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After the Flood, a New Beginning
61
built an altar to God. His stock of cattle was small, yet he cheerfully
gave a part to the Lord to acknowledge that all was His. Likewise,
we should acknowledge His mercy toward us by devotion and gifts
to His cause.
[43]
The Rainbow—Sign of God’s Kindness
So that people would not fear another flood, the Lord encouraged
the family of Noah through a promise: “I establish My covenant
with you ... never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.
... I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the
covenant between Me and the earth. ... When I bring a cloud over
the earth, ... the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; ... and I will
look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and
every living creature.”
How great the condescension of God, and His compassion for
His wayward creatures!
This does not imply that God would ever forget, but He speaks
to us in terms that we can understand. When the children would ask
the meaning of the arch that spans the heavens, their parents were
to repeat the story of the Flood and tell them that the Most High
had placed it in the clouds as a promise that the waters would never
again overflow the earth. It would testify of divine love for humanity
and strengthen their confidence in God.
In heaven a likeness of the rainbow encircles the throne and
arches over the head of Christ (
Ezekiel 1:28
;
Revelation 4:2, 3
).
When humanity’s great wickedness invites divine judgments, the
Savior, interceding with the Father, points to the bow in the clouds,
to the rainbow around the throne, as a token of mercy toward the
repentant sinner.
“‘As I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover
the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor
rebuke you. ... My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My
covenant of peace be removed,’ says the Lord, who has mercy on
you” (
Isaiah 54:9, 10
).
As Noah looked at the powerful beasts of prey as they came
out of the ark, the Lord sent an angel with the assuring message:
“The fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of