A Sign in the Sky

Genesis 9:8-17

Introduction

I remember when we first started having children, we went from store to store looking at setups for baby’s rooms. One of the most popular themes for babies was Noah’s Ark. You could get matching covers, blankets, toys, border, and just about anything else you could have imagines. And you did not have to just choose the theme, there were multiple styles within the Noah’s Ark  theme. Some people had obviously put a lot of thought into this. 

But perhaps not enough. Have you ever thought about this? The story of Noah and the flood is about the wrath of God that destroys countless humans and animals. It is actually a rather disturbing story. I can’t imagine that the people who were drowning as the Ark floated away were saying, “Look at the cute animals on the Ark, I hope someone captures that image for future generations.” I am not saying that is wrong to have Ark baby blankets, but in some ways we have lost the horror of what that story is trying to communicate.

You might push back and say that we are focusing on God’s grace in saving Noah’s family. That is fair as that is an important part of the story. But I cannot imagine their experience during the flood was all that fun. This was no pleasure cruise. Noah’s family must have been terrified. They really did not know fully what was going to happen.

Once the flood was over and the people were on land, God did fill them in a bit. You can imagine their anxiety as God has just killed everyone they knew for their sinfulness. Can they trust God? And as we continue reading past our passage, we see that Noah and his family had their issues and they were not pillars of moral perfection. You can imagine them looking for the next storm cloud and wondering when the next flood would be, perhaps this time without a warning to build an Ark. It is in the midst of that that we turn to our passage and see how God responds.

The First Covenant

Everyone has their favourite genre of movie and television. I must confess that for as long as I could remember, I have been drawn to the genre of post-apocalyptic. Post-apocalyptic is about what happens after the end of the world. Some of my favourites as a child were Planet of the Apes and Logan’s Run. How do the few survivors respond? Are they focused on rebuilding society or just living one more day? Will this bring about the best or the worst in humanity? Is this a new beginning or just a last blip before the final end?

In many ways, this passage of the Bible is a post-apocalyptic story. Their world has come to an end. There are only a handful of survivors. What will their future look like?

God starts this new chapter of humanity in a very surprising way. God establishes a covenant. What is a covenant? It is related to the idea of a contract but it is so much more. We enter into contracts all the time, often without much thought. A covenant is much closer to the idea of a marriage. In fact we often speak of a marriage covenant. When two people get married, it is not a simple contract of exchange of services, with one person taking out the garbage and the other washing the floors. A marriage is a covenant that establishes a relationship. The vows are more than a list of rules, they are the basis for a meaningful connection that is central for both parties.

And it is here in this passage that God enters into a covenant with Noah and his family. Actually it wider than that. God established this covenant with all living things, including animals, and this would continue to future generations. There were a number of things that were expected of humanity. This included a value for life, that included not eating meat with the blood in it and not killing human life. They were also commanded to be fruitful and multiply, for obvious reasons. However, this covenant was not just about what humans had to do. This was a mutual covenant that included promises from God. It may seem basic, but I ams sure it was very much on their minds, God promised to never destroy the world with a flood again. That is not to say that God’s wrath would never appear again, but it would never be like the flood again. But how could humanity be sure of this? What if the people got really bad again?

God promised to take his bow and place it in the sky. This is like a retiring soldier putting away their assault rifle for the last time. God was making a permanent decision. The bow was set aside, never to be picked up again.

This is what we know as the rainbow. Have you ever noticed how much joy a rainbow still brings us today? After we have a big rainstorm, people rush to the windows to see the beautiful rainbow. Sometimes it is a glimpse in the sky, sometimes we see the full rainbow from end to end, and sometimes we get a double rainbow. Even if we are not thinking specifically of this story, there is a natural reaction. We have had all the uncertainty of the rainstorm and then when the sun comes out, the darkness is replaced with beauty. 

God refers to the rainbow as a sign of the covenant. We only see this reference to a sign of the covenant three times in the Old Testament. There is the sign of the rainbow with Noah, there is the sign of circumcision with Abraham, and there is the sign of the Sabbath with Moses. What we see with each of these covenants with their signs is that the covenant is expanded and deepened. This is reflecting of the evolving relationship between God and humanity. The relationship is getting deeper, although not without its problems. What we are supposed to see here is that humanity to God is not just some insect to be crushed. While there are things we do not like and do not understand, God desires to be in relationship with humanity because God loves us.

Our Covenant

This is not just a history lesson. This is not just about Noah or Abraham or Moses. Nor is is it just about the Hebrew people. God is still a covenant-making God and God desires to be in relationship with humanity. What does that look like?

Jesus, when he celebrated the Passover with his disciples for the last time took the cup and said: “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22:20) 

That covenant relationship that we have looked at has kept on expanding and in Jesus has reached its highest point. This covenant relationship, like the one with Noah, is open to all creation. And as the first covenant included a command by God for humans to not kill humans, the new covenant is initiated by humans killing the Son of God. It is through the shedding of Jesus’ blood, that we enter into this relationship with Jesus.  

There are a number of parallels between the first and new covenants. I began by talking about how disturbing the flood is, even if we like the idea of the Ark and use it for decorations. Similarly, the cross is something that is often used for jewelry and beautiful pieces of art, and yet the cross is disturbing. I suspect if you went back to the first century, people would be horrified that we use crosses as jewelry. That does not mean it is wrong for us to do that but we have lost the horror of the cross. And yet, like with the flood, God takes something ugly and turns it into something beautiful. 

Go back again to the rainbow. You never have just a beautiful day and then a sudden appearance of a rainbow. The rainbow only comes because there have been rain and clouds before it. This is so much like the new covenant. The beauty of our relationship with Jesus comes after the greatest darkness. What is this new covenant based upon? Despite the Reformation’s emphasis on grace, many Christians believe that our salvation is about meeting a certain standard. The truth is the new covenant is based on love. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. Jesus loved us so much that he died on the cross. The Holy Spirit loves us so much that Spirit enters us when we believe. What are we expected to do? We are to love. We are to love God. We are to love people, both inside and outside the church. It is all about love. God is not content to just be sovereign over the universe, God desires to be in relationship with his creation. That is literally good News.

Conclusion

I am looking for spring time for numerous reasons. But one of them is to get a nice thunderstorm and then watching the clouds part and the sun break through to create one of those beautiful rainbows. It is possible to look at a rainbow purely in scientific terms, the refraction of the sun’s rays. It s also possible to look at a rainbow in aesthetic terms, simply enjoying the colours that are represented. But perhaps there is another way to look at it. I have often been taught to see it as being about a wrathful God who will refrain from wrath, and there is some truth to that. But I think the deeper message is that the rainbow points to a God who wants to be in relationship with us. That is the core of the covenant. And as Christians, we are invited to participate in the new covenant, the covenant of love. Perhaps the next time we see a rainbow, we can reflect on how we can better show love toward God and toward other people.