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 destroyed 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.” (Genesis 9:8-17)
God had wiped out most of creation because of their sinfulness. But now, the waters had subsided and the ark had come to a rest. The first thing that Noah did after leaving the ark was to build an altar and sacrifice burnt offerings to the Lord (Genesis 8:20). At that point, God made a promise. Genesis 8:21 tells us, “The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in His heart; ‘Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.” God had not made His plans known to Noah at this point.
But after commissioning Noah much like He did with Adam, God made His promise known to Adam in Genesis 9:9-11, “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 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. I establish my covenant with you; Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” God promised to never again destroy all life on earth by the waters of a flood. And to seal that covenant, and so that all of creation would remember that covenant, God signed it with a rainbow. V. 13 says, “I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.” God gave a visual sign that would act as the sign that sealed this covenant, but it would also act as a reminder to the people, not only of what happened, but more so of the promise that God made to the people, to not destroy all life with the waters of a flood again. Every time it would rain, the rains would be a reminder of the consequences of the sins of the people. But following the rain, the rainbow would be the sign of the covenant that God had made with humanity and creation. It would be the sign that would remind them of the hardships and suffering the people had endured, but more importantly, it would be the sign of God’s promise to His creation.
God left that sign for us because sometimes we need a reminder. We need a reminder of what we have been through, but more importantly, we need a reminder of the one who brought us through it. Sometimes we need a reminder of God’s faithfulness to us. Especially when things are difficult, it helps to remember times when God has been faithful and cling to those memories. Or more importantly, we need to cling to the greatest proof of God’s love for us and His faithfulness.
The cross is a reminder to us of God’s new covenant with us. It is a reminder that He loves us so much that He sent His only son to die on the cross for us.
Perhaps you need a reminder to look to the cross during these trying times and remember what Christ has done. Perhaps in the middle of this pandemic, you are wondering where God is or if He is going to do anything about this pandemic. If you find your faith wavering during these trying times, cling to one of the signs of God’s covenant with His people. Cling to the cross, knowing that the God who sent His only son to die on the cross for us is not going to abandon us now. Or look to the rainbow in the sky after the rain and be reminded that the God who made that covenant with Noah will keep His word and promise to His creation. Just remember that the God who sent His only Son to die on the cross for us is not about to turn His back on us now, no matter how difficult things might seem.