Rainbow of Promise

In mid-September we had a blustery, windy, rainy day on Lake Sammamish.  The skies darkened; the rain came pelting down with gale force winds.  They blew in sideways getting everything wet, even things under cover.  The lake had white caps.  I had no desire to go outside.  I was grateful for a warm, dry house.

As I looked out, I thought about Noah and what he must have been looking at on the ark.  I can imagine him looking out and seeing what I saw: lots of water, gray clouds, and lots of rain.  AND no apparent hope in sight.

Like in the picture to the right, it was dark, dreary, gray, and hopeless.  Of course, there wasn’t a dock and trees, but you get my point.  It was a depressing, forlorn sight.  No sun, no blue skies, no white, puffy clouds.  Just gray.  And this went on for days and weeks.  (I suppose, kind of like here.)  It was almost a year before he could leave the ark.  I can only imagine what it must have been like cooped up for a year with relatives and hundreds of animals…in the rain!

If I were there, I could imagine being overwhelmed by God’s power and wondering what the future held.  Who is this God that destroyed all of humanity and animal life?  I better be careful not to offend Him or I could end up like everyone else.  Is He fickle, a megalomaniac dictator, easy to enrage?  Do I need to live in paranoid fear of His moods and tantrums?  Before the flood, He mentioned a covenant.  What’s that all about?  (Gen. 6:18)

As the waters receded and the earth dried out, they began to leave the ark.  Thankful to be alive, Noah offered sacrifices to God.  The Lord responded, “Never again will I curse the ground…never again will I destroy all living creatures.” (Gen. 8:21)  God went on to bless Noah’s family and encourage them to be fruitful and fill the earth.  He repeated His promise (his covenant) that “never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”  (Gen. 9:11)

As a symbol of this covenant, God created a sign that people probably had never seen before.  “Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures.” (Gen. 9:16)

If I had been there at that time, I believe my attitude toward God would have changed.  Now He is a God of promise and hope.  He is to be feared, but in a healthy way.  Not a paranoid fear.  And He blessed and encouraged us to move forward with the expectation of wonderful things. 

What a difference!  No longer a fear of indiscriminate destruction.  Now a hope of abundant life with a future.