S161P1 – Our God of covenant: one great flood
Gen. 9:12-17
And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
When we think about this covenant that God established by way of the rainbow in the sky, we might see it as him committing to never destroying his living creation again with a flood. After all, that is pretty much what He says to Noah. Never again will we see God bring a flood of water to do this kind of damage on the Earth. While this is correct, it is not the whole picture here. In order to understand what is really the substance of this covenant, we must go back to the reason God brought the flood in the first place. The waters and their destruction are only part of the story. The meaning of this great event and the resulting covenant rests in its catalyst.
The flood came as a response to the wickedness roaming free on the Earth. [6:5-7] God’s heart was grieved by what He saw, and He regretted creating us. That is pretty drastic. Imagine a parent regretting creating his or her child. That is the picture we get here. God was not pleased with what He saw, and that was a result of the corruption we brought into the world. When He said that He never will bring a flood to do that kind of damage again, I believe He was telling us that He would have a reason to do that again. The grief which broke his heart would resurface, but his response would be different. I believe God was saying that He will stay his hand when He is brought to such grief again because it is certain to happen.
Jesus described his return as being like the days of Noah and the days of Lot. [Lk. 17:26-36] In both instances, great evil was taking place on the Earth which brought about great destruction. We can expect the world to be in the same state when the King of Kings returns. The Father’s heart will be grieved, but He will relent and hold back the floodwaters. Instead, He will allow his Son to set things right. Until then, every rainbow in the clouds reminds God to stay his hand and wait for that day, no matter how evil and depraved his creation becomes. Let the listener’s heart be prepared. Father, we trust You not only to keep your covenant but also to keep us during the evil days we see today and those which are yet to come.