There’s a Rainbow in the Cloud

Rainbows are fascinating to me. I remember being a child and playing with the hose, making a mist out of the water, and seeing the rainbow produced in it. While that was cool, it was even more special to see a true rainbow in the sky. I remember looking up, just after it had stopped raining, and seeing a beautiful rainbow as the sun began to show itself through the clouds.

People have attached many meanings and stories to rainbows, small children probably think about the funny little man with a green suit sitting on a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. While many stories have been told about rainbows, let’s remember together the true purpose of the rainbow, and why God made it:

“Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying…‘I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.’ God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh.’”

-Genesis 9:8, 11-15

When the rainbow appears in the cloud, it is not simply a beautiful part of God’s wonderful creation, but is also a reminder to us concerning God’s covenant, that He would not ever again cover the earth with water. Also, we are told that at the same time that we are looking at that rainbow, God also is looking at it, and He recognizes His covenant with the earth as well.

Ever since the time of Noah, God has never covered the entire earth with water. The rainbow reminds us of the fact that God always honors His word, and always keeps His promises. It is comforting to know that, even in a time of lawyers and loopholes, God will always keep His word. As we strive to be more like God, let’s keep our word, and always be dependable.