the sign

Genesis 9

⁸ Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: ⁹ “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you ¹⁰ and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. ¹¹ 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.”

 ¹² And God said, “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: ¹³ I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵ 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. ¹⁶ 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.”

 ¹⁷ So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

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God speaks here to Noah and his sons, announcing a covenant so universal that it encompasses Noah, his family and all their descendents (i.e. the human race) and every other living creature that came out of the ark with them.

God has the starring role in this story, but what a cast list!  Even the birds and animals get a mention in the covenant promise.  Humanity has a special role, representing God and having authority over the other creatures yet still these other creatures are given value in the narrative, included as they are not just in the ark but in the following promise.

Never again shall all flesh be destroyed by a flood, never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.

God uses the natural phenomenon of the rainbow, the result of the light and clouds that he created, as a sign for this covenant.

When he sees it, he will remember his covenant with all living creatures.  Again - not a distant God or a bit part, but an involved God who sees the rainbow himself and is reminded of his promise.  The narrative holds up a picture of a God intimately involved in the natural workings of the earth, so much so that the rainbow is supposedly a sign for him not for creation.  

A rainbow - seen through a mixture of sun and of rain, of light and water.  God speaks directly to Noah, saying:  This is the sign of the covenant.  

A signal in the skies.

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