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“There’s A Rainbow!”
“There’s A Rainbow!”
“There’s a rainbow, that is shining; There’s a rainbow, in the cloud; When life’s race is run and the victry’s won; there’s a rainbow in the cloud.” While those colors have been hoisted high over the last few years, with special emphasis every June — we ought not forget where they originate. “And God said: ‘This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 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’” (Gen. 9:12-17). God’s covenant and the rainbow are thus linked.
In fact, it is in the context of this event that we are first introduced to this covenantal nature of God (see Gen. 6:18, where God promises to establish His covenant with Noah so he can go into the ark). This is one of the most prominent themes of Scripture, and one of the greatest attributes of God. Covenant carries the idea of promises, but it is so much more than that. Truly, He is a God who makes promises — and a God who keeps promises! But, deeper than that; Covenant implies multiple parties are involved, and that there are consequences of violating the agreement. Humanity and God are bound together in this covenant as the participating parties. God will in no way violate His end of this heavenly agreement, but mankind has a hard time keeping any promises.
It is a shame that this beautiful image which reflected the desire of God to be there for His people has been maligned to represent what it does today: the LGBTQ movement. Originally those colors were about God destroying an ungodly world and saving the faithful — it is a little ironic that a movement that ignores the created order would use them for their cause. While it has come to mean things that no true Bible believer could accept, there is a sense in which the rainbow flag belongs to the human race. Those colors should remind us of humanity’s continual rebellion and obstinance (pre-flood & LGBTQ, etc), but even more so the covenant faithfulness of Creator-God.
Indeed, there is a rainbow there to remind us — He keeps His promises and so should we.
