It's Time to Reclaim the Rainbow
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Photo by Nancy Bones
And 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: I have set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I 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” (Genesis 9:12-15).
Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Rainbows are part of
the stories of many cultures around the world. Often, rainbows are portrayed as
bridges between people and supernatural beings. Pet owners think of their furry
friends crossing over the rainbow bridge at death. In Norse mythology, a burning
rainbow called Bifrost connects Earth to Asgard, the realm of the gods. In the
ancient beliefs of Japan and Gabon, rainbows were the bridges that human ancestors
took to descend to the planet. Irish legend holds that there is a pot of gold
at the end of a rainbow that is guarded by a tricky leprechaun.[i]
In our day, the rainbow
has taken a new connotation. As we noticed often all last month, the rainbow
flag has become the predominant symbol of the LGBT movement. The best-known,
six-stripe version of the rainbow pride flag assigns a meaning to each color:
red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, blue
for harmony, and purple for spirit.[ii]
I can’t help but notice the irony
of there being six stripes rather than the traditional seven colors of the
rainbow that many of us memorized with the name Roy G. Biv. Seven being the number
symbolizing godly completeness in Scripture and six being the number of man and
falling short of perfection, often with reference to Satan who only mimics God
and what is godly.
Satan never presents himself as he truly is. Instead, he masquerades as
an “angel of light,” and his minions are able to transform into “ministers of
righteousness” (2 Cor 11:14-15), all with intent to deceive. They may put
themselves forward as seeking to promote good, such as tolerance and diversity,
but they are nothing more than counterfeits of what is good, and their
desire is to lead people away from the One True God who is all
good, the epitome of good.[iii]
So, they mess with things like
rainbows. Seeing the ways that the rainbow has been misused, many Christians find
themselves resenting or pulling away from the rainbow. That’s a shame! That’s a
victory for Satan in itself. For in setting aside the rainbow we are setting
aside one of God’s great signs and promises.
It’s time to reclaim the rainbow.
But first we need to go back to
the Flood.
The Flood was a judgment of God upon a world where the wickedness of
man was great and every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually (Genesis 6:5-7). The wickedness of man was so bad that the Lord was
sorry that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him to His heart. So,
the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the
land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am
sorry that I have made them” (Genesis 6:7).
“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8). Noah was
a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God; he was
publicly known to worship the Lord. A major part of Noah’s walk with God was
the rearing of three God-fearing sons during such godless times.
But God is longsuffering. He delayed the judgment, waited for
repentance and faith for 120 years—alas, in vain! During those 120 years, the
world had Noah “as a preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5) who condemned the
world because of its unbelief and its unrighteousness (Hebrews 11:7). Noah’s building
of the ark served as an object lesson preaching the impending judgment. But
even all this left them unmoved. I can imagine the laughter as Noah built a big
boat on dry land: “When had the earth ever had a Flood of such proportions to
drown all living things?” asked the climate change deniers. “Fake news!” charged
the skeptics. “You can’t make me get on that boat!” said the anti-arkers.
But the fountains of the deep had burst forth. The windows of heaven
were opened. Rain fell for 40 days and 40 nights, covering all the earth, wiping
out every living creature of flesh from the earth, except for the eight humans
and their vast menagerie locked safely inside the ark.
For nearly a year, Noah, his crew, and cargo, floated the world. As
many of you can relate in a small way, it’s not easy to go back out in the
world after a year of lockdown. For Noah’s family, that adjustment was even more
difficult. They had nothing to come back to. The world that they had known was gone.
Death and decay were piled up all around. Everything had changed. Even the
climate!
“Previous to the Flood, the earth was watered by streams or mists which
came up through the ground (Genesis 2:6). Now the earth will be watered by rain
from the heavens. Consider for a moment the perspective of Noah. He is 601
years old, and it has only rained once in his lifetime—and that was a BIG ONE! When
it rains the next time there is no doubt he will suffer from some anxiety!”[iv]
God, in His wisdom and grace, knew this and gave Noah, his whole family,
and every living creature a word of assurance as they set out on their new life—by
means of a covenant. Think of it! God actually obligated Himself to observe the
terms of a solemn contract: Never again a Flood!
In addition to His words, God gave them a visible sign as a seal of His
promise. “I have set My bow in the cloud.” Whenever the rainbow appears, God
remembers His covenant. And whenever the rainbow appears, all of Noah’s
descendants are reminded that God is faithful to His promise.
God’s words are sure. They cannot be broken. Yet God never settles for
just words. For centuries He promised salvation and eternal life. But then, once
again, He made the abstract concrete. That Word, who was with God from the
beginning, “was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory” (John
1:14). Jesus, a spirit, by nature, became a human being and lived among us. His
life, death, and resurrection saved us from our sins and gave us the gift of
eternal life[v]
Which brings us back to today and reclaiming the rainbow.
