Year One, January 16

He Remembers His Covenant Forever1

In this passage we have more details about the gracious promise God made to Noah and his descendants.

  

Genesis 9:8-17

8Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9“Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, 10and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. 11I establish my covenant with you that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

To those who have been saved in Christ no future destruction is possible. They are forever safe from the floods of wrath.

12And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations. 13I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, (The sign of the promise is seen in cloudy times when faith needs a reminder of the Lord’s faithfulness the most. If there is no cloud, there is no rainbow. It is worth having a cloud to have God paint a rainbow on it.) 15I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it,” (This is better than seeing it ourselves, because God will never see it with forgetful eyes.) “and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

God made the rainbow to be a lovely symbol of his truthfulness. It is a bow unstrung, because war is over. It is a bow without a string, because it will never be used against us. It is a bow turned upward, so that we may direct our thoughts and prayers to heaven. It is a rainbow of bright colors, because joy and peace are revealed by it. Blessed arch of beauty, always be the Lord’s preacher to us.

We will now turn to a passage in the prophets where the promise of God’s grace is linked with this rainbow.

  

Isaiah 54:4-10

4 “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed,

be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;

for you will forget the shame of your youth,

and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.

5 For your Maker is your husband,

the LORD of hosts is his name;

and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,

the God of the whole earth he is called.

6 For the LORD has called you

like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,

like a wife of youth when she is cast off,

says your God.

7 For a brief moment I deserted you,

but with great compassion I will gather you.

8 In overflowing anger for a moment

I hid my face from you,

but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”

  says the LORD, your Redeemer.

9 “This is like the days of Noah to me;

as I swore that the waters of Noah
      should no more go over the earth,

so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,

and will not rebuke you.

10 For the mountains may depart

and the hills be removed,

but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,

and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”

says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

From this time on, let us be ashamed to doubt the Lord. These trustworthy signs should give us an overwhelming confidence in the faithfulness of our unchangeable God. Only let us make sure that we are exercising true faith in HIM.

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¹ Psalm 111:5