to come. I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth.”

Genesis 9:11-13

The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow.

Revelation 4:3

A rainbow occurs when raindrops and sunshine cross paths. When sunlight enters water drops, it reflects off their inside surfaces and separates into the component colors, which is similar to what happens with a glass prism.

God uses rainbows as a special sign to remind us of something important about himself. God told Noah, in essence, “When you see the rainbow, you will remember that I remember I am committed to you.” The rainbow was a sign to Noah of God’s mercy and commitment. So when we see a rainbow, it should remind us of God’s mercy even in judgment and his commitment to living up to his promises.

The rainbow appears another time in the Bible. But this time it is not merely an arc across the sky. The rainbow that John, the author of Revelation, sees in heaven is even better than the one that Noah saw. This rainbow encircles the throne that Jesus sits on in heaven. It is a full circle. In other words, John sees the reality of God’s faithfulness in its unending completeness.

If the rainbow in the sky reminds us of God’s faithfulness in showing mercy toward us, just think how much more this full-circle rainbow around God’s throne reveals about his complete, all-encompassing, unending faithfulness to us! This rainbow shows us in brilliant, living color that God will keep all his promises to us.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

What should we think about when we see a rainbow?

A rainbow is a sign of God’s covenant with Noah. What sign did God give for these other covenants?

• Abraham (Genesis 17:10)
• Moses (Exodus 31:13)
• The New Covenant (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)