Most people believe the world in Noah’s day was so horrifically immoral
that God had no choice but to destroy it. The Scriptures do point out that the
people in Noah’s day were “ungodly” (2 Peter 2:5). However, even after the Flood,
the Lord said, “the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Genesis
9:21). Like every man, woman, and child since the Fall of Adam and Eve, we are all
children of wrath, born and conceived in sin and iniquity.
So, why save only Noah and his family? The problem God had with the
people of Noah’s day was this: They simply refused to hear God’s “preacher of
righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5). Doesn’t this sound like many situations today?
Yes, it does! That’s why Christ’s words are very important for you and your
family. Why? Even if you and your children are living by the standards our
current culture considers “acceptable,” be careful! You and your family will
never be judged by local standards of morality or ethics. Rather, you will be
judged on Judgment Day.
On Judgment Day, God has appointed Christ to judge all people using His
standards, the same standards He used to judge all people in Noah’s day. The
people in Noah’s Day refused to receive, and participate in, God’s plan of
salvation through the flood waters and the ark. Today, God specifically states:
He saves people through His miracle of Baptism (1 Peter 3:21). Yet, as in Noah’s
day, most people reject God’s way of salvation.
The people in Noah’s day saw how God intended to save people from the
coming Flood. They thought it was totally ridiculous. They rejected God’s way. Despite
God’s warning, “They were unaware until the Flood came and swept them all away”
(Matthew 24:39a). Christ says: “So will be the coming of the Son of Man”
(Matthew 24:39b).
There may be things in the Bible that are unclear (2 Peter 3:16). Yet,
one thing Christ teaches clearly and repeatedly: God has already arranged for a
Day of Judgment, at which time all people who ever lived will be judged (Acts
17:31). Therefore, do not do as the people in Noah’s day as they refused to
enter God’s ark of salvation. Rather, with your family and loved ones, enter
God’s ark of salvation. Be baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 22:16). Through
God’s miracle of Baptism, be “united” to Christ and His sin-cleansing blood,
and His death-defeating resurrection (Romans 6:6-11). God invites you to His
ark of salvation, through the miracle of Baptism. “Baptism now saves you” (1
Peter 3:21).[vi]
There’s no doubt that there are many things happening that are
troubling to those of us who value God’s Word and are concerned over the
spiritual welfare of our nation. But our concern should not lead to despair.
These challenges present tremendous opportunity for the Gospel. But we will
lose these opportunities if we do not remember God’s promises and set our
hearts on His Word.
One place we can turn our present circumstances into opportunities to witness
of Christ is how our culture is currently using the rainbow as a symbol. We
should always remember that the rainbow is a sign of God’s mercy—after all, He
created it as a way of remembering. Was the world before the Flood better or
worse than the world now? Wasn’t it so filled with horrible sins—even disgusting
sexual sins—that the Lord regretted ever creating mankind?
The waters of the Flood were filled with God’s wrath… and with His
grace. After it had cleansed the earth, God set the rainbow in the sky with His
promise to the few whom He had delivered through its waters that He would never
again destroy the Earth with a Flood because of sin—no matter how bad that sin
became. Every time we see a rainbow in the sky, it reminds us of God’s mercy
and grace. Doesn’t it make sense to use the rainbows appearing elsewhere for
other purposes to speak God’s Word to those who are perishing in their sins?[vii]
We can voice our outrage and disgust at building, bridges, and landmarks—including
publicly-owned properties like the White House—being lit up in rainbow colors.
But our rants only further separate and disenfranchise us from those who are
celebrating the public sanction of their sins. Wouldn’t it be better to make use
of these rainbows to speak of the God who created the rainbow to display His
mercy and who now provides a Flood to wash away the sin that destroys?[viii]
Things are bad. They’re likely to get worse. Whenever sin is condoned,
sanctioned, and celebrated in a culture, ruin and destruction are certain to
follow. But even more certainly, the Church endures and remains—and often prospers—in
the midst of the ravages of sin when God’s people remember His promises and
hold fast to His Word.[ix]
Rise up, brothers and sisters in Christ. Answer the call to proclaim
the One who has washed us in the Flood of Baptism, set His promises over us,
and has placed us in this place and time to bear witness of His love, mercy,
and grace to sinners—and speak of rainbows.[x]
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture
quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001
by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by
permission. All rights reserved.
[i]
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/rainbow/
[ii]
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rainbow-pride-flag-history_n_5b193aafe4b0599bc6e124a0
[iii]
https://truediscipleship.com/gay-pride-rainbow-or-gods-rainbow/
[iv]
https://www.1517.org/articles/old-testament-genesis-98-17-pentecost-9-series-b
[v]
Rossow, Francis. Gospel Handles: Finding New Connections in Old Testament
Lessons. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing
House, 2014. 22
[vi]
“As in the Days of Noah,” Good News Issue 43, 32.
[vii]
https://reporter.lcms.org/2015/speaking-of-rainbows/
[viii]
https://reporter.lcms.org/2015/speaking-of-rainbows/
[ix]
https://reporter.lcms.org/2015/speaking-of-rainbows/
[x]
https://reporter.lcms.org/2015/speaking-of-rainbows/
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