Gênesis 9

Gênesis 9

Morgan - —Gen. 9.13. Thus God selected one of the already existing and most beautiful of natural phenomena, and made it the abiding sign of the covenant He had made with man. Apart from clouds and rain there can be no bow. But the bow is never seen on the clouds, except when the sun is shining. In view of the instrument of the judgment through which the earth had just passed, that of the rain and the flood, this was an exquisitely fitting symbol of that covenant made with man by the God of mercy and of grace. The context shows us the use to be made of it. Necessarily when seen in the cloud it would speak to man of this covenant, and without any doubt that was within the mind of God. But that is not the purpose for its adoption as a sign which is stated in the story. It is rather that God said: "The bow shall be seen in the cloud, and I will remember My covenant" (verses 14, 15); and that is still further emphasized by the words, "The bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember" (verse r6). The full value of the bow in the cloud, then, was not so much that when man looked at it he remembered the covenant; but rather that he remembered that God was looking and remembering. That touches a deeper note, and creates a profounder sense of peace. When next we see the rainbow, let us remind ourselves that we are looking at something at which God is looking, and that as He looks He remembers. Rainbows I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. —Genesis 9:13 Today's Scripture: Genesis 9:1-17 Do you like to look at rainbows? When you see a rainbow, have you ever thought that God is looking at it too? The next time that multicolored spectrum of beauty bends over the landscape, take time to view it in the light of God’s promise to Noah: “The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature” (Gen. 9:16). The rainbow was a reminder of God’s gracious pledge that He would never again destroy the earth with water. A worse calamity, though, is coming. Peter warned, “The heavens and the earth . . . are reserved for fire until the day of judgment” (2 Pet. 3:7). The rainbow, seen against the clouds of judgment, spoke of grace. But the rainbow fades when compared to God’s grace shown at Calvary. At the cross, God’s wrath against sin was placed on Jesus Christ, the believer’s substitute. When the Light of the world met the storm clouds of judgment at Calvary, a beautiful bow of promise and forgiveness came into view. And one day believers will gather around God’s rainbow-circled throne (Rev. 4:1-3). Rainbow Halo My rainbow . . . will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Genesis 9:13 Today's Scripture & Insight: Genesis 9:12–17 On a hike in the mountains, Adrian found himself above some low-lying clouds. With the sun behind him, Adrian looked down and saw not only his shadow but also a brilliant display known as a Brocken spectre. This phenomenon resembles a rainbow halo, encircling the shadow of the person. It occurs when the sunlight reflects back off the clouds below. Adrian described it as a “magical” moment, one that delighted him immensely. We can imagine how similarly stunning seeing the first rainbow must have been for Noah. More than just a delight to his eyes, the refracted light and resulting colors came with a promise from God. After a devastating flood, God assured Noah, and all the “living creatures” who’ve lived since, that “never again [would] the waters become a flood to destroy all life” (Genesis 9:15). How does God’s promise reassure you in the midst of weather-related catastrophes? Who in your life needs your reflection of God’s glory? Thank You, God, for Your faithfulness to protect and provide for me by sustaining the natural laws of Your creation. Help me to reflect Your glory to those around me. RAINBOW - Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (page 2334) - A rainbow is a strikingly beautiful atmospheric phenomenon. It is an arc of colors, displaying the spectrum, which appears occasionally at the tail end of a rainstorm as the sun breaks through clouds. The rainbow takes on potent symbolic force in the Bible, beginning with the aftermath of the flood. After the waters recede and Noah and his family once again stand on solid ground, God reaffirms his covenant relationship with them. The rainbow becomes “the sign of the covenant” (Gen 9:12) between God and Noah. As such, it epitomizes the new relationship that exists between human beings and their Creator. The Hebrew word for rainbow is the same word that is used to refer to the bow as a military weapon (qe̱et). The idea implied in the Genesis passage seems to be that God has taken the weapon that he has used to judge his creatures and hung it in the sky. When humans see a rainbow after a storm, they are to be reassured that “never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life” (Gen 9:15 NIV). In this passage, then, the rainbow becomes an image of God’s mercy and peace after the storm of judgment. Interestingly, the passage itself indicates that the bow is a reminder to God (Gen 9:16). This is best understood as an anthropomorphism, whose actual intention is to calm human fears. Ezekiel begins his prophecy with a description of an awesome appearance of God, surrounded by radiance “like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day.