The Heavely Sign

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

THE HEAVENLY SIGN

Gen 9:8-17

8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 "I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you — the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you — every living creature on earth. 11 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." 12 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: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth." 17 So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth."

NIV

The everlasting covenant God made with every living creature is one of the beautiful signs in the sky during or just after a slight rain shower. The rainbow is a sign that God put there so that both He and all living creatures remember his everlasting covenant. However, man has distorted and captured the rainbow for all sorts of human inventions of hope, love, happiness, and acceptance. Some think when we see a rainbow, it may be a message of hope from a deceased loved one or a guardian angel. It is also thought when we notice a rainbow it could signify, that we are on a spiritual journey. Another writer thinks that in Western art and culture, rainbows are frequently represented as a sign of hope and promise of a better future. The list goes on and on from the human perspective as to the rainbow, but they do not include God in their ideas about the rainbow. However, we know it is all about God, for he made a covenant with us because we are among all living creatures. No matter how severe the weather may get, we can also be sure the earth will never have a flood that destroys all life on Earth. God will also remember his everlasting covenant with all living creatures and it is he who causes the clouds and it is he who causes the rainbow as a sign between him and us. God told Noah that he set the rainbow in the clouds. When we see a rainbow, we know God’s hand is at work. There is no pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, but there is the promise of God, His covenant with us. It does not matter if some fraction of humanity has made the colors of the rainbow their symbol for some alternative lifestyle other than what God established. In fact, there is thinking that if a believer were to wear some clothes that include the colors of the rainbow, it signifies we agree with that fraction of humanity. But God established the rainbow, and it is from God as a sign to us that he would never flood the earth again. We know the truth and we should make sure every time we see that rainbow we tell the story of God. Let the true sign in the heavens and on earth be told that God’s hand is at work. Thank you Lord for your sign to us in the heavens, we will remember it is a sign of your covenant with all of us.