The Bow is in the Clouds

Please read Genesis 7-9 prior to today’s devotional.

God said, “This is the symbol of the covenant that I am drawing up between me and you and every living thing with you, on behalf of every future generation. I have placed my bow in the clouds; it will be the symbol of the covenant between me and the earth.” –Genesis 9:12-13

Today’s scripture reading introduces us to Noah. Chapters 7-8 are about God telling Noah to build and fill the ark with animals and his family. Noah did as he was told. It rained 40 days and nights. The water rose. The ark rose and then floated for almost a year. At one point, Noah decided to test to see if it was time to come out of the ark. They sent out a dove and it returned because it had nowhere to land. Noah waited seven more days and sent out the dove again. This time, the dove came back with an olive branch (perhaps symbolic of peace). Still, Noah decided it was not time to disembark. He waited seven more days and sent out the dove again. This time, the dove did not return, leading Noah to presume that “There must be ground out there on which the dove has landed.” So they disembarked, had a worship service, and gave thanks to God for their lives. Then God started a conversation with Noah (this gets us to chapter 9).

Chapter 9 is broken into two parts: the blessing (verses 1-7) and then a promise. I’m drawn more to the promise this morning.

God makes a covenant that is with not only Noah, but with every living thing. This covenant is significant. First, let's answer the question: what is a covenant? A covenant is a promise, a contract. Modern day examples of covenants include: marriage (you make a promise to spend the rest of your life together), mortgage (you sign something that says that the bank will let you live in a house while you pay them the money for it), and service contracts (companies agree to come out and check your appliances for a certain period of time).

In verse 11, the covenant that God makes is that never again will there be a flood that will completely destroy.

Why was the rainbow chosen as a sign of the covenant? The original Hebrew word doesn’t say “rainbow.” It just says a bow in the clouds. Now it’s a logical conclusion to say “rainbow” but many scholars say that the use of the word “bow” in the original language is quite intentional.

If you were an archer and you had a bow, what would be the primary use of the bow? For hunting and killing, of course! Yes, a bow can be used for recreational purposes but back then the primary use of a bow was to hunt or to kill.

If what God actually did was place His hunting bow up in the clouds, what symbolism does that hold? If you’ve ever watched a television show when someone holds a weapon up in the air, one of the things that decision communicates is “I come in peace. I mean you no harm.” When God puts His bow up in the air, one of the things that act could be communicating is, “I come in peace. I will not harm you. Floods may come but they will never again completely destroy.”

What floods are you dealing with in your own life right now? Some of you are facing floods because of bad decisions that you’ve made. Some of you are facing the flood that comes from the death of a loved one. Some of you are facing the flood that comes from a bad CT scan or a broken relationship. Some of you are in the midst of a flood that began with a pink slip and a slow economy. Floods still come and they still threaten to overtake and overwhelm.

The good news is that God is in the midst of the flood with you. These treacherous waters will subside. They may not subside as quickly as you would like. Remember, Noah had to send the dove out three times before it was safe to assume that the flood waters had gone down. But the bow is in the air. The promise has been made. This flood will not completely destroy.

That’s the only way that I can face the floods of life…knowing that I am not alone and the promises of God are more powerful than the floods I’m facing. May God grant us the grace to find comfort in that promise today.