Genesis 9:1-17 The Covenant of the Rainbow
“And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall on every living creature on the earth, every bird of the air, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are delivered into your hand. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you; just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you all things. But you must not eat meat with its lifeblood still in it.
And surely I will require the life of any man or beast by whose hand your lifeblood is shed. I will demand an accounting from anyone who takes the life of his fellow man: Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.
But as for you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out across the earth and multiply upon it.” Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, “Behold, I now establish My covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth—every living thing that came out of the ark. And I establish My covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
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: I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember My covenant between Me and you and all living creatures: Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. And whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of every kind that is on the earth.” So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between Me and all living things on the earth.”
“And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall on every living creature on the earth, every bird of the air, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are delivered into your hand. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you; just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you all things. But you must not eat meat with its lifeblood still in it.” Evidently, until now, people have been vegetarians; however, now God says that everything that lives and moves is potential food. But why is God so picky about blood? Blood represents life and God wants people to avoid eating raw meat or even tearing a piece out of a live creature.
“And surely I will require the life of any man or beast by whose hand your lifeblood is shed. I will demand an accounting from anyone who takes the life of his fellow man: Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.” Although God has already punished Cain for murdering Abel, this is the first Biblical proscription against murder. Human life is to be respected because God has created men in His image. No matter how angry we are, we are to respect others because they have been made in God’s image. Atoning sacrifices for sins are blood sacrifices.
“But what about evolution?” you ask. What about it? If we accept the Big Bang theory, then a God who can speak the universe into an existence with a single word can certainly use any means He chooses. It takes no less faith to believe in evolution than it does to believe in special creation.
“But as for you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out across the earth and multiply upon it.” Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, “Behold, I now establish My covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth—every living thing that came out of the ark. And I establish My covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” Notice that God is making a covenant with all creation and not just with people.
“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: I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember My covenant between Me and you and all living creatures: Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.” Why is the rainbow a sign of peace? The rainbow is a sign of God’s promise that He will never send another world-wide flood to destroy all creation, no matter how sinful men might become.
“But,” you protest, “rainbows are the result of certain atmospheric conditions.” Certainly, and Who do you think has created the atmosphere and those conditions? “I refuse to believe that God is involved,” you retort. Fine. Your choice. But your refusal to accept God’s word and His covenant does not nullify that covenant; it only cheapens your life by depriving you of the wonder of believing in God.
We are all born with a sin problem, something about which we can do nothing. Not only has God sent rainbows but He has also sent His Son Jesus Christ to shed his blood in payment for our sins. We can choose to accept what Jesus has done and to believe in that salvation, or we can behave like Noah’s neighbors.
There’s a Gospel song that says, “It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark. So the rush for the door didn’t stop till it got dark. Don’t wait for the judgment to give the Lord your heart. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.”
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, thank You for continuing to send rainbows as signs of Your faithfulness. Help all who read these words to trust You completely. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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