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| Volume 26 Number 1 January 2024 |
Page 6 |
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| Volume 26 Number 1 January 2024 |
Page 6 |
Gary C. Hampton
Some of the most beautiful pictures I have ever seen are of rainbows. God’s colorful covenant symbol draws immediate and lasting attention.
The rainbow clearly demonstrates there is a God in Heaven. God came to Noah and told him to build an ark. Noah did everything God commanded him to do (Genesis 6:13, 22). Noah offered a sacrifice when he left the ark, and God gave the rainbow as a sign of His covenant with man that He would never again destroy the world by a great flood (Genesis 9:12). The rainbow in the heavens declares the glory of God (Psalm 19:1).
The rainbow reminds us God will punish sinners. Man’s continual wickedness led to the flood. Men may make fun of God, His existence and His Son’s promised return, but the flood stands as evidence that He will punish sinners. Paul reassured the suffering saints at Thessalonica that the Almighty would punish those who do not obey or keep on obeying Him (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, as was plainly seen when God placed the rainbow in the heavens. He lived uprightly in the midst of terrible sinfulness (Genesis 6:8-9). He declared God’s will to those sinners for one hundred years, but only his family was saved (2 Peter 2:5). His salvation by water was a foreshadow of man’s salvation through the waters of baptism (1 Peter 3:20-21).
The rainbow emphatically declares God keeps his promises. No flood has destroyed all flesh for the several millennia since God first placed the rainbow in the sky as a sign that He would not do that again (Genesis 9:13-15). The promised return of Jesus to meet His faithful followers in the air is a promise sure to be kept. It should motivate us to faithfully watch (2 Peter 3:9-14).
