⁸ Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, ⁹ “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, ¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. ¹¹ I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” ¹² And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: ¹³ I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.¹⁴ When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.¹⁶ When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”¹⁷ God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

1) What is the purpose of the covenant?
Noah and his family had just become the sole survivors of a world-wide flood; God’s purpose in making a covenant was for assurance and as a reminder of His extreme, undeserving mercy. The world deserved death and destruction because of their sin, but God showed mercy. He not only allowed Noah and his family to live because of their faith in God, but He also showed mercy in allowing life to continue despite the fact that He knew mankind and the earth would become just as corrupt and evil as it had been before the Flood. (see 8:21) Note that this promise does not mean that He would never allow flooding in the world, but rather that the entire world would not be flooded again at the same time.

2) What is the significance of a “sign” of the covenant?
In this time period of history, covenants were often sealed or “bound” by a physical, visible sign, declaring its authenticity and its value, while serving as a clear, visual reminder of that covenant. This sign in the sky was something only God could use for a sign, as mankind had no control over it. The rainbow declared that God has eternal control over everything in creation, from winds and rain to seasons to the hearts and souls of men and women; God has dominion over all. He is just as proven by the flood, and He is merciful, as proven by the continuation of life, of cycles, and the rainbow’s reminder of His covenant.

3) What other covenants are made between God and man and how do they relate to this one?
There are 7 covenants found in the Bible and they each have very interesting ties to one another while telling us a great deal about God and His plan for redemption. Right now, we will just look briefly at 2 others, the Abrahamic Covenant and the New Covenant. Both of these had “signs” associated with them. With the Abrahamic Covenant, the sign was circumcision, which was a physical cutting that was to represent a faith “cut” in the heart. In the New Covenant, the signs are the Last Supper (or Communion), Baptism, and finally, the gift of the Holy Spirit as a seal on our hearts.

1) What is the purpose of the covenant?
Just like in every other instance of a covenant being made between God and man, God is the one initiating it. Human beings have no ability to enter into a covenant with the Almighty without Him first inviting us. Praise God for His graciousness in extending love and mercy while we were still sinners separated from Him. Thank Him for first loving us, allowing us to enter into relationship with Him! This gives us confidence before Him because we know that it was absolutely never about our own ability that allowed us access to Him in the first place!

2) What is the significance of a “sign” of the covenant?
It can be easy for us as humans to look at God’s actions with the flood and see vengeance and wrath and no compassion, but this is a terribly skewed perspective of the Father God and of ourselves. God was rightly wrathful, because mankind had turned away from Him. They refused to see Him as their perfect Satisfier, as their Provider, they refused to acknowledge Him as Lord, and missed that He was a very good Father. This is where it gets real, sisters, in your everyday moments, where are you doing the same? Still putting all those heavy expectations on yourself for performance? Still insisting that you can find satisfaction if all the to-do lists are finished and you get approval from that person? Have you missed that He is your very good Father? The same one who showed mercy to Noah, is still showing mercy to you, Beloved!

3) What other covenants are made between God and man and how do they relate to this one?
The study of covenants in Scripture is quite interesting and would be a great topic to dive into for your personal quiet time. Here’s a website with references and a list of all seven to get you started! Remember as you study, that these covenants are incredible gifts that unequivocally declare that the Father God is full of love, of mercy, and is passionately in pursuit of a relationship with us!

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Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

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