… This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD” (Ezek 1:28 NIV). It is likely that this alludes back to Genesis 9 and indicates that God will exercise his mercy in the context of his judgment of the people for their sins. The same may be said of the two occurrences of the rainbow image in the book of Revelation. In Revelation 4:3 we have a context very similar to that of the Ezekiel passage, a divine throne theophany. John sees that “a rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne” (NIV). Interestingly—though this point is debated—the occurrence of the phenomenon in Revelation 10:1 is not associated with a divine figure, but with an angelic one. He is described as “robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars” (NIV). Here again, the allusion is to the covenant with Noah and the idea of God’s grace in the midst of his judgment, which is a recurrent theme in the book of Revelation. See also CLOUD; FLOOD; RAIN; STORM. QUESTION - What is the meaning of the rainbow? ANSWER - Biblically speaking, the rainbow is the sign of a covenant that God made with the whole earth: He will never destroy the earth again with a flood. The rainbow is literally correlated to rainfall. God made this covenant, with the rainbow as the token, after the waters of the flood receded and Noah and his family exited the ark. God said, “I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth. . . . This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 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 9:11–15). God made this promise, signified by the rainbow, not only to mankind but to “every living creature . . . the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark . . . every living creature on earth” (Genesis 9:9–10). The covenant is perpetual, enduring to all generations. Never again will there be a worldwide flood. The colors of the rainbow are sometimes used as a symbol of “gay pride.” This began in 1978 when an artist named Gilbert Baker designed and made a flag for the homosexual community in San Francisco. Baker’s original design had eight colors, and he assigned a meaning to each one: hot pink (sexuality), red (life), orange (healing), yellow (the sun), green (nature), turquoise (art), indigo (harmony), and violet (spirit). Subsequent designs sported seven and then six colors. Rainbow flags and banners, as used by the LGBTQ+ community, represent diversity, hope, and social action. There are other rainbow flags and banners that have nothing to do with the homosexual culture. For example, the Hawaii Ko Aloha Flag has nine colored stripes representing the islands that were inhabited before Western civilization arrived. Another example is the flag of the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls, a Masonic organization whose banner represents seven different virtues. The rainbow is God’s creation. We naturally delight in it. There is something awe-inspiring in the appearance of a rainbow after a storm. It is good and right that we rejoice in the rainbow as a God-ordained symbol of God’s faithfulness and mercy. The attempt of some to co-opt the colors for their own purposes does not diminish the beauty and wonder of what God has made. GotQuestions.org Genesis 9:14 "It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, Genesis 9 Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries RAINBOW IN THE CLOUD It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow (qeshet) will be seen in the cloud - Notice that God controls the weather including the clouds, water vapor and rainbows. Of course not every cloud brings a rainbow. That's not what God is saying. You have to read the next passage to understand that the point God is making is that every time there is a rainbow it reminds God of His covenant. THOUGHT - That God is reminded of His covenant every time there is a rainbow should also remind us of His faithfulness to always keep His covenants (all of them, most importantly the New Covenant). The Defender's Study Bible (BORROW) - The rainbow, requiring small water droplets in the air, could not form in the pre-diluvian world, where the high vapor canopy precluded rain (Genesis 2:5). After the Flood, the very fact that rainfall is now possible makes a worldwide rainstorm impossible, and the rainbow "in the cloud" thereby becomes a perpetual reminder of God's grace, even in judgment. Rainbow - Wikipedia - A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky.[1] The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc.[2] Rainbows caused by sunlight always appear in the section of sky directly opposite the Sun. Rainbows can be caused by many forms of airborne water. These include not only rain, but also mist, spray, and airborne dew. Rainbows can be full circles. However, the observer normally sees only an arc formed by illuminated droplets above the ground,[3] and centered on a line from the Sun to the observer's eye. In a primary rainbow, the arc shows red on the outer part and violet on the inner side. This rainbow is caused by light being refracted when entering a droplet of water, then reflected inside on the back of the droplet and refracted again when leaving it. In a double rainbow, a second arc is seen outside the primary arc, and has the order of its colours reversed, with red on the inner side of the arc. This is caused by the light being reflected twice on the inside of the droplet before leaving it. Rainbows can be observed whenever there are water drops in the air and sunlight shining from behind the observer at a low altitude angle. Because of this, rainbows are usually seen in the western sky during the morning and in the eastern sky during the early evening. The most spectacular rainbow displays happen when half the sky is still dark with raining clouds and the observer is at a spot with clear sky in the direction of the Sun. The result is a luminous rainbow that contrasts with the darkened background. During such good visibility conditions, the larger but fainter secondary rainbow is often visible. It appears about 10° outside of the primary rainbow, with inverse order of colours. C H