What Does the Rainbow Really Mean?
By Rev. Kyle Norman
“Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” (Genesis 3:16)
When I was a young boy, I was almost hit by a car. I was walking my bike across a busy intersection; one I crossed each day on my home from school. Suddenly, I heard a loud screech, and the bike went careening out of my hands. I missed being it by the narrowest of margins. I stood motionless in the middle of the busy street until an adult scooped me up and walked me to the side. Physically, I was fine. The car hadn’t hit me, and there wasn’t a scratch on me. But for close to a month afterward, whenever I heard the squeal of tires, I would freeze. I would have a visceral reaction to the sound of squealing tires.
Have you ever wondered how Noah felt the first time a storm came after he exited the ark? After all, he had been through something traumatic. The world as he knew it flooded in divine judgment. Only he and his family remained. How would he have responded the first time there was thunder and lightning, or the first time dark clouds covered everything? How might Noah have responded that very first time it seemed to rain for a little bit longer than he would have liked? Did he start fearing that the flood would be repeated? Did waves of fear flood him that maybe, he had done something to anger God, and release God’s vengeance upon the earth? I imagine that the first time it rained, Noah might have stood still, viscerally reacting to the drops of rain he was feeling. Frankly, if it were me, this would have been my reaction.
This is why the bow in the sky is so important. The rainbow isn’t just some pretty image that we get to paint on nursery walls and put on the cover of children’s Bibles. The rainbow is a dramatic sign that God’s promises are in effect. It is a testimony to God’s presence and purpose in life, and every time a rainbow is displayed, God says, “I remember my covenant.”
But does this mean that God is in danger of forgetting the covenant? After all, we only use tools for remembrance if we are in danger of forgetting, right? We might set an alarm to remind me to begin a task or place a note on our desks for the next day; people use blister packs and pillboxes to help them remember important medication. We employ such tactics because, sometimes, we are prone to forget things – even important things.
Is this true of God? God says, “I will set my bow in the clouds, so that whenever I see it I will remember the everlasting covenant.” Is God in danger of forgetting? If we have too many days without a rainbow, might the covenant of love and grace completely escape God’s mind?
No. The rainbow isn’t a divine pillbox or alarm to jog God’s memory. Because if God needs to be reminded of the covenant, therefore indicating that God might forget it, then the covenant really isn’t eternal, is it? The word “remembrance” here means to remember the covenant. It declares that God is acting on the covenant in a present way – manifesting the dynamics of the eternal relationship in the here and the now. Through the rainbow, God declares to Noah, the earth, and all of us the reality of grace, love, and forgiveness.
The big thing that we need to recognize is that the rainbow in the sky is not for God’s benefit but for Noah’s. In response to Noah’s fear, worry, or any lingering doubt of God’s goodness, God declares to Noah that, in this moment, I am expressing my covenant with you. And in doing so, it called Noah, his children, and all future generations to respond to it. While God is not in danger of forgetting the covenant… Noah might be.
Intersecting Faith and Life:
We all know that, at times, the struggles of life can make it hard to rely on God’s goodness. Are there places where you are tempted to forget God’s promise to you? Does God’s grace seem distant or far removed? It can be easy to fall into such temptations. Sometimes, it becomes far too easy to focus on the looming clouds of dark that might come a bit too close – and depending on our experiences, depending on what we carry with us, we might find it easy to believe that God has forgotten God’s promises to us.
God sends the rainbow as a sign of God’s gracious love, a love that understands our tendency to fear and worry – and so the rainbow is an act of grace, not just in the message that God will not destroy the earth by flood again, but in the constant reminder that we don’t need to fear. Because the rainbow points beyond the clouds, beyond the darkness, to a reality of God’s grace that, while we might not see it every moment, is always present. Because no matter what, we walk in the light of God shines upon us.
For Further Reading:
Genesis 9:1-17
God's Beautiful and Lasting Symbol of the Rainbow
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Biletskiy Evgeniy
The Reverend Dr. Kyle Norman is the Rector of St. Paul’s Cathedral, located in Kamloops BC, Canada. He holds a doctorate in Spiritual formation and is a sought-after writer, speaker, and retreat leader. His writing can be found at Christianity.com, crosswalk.com, ibelieve.com, Renovare Canada, and many others. He also maintains his own blog revkylenorman.ca. He has 20 years of pastoral experience, and his ministry focuses on helping people overcome times of spiritual discouragement.
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