Different Meanings of a Rainbow

 

What does a rainbow bring to your mind?   My first thought is of Genesis 9:13-16, where the LORD God establishes his covenant between God and “every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth”  and what is this covenant?  V13-16 “I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.  And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.  And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.”


In this passage, the rainbow is the sign of God’s covenant that no more would the earth be destroyed by a flood as it was in the days of Noah and the ark.  How many of us since then have looked upon the rainbow and marveled at its beauty.

Then there is the old Sunday School song, Mr. Noah Built An Ark.  I wonder if children still sing this song in these days?  The latter part of the song says “whenever you see a rainbow, remember God is love.”  But of course, God is so much more than love.  When I shared this song with my granddaughter when she was little,  we used to sing “whenever you see a rainbow, remember God loves you.”  So the rainbow  had special meaning for me because my granddaughter still remembers that God loves her when she sees a rainbow.  Here is a rainbow as I like to think of it, the rainbow in the clouds, the sign of God’s covenant and his love.

But now there is a new meaning for the rainbow, and this saddens me.  The rainbow has become a symbol of the gay community.   I have no clue why they chose a rainbow and I wonder, as time passes, how many people will remember that the rainbow was originally a sign of the covenant God made, or may have heard the Sunday School song and remembered that God is love?  or will they more remember what it is a symbol for now?
It’s not my purpose in writing this piece to say anything more regarding the gay community,  except to say that  I am saddened that this beautiful rainbow has become a symbol of something which God does not approve of, enough said.

I would just like to quote the final verse from the song Mr. Noah Built an Ark..

Jesus died upon a tree
Jesus died for you and me
Go into the ark and you will be
Safe for all eternity.
Whenever you see a rainbow, whenever you see a rainbow, whenever you see a rainbow, remember God is love.

And what do these words mean?  The Lord Jesus was crucified upon a cross, shedding his precious blood and taking upon himself the punishment for sin, dying on the cross, being buried and then rising from the grave.  He is the one and only risen Saviour, the Son of God.  Go into the ark means this:  all have sinned, and you know in your heart that this means you too.  Believe that the Lord Jesus was crucified, that he shed his precious blood and took the punishment for your sins upon himself.  Trust in Jesus to save you, and you will be saved for all eternity.

So if you have followed the tag “gay community” and planned on berating me for making this post about the rainbow, I hope that instead, you have realized your need of the Saviour, and that you have trusted in him.

vcg/June 2016