The Rainbow Covenant

Genesis 9: 8-17
Length: 22:46

This is a message given on March 22, 2009 at the Homer City United Methodist Church for the Indiana District Lay School - Advanced Lay Speaking Class.

We don’t hear much preaching on the Old Testament these days, but it is part of God’s Word and it is important to read and understand it. There is a lot of imagery and “types” of Christ depicted throughout the Old Testament. We need to remember that the message of the Old Testament prophets point to Jesus. They preached a message of repentance, as did John the Baptist, Jesus, and the apostles. It is the same message we need to preach today.

Our scripture reading this morning picks up right after the flood. Of course, we know in the beginning God created Heaven and Earth, then man, then they ate the apple and oh boy. Down hill from there. Sin entered the world and man became evil and corrupt.

But this man Noah, however, was a righteous man. Not by his works, but because he believed in God as Creator, and Savior from his sin. He found grace in God, because he humbled himself. So, God told Noah to build an Ark.

It is interesting, as we know, only the people and animals that were on the Ark survived the flood. There was only one way to be saved from the flood. Sounds like our situation today, doesn’t it? There is only one way of salvation for us too.

Anyways, even though it had never rained before, Noah obeyed God and built the ark. The rains started, the heavens broke loose and for forty days and forty nights there was rain. Eventually, the water subsides and Noah sends the dove out and when it doesn’t return Noah knew it was about time to head out of the ark and back onto the earth.

Noah exits the ark, sees the devastation and destruction all around him and the first thing he does is…..build an alter to worship God. Picking up in chapter 9 verses 1-7 we see God instructing Noah. God tells Noah to be fruitful and multiply, rule the earth, eat meat, but not the blood (this simply means to eat dead animals not living ones), and to establish capital punishment for taking another man’s life.

Now, in verses 8-17, God is again speaking to Noah and is telling him what He will do. God establishes His covenant with Noah, God gives them the sign, and then summarizes the covenant with them.

What is the covenant?
God promised Noah that he will never destroy the earth by water or a flood again. See, before the flood, from what I understand there was never any rain. The earth had some type of vapor barrier or canopy. Now I don’t know all the details of what this canopy was like, some say it was a layer of ice, all I know is what scripture says and it calls it an expanse. Gen 1:7 “And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.”

At any rate, this barrier in the sky apparently minimized the harmful effects of the sun and had some type of tropical like effect on the world. This is partially why people lived to be almost 1,000 years old and animals were able to live a long time and grow very large. There was no need for rain, the hydrological cycle worked differently.

But at the flood, the people of earth saw rain for the first time. Noah saw rain for the first time. And it was a massive, destructive force. So if someone were to ask Noah what he thought of rain as soon as he got off the ark, he would probably have flipped out and shouted “Rain? Where?, Everyone, back on the boat.”

So, no doubt he didn’t like it. He saw the death, devastation, and destruction it caused. Rain was no good to Noah, but as we know rain is a vital part of our life today. So God makes this covenant with Noah telling him the world will not be destroyed by rain again. So there was no need to fear rain.

Now, usually, when we think of a covenant, we think of an agreement between two parties. The Untied States agrees to not point its missiles at Russia as long as Russia agrees not to point their missiles at us. Each side gets something.

God’s covenant, however, with Noah is different. It is completely one sided. God does not say if you do this, I will do this. God simply says, “I will not destroy the earth by water again” This is a covenant for the blessing of man from the mercy of God. For man’s life from the grace of God. It is an unconditional unilateral covenant from God.

Isn’t that wonderful? But Who is this covenant with?
Obviously, Noah and his family, but it extends to all generations of Noah. Remember, during the flood, everything was destroyed except for the things on the Ark. Which included Noah, his wife, their three sons and their wives. That is a total of 8 people. God’s covenant extends to them, but also to their offspring, which includes us today.

Notice though, God did not limit His covenant to just us. He also included all of the animals in the world too. What an awesome God. It is also interesting to note this is a universal covenant, meaning everybody is included.

How do we know He will keep his covenant? God says he will put his bow in the sky so that he will remember His covenant with the world. Notice it says bow. This is because God is viewed as a warrior. That isn’t a image we normally think of today is it? But it is true, look at Exodus 15:3, it says “The LORD is a warrior, The LORD is His name.” (Moses and sons of Israel sang)

A bow is a weapon as in a bow and arrow. The people of biblical times would see this bow in the sky and know that God has hung up his weapon. Today, we call it a rainbow and it occurs when light is refracted (bent because of a change in speed or direction) through moisture in the atmosphere.

When people look at a rainbow they may think of many things. Like wow, look at the pretty colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet). Or maybe they run to find the little lepricon and pot of gold at the end of it. Or maybe they think of homosexuals using it as the symbol of their perversions.

