The Covenant

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. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." (Genesis 9:12-16 ESV)

In my morning devotion I read through this passage and was amazed at what I read. I had never gotten it before in all the times I have either read or heard it. The rainbow is a sign of God's covenant between Him and all the people of the earth. A covenant that He will never flood the earth again, a promise to His creation.

But take a look at what I have emphasized in the passage. Notice the word I in both lines. Not only is this a reminder to us, but God says it will remind Him of His promise to us. As a parent I understand.  I know on many occasions either my wife or I will say "it's a good thing you are so cute ". I am sure you have been there. So many times you get upset with your children, but when you look at them you see God's love and you can forgive.

That all makes more sense now. As sinful as we are, God still loves us and created signs that He would recognize to ensure He keeps His covenant with us. similarly we wear wedding bands to remind us of our covenant to our spouse. We will all be better off when we go back and remember what got us here. God breathed life into us, our mothers gave birth to us, our parents raised us, we fell in love with our spouses, we decided to have children.

Think about these things when things get rough, when we are down on our luck. Always remember God's promise.