A Godly LifeSýnishorn

Sign in the sky

That ubiquitous arc of colors — red/orange/yellow/green/blue/indigo/violet — is everywhere. Sometimes it announces a Chicago political organization. Sometimes it announces advocacy for gay rights. But its ultimate meaning was given by God himself.

Somehow in the world before the great flood there were no rainbows. After the waters went down, God tweaked something in the physics of light and atmospheric moisture and now on special occasions gives us that brief little dazzle-display of his art. Here is what God means to tell us when we see the seven colors in the sky: “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: . . . Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life” (Genesis 9:12,15).

The rainbow is more than a cute icon or natural wonder. It is first a solemn warning that human sin is a capital crime in God’s court. The great flood was real; so were the deaths it caused. Second, those who listened to God escaped his violent judgment. Noah and his family believed God’s word and were saved. Finally, the bow God placed in the sky is his promise to be patient with the human race and give his precious gospel time to work.

Until he returns.

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