We as Christians really should be looking at it and saying thanks be to God for His covenant with us. God says He gives us this sign so that He remembers His covenant with us. But, God doesn’t need the rainbow to remind him of His covenant. He puts that rainbow in the sky, so that we know He still remembers His covenant with us. It is a sign of mercy, grace, peace, and love from God. Every time you look at a rainbow you can see God’s grace, even though humanity deserves God’s wrath and judgment.

Finally, God’s covenant is an everlasting covenant, meaning He will never destroy the world by flood again. Sure it is going to rain and storm in places and they will be destroyed by water and storm damage, but He will not destroy the world by flood again. Yes, He is going to destroy the world in the future, but not by flood or water. Yes, the polar ice-caps will melt, but that will not be the ultimate cause of destruction to the world.

How is the earthy going to be destroyed?
2 Peter 3:10-11 (day of the Lord)
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

Rev 20:9 (Satanic Rebellion Crushed)
9And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them.

Rev 21:1
1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.

Sadly, as we know, the flood did not eradicate sin from this world. In fact, just a few verses after this covenant, Noah planted a vineyard and got drunk and naked. Ham, Noah’s son, saw this and had either a sinful thought or possibly actions.

Sin was still there after the flood and is still here today. God is going to destroy this world again and the unrepentant sinners who have not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their life will be judged.

So what is the point of all this?

Well think about it, which came first, the flood or the rainbow covenant? The flood, right? Why did God send the flood? Because of the evil, sinfulness of the people. God sent his Holy wrath upon the earth, for vengeance and judgment of their sins. Why? Because of His perfect righteousness and holiness.

The rainbow covenant, shows and reminds us of God’s love, His mercy, His grace, His peace, and His patience.

God is indeed a God of love, but make no mistake He is a God of wrath. His judgment will one day again be poured out on this earth, by fire. Knowing this, shouldn’t we be living holy and godly lives?

If you haven’t been living the life God wants you to live, take the time today to repent, change your life and live your life to God’s glory.

Let the rainbow remind you of not only God’s love, but His wrath as well.

Closing prayer:
Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time spent in your Word today. We thank you for your Word, and that it has been so well preserved over these many years. We thank you for your Holiness and perfect dealings with us. We thank you for your covenant with us. Help us to see not only your love as we look at the rainbow, but also the righteous judgment you deal to evil. We thank you most of all for sending your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ to die on the cross to pay for our sins. It is in His name we give thanks and is due all honor and glory, now and forever. AMEN.

Politics and the Christian

When you do a search on the word politics or political in the Bible (ESV) you get zero matches. The Bible doesn’t use those words, but the Bible does, however, have some things to say about government and a Christian’s behavior.

There are many verses on government and the life of a believer, but the passage that keeps jumping out at me is Romans 13:1-7 (ESV).
Verse 1 “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”

Isn’t that powerful? God has instituted the governments that exist and we are to obey them (provided, of course, that the government is not issuing orders that are in direct violation of God’s Word).

Think about it, God is telling us (through Paul, the inspired writer of Romans) that we are to obey and respect (verse 7) every position of authority in our lives. This involves the government over its citizens, the Church over its members, parents over their children, and even bosses over their workers.

Governments are here to reward or promote good and restrain and discipline evil. The question is: what is good and what is evil. Christians should be able to answer that with ease.

God expects us to speak out against the evils of society, but we need to do it in a godly and law abiding manner. Two great examples of this life are Daniel and Paul.

As Christians, we are to proclaim the Gospel to the world. We are given that commission in Matthew. Many Christians are politically active and there if nothing wrong with that in itself. The problem arises when a Christian is more concerned with politics than with the Gospel.

We know there are problems with our government and our leaders. They are not perfect. However, we are to hate the sin, not the sinner. Too often, Christians turn people away from the Gospel rather than turn them to it.

Instead of focusing our time and attention on changing or influencing laws, let’s spend our time on changing lives with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We need to remember to consistently pray for our leaders so that they may have the will of God revealed in their life. Does your life show the transforming power of the Gospel?

What Happened to John-Mark?

As I was reading Acts a while ago, I started wondering what happened to (John) Mark.

Here is the scene:
Barnabas and Paul take Mark with them on their first missionary journey. They traveled from town to town proclaiming the Good News.

But then they arrive at Perga and something happened. Scripture tells us that Mark left and returned to Jerusalem.

A while later, Barnabas and Paul are ready to make another missionary trip. Barnabas was adamant about taking Mark with them, but Paul refused. Consequently, Barnabas and Paul split up and went their separate ways.

Barnabas takes Mark and Paul takes Silas. Whatever happened, Paul takes a tough stance toward Mark, whereas Barnabas takes a more comforting approach to Mark’s desertion of them.

Mark’s desertion really hit Paul hard and personally. Doesn’t this happen to us sometimes in our life and our church?

We have a good friend, a strong supporter, or a faithful church member, but then something happens. It seems like they desert us or maybe we desert them.

It is difficult to deal with. Feelings get hurt. People hold on to their pride, but for what? Isn’t it usually over trivial matters that really won’t matter for eternity?

