The Reason for Rainbows

Why are rainbows important? It is not because there is gold at the end of a rainbow or what they are used to symbolize in the world today. They are important because God originally created the rainbow as a symbol of His promise to all living things not to flood the earth again. God flooded the earth in Genesis 6 because He saw that the human beings on the earth were very wicked. He was sorry He had made them, and His heart was filled with pain (Genesis 6:5-6).

Because of the evil the people were doing, God decided to destroy everything on earth by flooding it (Genesis 6:7). The only humans that were able to be saved were Noah and his family. God also saved two of every kind of animal (Genesis 6:20).

After destroying everything on earth, God made this promise to Noah and to all living things:

“I am putting my rainbow in the clouds as the sign of the agreement between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and a rainbow appears in them, I will remember my agreement between me and you and every living thing. Floods will never again destroy all life on the earth. When the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and I will remember the agreement that continues forever between me and every living thing on the earth.”- Genesis 9:13-16

The rainbow also symbolizes how merciful and full of grace God really is. He has the right to destroy the earth and everything on it because of sin. We do deserve His judgement and punishment because we all have sinned and fallen short of His glory (Romans 3:23).

So, the next time you see a rainbow in the sky, remember what a precious reminder of God’s promise of His grace and mercy not to destroy all living things on earth again. And nothing more…

Prayer of the day:

Dear heavenly Father,

You created the rainbow for a reason. It symbolizes Your special covenant You made to Noah and all living creatures. Thank you for not wanting to destroy everything on earth by flood waters again. You are very merciful and are faithful in keeping Your promise. Please help us to remember when we see a rainbow the real reason You created it. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!