That spread of color in the sky which leaves a smile on the face of all, small and big alike – the Rainbow. What does it stand for and how did it come to be?
Rainbows are formed when light from the sun is scattered by water droplets (e.g. raindrops or fog) through a process called refraction. Refraction occurs when the light from the sun changes direction when passing through a medium denser than air, such as a raindrop. This is the scientific definition of a rainbow. However, we are going to look at the bigger picture. We are going to take a look at who created all this and caused it to come together and for what specific purpose. Science did not come before man and man did not come before the one who created him, God. So, it is necessary to go to the root of the output and not just explain the output itself. Finally, we will try to analyze if at all there is any scope for mankind to take pride in this.
As humans started to multiply on earth so did sin. This kept increasing till God could no longer stand the sinful ways of man. And so, God decided to sweep out the whole race of mankind from the face of the earth. But one man found favor before God – Noah. Noah and his family were saved, and the rest of mankind and every living being wiped out.
Genesis 6:6-8 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
God saw that every inclination of the heart of man was evil. So then why did God finally change His mind? Did the human heart change from its evil ways and finally turn to God in repentance?
No! We see that God did not make His covenant after the heart of man was changed, we see that the human heart remained the same. It was not a change in man that caused God to step into a covenant with them, rather the unchanging character of God’s compassion that made Him step into a covenant by which He said that never again will He destroy the whole earth and all living creatures even though the heart of man is evil. God in His faithfulness promised not to destroy but provide all that earth required for life.
Genesis 8:21 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.
“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”
And so, the rainbow is a sign of God’s promise with us and every other living creature on earth. (Genesis 9:13-16) Do you see anything in this story in which we can take credit or pride of? By no means, in fact it shows us the deceitfulness of our hearts and how God still chose to forgive us knowing the condition of our hearts. Next time you see a rainbow, take minute to thank God for His love and compassion. That was the sole purpose of the rainbow – to remind us of God’s faithfulness over all of mankind and every living creature who deserved to be destroyed because of their pride, sin and rebellion. But did God just leave us in this state of hopelessness? No. Here is the hope of all the world – Jesus!
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Thanks be to God who sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, who cleanses us of our sins by His sinless blood that was shed for all. Today, if we believe in Him and His finished work on the cross, we will be made righteous by grace through faith in Jesus. Don’t let your mind paint pictures by what the world has taught over what God’s intended truth is which is found in the scriptures. Let the rainbow make your heart turn to God in gratitude and have nothing that man can take pride in. Take pride in the goodness and faithfulness of this great God. There is nothing in mortal man to take pride.
Jeremiah 9:24 But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth— for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.
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