Well, what happened to John Mark?

I don’t know for sure, but I do know that he was reconciled with Paul and became a strong, godly man. No doubt Peter guided Mark into the godly man Paul saw. After all, Peter was no stranger to failure either.

Paul confirms this near the end of his life in 2 Timothy 4:11. Paul tells Timothy to bring Mark since he is profitable for ministry.

What can we learn from this? We need to seek out those people that deserted us in our lives or church and restore that relationship. The same holds true if we were the ones that deserted them. Let’s not wait until the end of our lives or the end of their life before seeking that restoration.

The relationship is more important than who was “right” or “wrong” on the trivial things of life.

Nowhere in the New Testament gospels will you find Jesus saying that the first order of things is always to be right. But He does have a great deal to say about forgiveness, about relationships, about reconciliation, about service and humility and vulnerability.

Let us remember that and restore those broken or strained relationships in our lives.

Contentment

We often complain about the everyday annoyances of life. “It is too hot or too crowded to be out.” “I have a stupid meaningless job or I am not paid enough for the work I do.”

These are comments I have heard many times and quite honestly probably said a few times myself!

How can we be content in this world today? We see the people around us continue to want and get more and more that it is easy for us to get caught up in the worldly excitement of it ourselves.

Big screen TV’s with 150 channels. Cars that go from 0-60 in 4 seconds. Clothing that is so stylish you just gotta have it. We always seem to want more and it seems that we learn this at a very young age today.

But, the Bible tells us that believers should demonstrate contentment in their lives. We find this in Old Testament passages like Psalm 37:16 “A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked.” and New Testament passages like 1 Timothy 6:8 “And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content”.

Do you realize that there are indeed many people around the world that would be content to simply have food and clothing? Most of us can probably go to our closet and find clothing that we don’t even wear or to the pantry and find plenty of food.

We are also to be content with our wages and with the things that we have. Paul learned this lesson. He wrote to the church in Philippi that he learned to be content with whatever the situation he was in. (When Paul wrote the letter he was probably in a Roman prison.)

We know people who love money and will not be satisfied with more money. Money is not the secret. In fact, there really isn’t a secret to contentment.

Being content is simply trusting in the fact that God is watching over you and taking care of you.

In whatever our situation, we need to constantly remember that Christ will never leave us nor forsake us.

God may not always get us out of trouble, but He will always see us through it. (Think of Daniel and his friends.)

As we go back to our Fall/Winter routines, we need to remember that God is in control of this world. He allows things to happen for reasons that we cannot understand.

We need to simply trust and obey. Be content with whatever situation you are in and realize God has His hands in it and is playing a part in your life.

Need some inspiration and evidence of God at work in people’s lives?

Read the story of Joseph in Genesis. As I am sure you are aware, Joseph goes from slave to prime minister.

“Bad” things can and do happen to us, but God is always there. Remember that and you should have no problems being content in your situation.

I’ll Do It Tomorrow!

Procrastination can be described as putting off or postponing something you can and should do today until tomorrow. There are many causes of procrastination, such as, misplaced priorities, self-interest, and mistaken assumptions, like there will be a tomorrow for you.

We all realize the need to trust and obey God each and everyday. You need to spend enough time in conversation with God to get a sense of the direction your life should be moving in.

One great habit to start this year is to be consciously aware of God’s presence and your dependence on Him. James 4:8, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

Another is to get into the habit of immediate obedience to what you know to be God’s will for you. Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”

If you want to get more involved in your church, do it today. If you feel drawn to a particular ministry (homeless, prison, shut-in, or whatever) get involved today.

If you want to live a more faithful Christian life, read through the Epistle of James this month. In it you will find many wise and direct statements about Christian living with a practical emphasis. Do it today!

Confused by the real meaning and events of Christmas?

Renew your mind with the meaningful events of Christmas this year. Read the following verses in the order listed below to get a chronological review of the birth of Christ.

Mark 1:1
Luke 1:1-4
John 1:1-18
Matthew 1:1-17 & Luke 3:23-38
Luke 1:5-25
Luke 1:26-38
Luke 1:39-45
Luke 1:46-56
Luke 1:57-66
Luke 1:67-80
Matthew 1:18-25 & Luke 2:1-7
Luke 2:8-20
Luke 2:21-24
Luke 2:25-35
Luke 2:36-40
Matthew 2:1-12
Matthew 2:13-18
Matthew 2:19-23

A chronological Bible can really help “put it all together.” It enables you to easily read the Bible as a single story and see God’s plan unfold throughout history. Tyndale, publishers of the “One Year” series of Bibles, sells a One Year Chronological Bible that would make a great gift for anyone!

Advent Bible Study

This is a bible study I wrote for a 3 or 4 week Advent study. You may use this and make any modifications needed. I do ask that you leave a message here letting me know you used it and if it was helpful for you and your group.

You can download the word file by clicking here.

You can download the PDF file by clicking here.