"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.”
He doesn't have to swear.
He doesn't have to promise.
He doesn't have to cut covenants.
His word alone is enough.
Who are the ones that don't keep their word? US. We need to swear. We are fickle. We waver. We lie, cheat, steal. We are the faithless ones, not God. Then why does He swear and make covenants with man? For us--the unsure, wishy-washy ones. He does so for our benefit; for our peace of mind.
We've discussed in parts 1-4 what the world was like at the time of the flood, Who was in the Ark during the flood, the changes to the Jewish calendar and some interesting things about doves. Now we're going to talk about the covenant of the rainbow!
COVENANTS.
Covenants, in ancient Israel and in other cultures around the world, are "cut" with another person, tribe or nation. Unlike a paper contract which can easily be broken, there is always involved a SHEDDING OF BLOOD to seal it. Each person or tribal head made a small incision on their wrist, joined them together and mingled their blood. Now it flows as one.
This is why marriage is a covenant and not merely a contract.
Covenants, in ancient Israel and in other cultures around the world, are "cut" with another person, tribe or nation. Unlike a paper contract which can easily be broken, there is always involved a SHEDDING OF BLOOD to seal it. Each person or tribal head made a small incision on their wrist, joined them together and mingled their blood. Now it flows as one.
This is why marriage is a covenant and not merely a contract.
(David and Jonathan cut a covenant with each other.)
In the process of cutting a covenant, each took off their respective outer garments and exchanged them, indicating a change of positions. Each took off their respective armaments as well and wore the other persons gear. Your enemies have now become their enemies; their enemies, yours. You each now fought mutual battles of your now mutual enemies. Jonathan and David made such a pact.
RAINBOWS.
Here is further proof from scripture, being it's own best commentary, that rainbows do not only refer to physical floodwaters. Isaiah 54 comes right after chapter 53 which describes more graphically than any other, Jesus' sufferings. Because of what He would endure for our sakes, God could declare the following in Isaiah 54: 9-10:
"9 “To me this {Jesus' death on the cross, referring back to the previous chapter} is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would NEVER AGAIN cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
NEVER TO REBUKE {condemn} you again.
10 Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you."
The sign from God to Noah and all creation of His covenant was the RAINBOW. So don't think only of no more physical flood but of NO MORE JUDGMENT.....Period!...for the believer, that is.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
NEVER TO REBUKE {condemn} you again.
10 Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you."
The sign from God to Noah and all creation of His covenant was the RAINBOW. So don't think only of no more physical flood but of NO MORE JUDGMENT.....Period!...for the believer, that is.
The word in Hebrew for "rainbow" is this word: "qeshet." It not only means "rainbow," but also the kind from which you would shoot an arrow. The passage above from Isaiah means that God will NEVER AGAIN shoot arrows of judgment at us or be angry with us! NO MORE JUDGMENT!
David, speaking prophetically of Jesus' sufferings, says in Palm 42:7;
"...7all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me."
At the cross, when everything went dark for three hours, there was a storm of epic proportions. All God's billows literally rolled over Jesus. What happens after the dark clouds clear and the sun begins to shine again as the rain drops linger?
YOU SEE A RAINBOW.
I believe there was a rainbow around the cross as Jesus bowed His head.
Everything....ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING IN THE WHOLE OF SCRIPTURE AND ALL OF HISTORY POINTS TO THIS ONE EVENT IN TIME. God was able now to shout to the whole world, "Finished!!! No more judgment!!!"
Everything....ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING IN THE WHOLE OF SCRIPTURE AND ALL OF HISTORY POINTS TO THIS ONE EVENT IN TIME. God was able now to shout to the whole world, "Finished!!! No more judgment!!!"
At that very instant, He ripped from top to bottom the temple veil that had separated us from Him since the garden!!! HALLELUIA!!!!!
Isaiah 59:19
"19 So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in LIKE A FLOOD, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him."
And...
Revelation 12:15
"15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a flood, to overtake the woman {a picture of the church} and sweep her away with the torrent."
The rainbow is a standard that God raises up against him, the accuser, who spews out a flood of words that accuse and condemn, communicate shame, deliver despair that he wants to charge to our
account....BUT.....The flood is turned aside!
We need to continually remind ourselves that we are standing on NO CURSE GROUND;" that we have the standard of the rainbow over our heads! God will NEVER AGAIN BE ANGRY WITH US OR CONDEMN US."
We raise up our shield of faith that we are the righteousness of God in Christ and quench all the fiery darts--flaming arrows--of the devil. That's how we walk victoriously through life.
(The throne of God encircled by a Rainbow.)
"1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A RAINBOW that shone like an emerald {green=New Covenant=NO MORE JUDGMENT} encircled the throne."
And that, Church, is why there is a rainbow around God's throne and the door is open wide for us to freely enter His presence. He wants to comfort us with the truth about THE COVENANT OF THE RAINBOW.
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