Genesis 9:8-17 “And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; 10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. 11 And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. 12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 15 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. 16 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. 17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.”
Noah came from a long line of God honoring parents.
• Noah was the son of Lamech (5:28-29). Lamech was a man who knew God because he attributes his toil to God’s curse.
• Noah’s name means rest and comfort.
• Noah’s great grandfather was Enoch (5:18, 21-24).
• Noah’s grandfather was Methuselah (5:21-22, 25-26). His name means When he is dead, it shall come.
The times in which Noah had lived were Evil – 6:5, 11-13.
• They resemble that spoken of in 2 Timothy 3:1-5.
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”
• In 2 Peter 2:5 Noah is called a “preacher of righteousness” who ministered to a “world full of ungodliness.”
• His ministry rivals that of our own time – 2 Timothy 4:2-5.
“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” (See also 2 Peter 3:4-7).
Notice the contrast between Genesis 1:31 & 6:5 (What did God See?).
Notice the Progression of Sin:
• The Entrance of sin (3:1).
• The Extent of Sin (6:5-6).
• The Effect of Sin (6:7).
BUT, Notice God’s answer to those wicked times.
• God Had A Man (Noah) – 6:8. In every age God has raised up unique and specially chosen men and women endued with power from on high.
• God Had A Plan (the Ark, a type of Christ) – 6:14-22.
Made of wood – A picture of the cross.
Shape like a coffin – Portraying death.
Covered with pitch – Same word is translated “atonement” elsewhere.
One Window – One source of light from heaven.
One Door – One way of salvation.
AFTER THE FLOOD, God put a Rainbow in the sky as a symbol of His eternal covenant with mankind.
Isaiah 54:7-10 “For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. 8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. 9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. 10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.”
Through the ages God has put three witnesses in the sky to speak to the heart of mankind.
• The Pillar of Fire – Speaks of His Presence, Power & Providence.
• The Star – Speaks of His Position & Pre-eminence. He is above all, before all and the all in all (Col 1:18; Song 5:10).
• The Rainbow – Speaks of His Pledge & Promise. He is a covenant-keeper. What He says, He will do (Heb 6:18; Rom 4:21).
Consider with me some spiritual insight into some facts about The Rainbow:
#1. RAINBOW’S REMINDS US OF OUR SAVIOUR, JESUS CHRIST.
The colors of the Rainbow arise from two basic facts:
• Sunlight is a combination of a spectrum of colors that the eye cannot naturally discern. The range of sunlight colors, when combined, looks white to the eye.
• A rainbow is seen when light of different colors is refracted through a single medium into another (water).
John 4:13-14 “Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
The colors of the Rainbow are…
• Purple speaks of Royalty – 1 Tim 6:15 Jesus “is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;”
• Blue speaks of Heaven – John 3:13 “No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.”
• Green speaks of New Life – John 1:3-4 “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”
• Yellow speaks of Light – John 8:12 “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
• Orange speaks of Warning – Matthew 16:2-4 “He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red [Purrhos = flamelike, fire colored]. 3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? 4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.”
Jesus warns ALL men everywhere, “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7).
• Red speaks of the Blood – Rev 1:5 “Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,..”
#2. RAINBOW’S NEED TWO THINGS TO OCCUR.
• A Storm (the greatest storm of all time took place on Calvary).
• Sunlight (Resurrection). Most people have never noticed that the sun is always behind you when you face a rainbow, and that the center of the circular arc of the rainbow is in the direction opposite to that of the sun.
• One theologian wrote, “The sunshine of His resurrection shined through the drops of His shed Blood and produced the Rainbow of God’s Eternal Grace!”
#3. RAINBOW’S ARE A REFLECTION OF GOD’S GRACE. It was all God’s idea!
• Calvary was all God’s idea.
1 Peter 1:18-20 “Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,…”
• Man is dead in trespasses and sin (Eph 2:1) and cannot initiate an acceptable relationship with God! All world religions, except True Christianity, are examples of man reaching out to God with a fallen perspective. True Christianity reveals God reaching out to man!
• Man would never come to God unless God called first.
John 6:44 “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Romans 3:11 “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.”
#4. RAINBOW’S CAN’T BE STOPPED, CAUGHT OR TOUCHED! Likewise…
• Man cannot undo the work of Calvary. Ps 119:89 “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.” It’s settled! Glory!!
#5. RAINBOW’S TOUCH BOTH HEAVEN AND EARTH!
• In a conversation between the rich man and Abraham; Abraham says, “between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence” (Luke 16:26).
• The Cross of Jesus Christ brings Heaven and Earth together.
Colossians 2:13-15 “And you, being dead in your sins… hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us,.. and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”
1 Timothy 2:5-6 “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 Who gave himself a ransom for all,..”
#6. RAINBOW’S ARE AN ENDURING SYMBOL OF GOD’S GRACE, YET THEY
APPEAR FOR A LITTLE WHILE AND THEN ARE GONE!
• As far as God is concerned, the Rainbow is perpetual – Gen 9:12, 16. “God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:… 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.”
• So is salvation – John 10:27-28 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”
• However, God has said, “My spirit shall not always strive with man,…” (Genesis 6:3).
CONCLUSION:
He lov’d the world of his elect,
With love surpassing thought;
Nor will his mercy e’er neglect
The souls his Son has bought.
The warm affections of his breast
Towards his chosen burn;
And in this love he’ll never rest
Nor from his oath return.
Still to confirm his oath of old,
See in the heavens his bow,
No fierce rebukes, but love untold,
Awaits his child below.
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Pastor Kevin W. Burden
CARTER CREEK BAPTIST CHURCH
Greenville, Kentucky
www.revkevscorner.blogspot.com
