The winter season tends to linger here in upstate New York, where I live. This year Old Man Winter went out fighting with a massive one-two punch: a massive windstorm followed by a snowstorm. Folks around here have been anxious for spring to arrive. As of today it has -- though you'd never know it by all the snow still on the ground.
March winds bring April showers, and with rain comes rainbows. They're a beauty to behold, but certain facts about rainbows can brighten our outlook and deepen our appreciation for them even more. Did you know:
- The first rainbow appeared after the worldwide flood, as a sign of God's promise that he would never again destroy living creatures with floodwaters (Gen. 9:12-17).
- There is no Hebrew word for rainbow; it's just the ordinary term for an archer's bow. The distinguishing feature is that it "appears in the clouds" (Gen. 9:14; cf. Ezek. 1:28).
Why would God choose a bow, a weapon of war, as a sign in the clouds of his gracious covenant with all the living creatures on earth? Stephen Wellum explains:
“The rainbow, then, is a physical picture that God has “laid his weapons down,” as indicated in the promise, “never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” It is interesting that the bow set in the clouds is always aimed or pointed up toward the heavens, and never downward at us on the earth.”
One final observation to be made is that the bow is the only covenant sign which can be given by God alone. (All the other covenant signs, such as circumcision and baptism, are given by the human partner.) And that covenant is still in effect today.
Praise God that he is long-suffering toward us and never goes back on his promises. These are truths we can celebrate any time of the year.