This talk is based on the fact that the Hebrew word for ‘rainbow’ is the same word used to refer to a bow as a military weapon in Genesis 9:8-17.
What does it means when someone hangs up their boots? It means retirement. What does it mean when someone hangs up their gloves? They have finished with their boxing career. It’s an old saying now. One doesn’t hang anything up any more, one sells it on Trade Me or donates it to the Opportunity Shop.
God of the entire world
When God flooded the whole world He flooded all of it. Nothing survived except those who were in the ark. When Noah, his family and all the animals and birds came out of the ark they were starting over to repopulate the world. When God made his covenant with Noah he was making an agreement not just with Noah’s family but with the whole world, every living creature, human, bird and animal. God is the God of the entire world.
God made this agreement with all living creatures, the entire world. When Jesus came and died and rose from death he, likewise, sealed an agreement with the whole world. There is ample evidence that Jesus came not just for Jews but for all people. Is there evidence that Jesus had control of nature? Conisder the miracle of the loaves and fishes and his calming the storm among others.
God of new life
At Easter we use eggs as a sign or symbol of new life. How many eggs have we already eaten in anticipation of Easter? In Genesis 9:11 God is the God of life. He promises never to destroy the earth with a flood again. After the flood there is new life.
God promised new life on earth. What do we associate with Easter Sunday? New life, not just on earth but life after death. Resurrection life.
God of peace
This passage speaks of a bow. Are there any arrow references in the reading? No! God has put away the arrows of anger. He must have been mighty angry to destroy everyone on earth and all the creatures he had so lovingly created. But he is angry no more. He has decided to hang up his bow as well. What do you do to a bow before you hang it up? You remove the string. The rainbow can’t shoot arrows as it has no string. God has hung his bow in the sky for all to see. Like the footballer and the boxer, God has retired from hunting and war. He has put away his anger. He is a God of peace, a God who loves his creation.
Covenants always have signs and in this case it is the sign of the rainbow (vs 12-17). God commits himself to this sign. It is not to be simply a reminder for Noah and his family, for when God sees the rainbow he too will be reminded of the promise.
God hung up his bow to assure us of his love and peace. Where do we see Jesus assuring us of God’s love and peace? He welcomed outsiders such as women, Samaritans, people with skin diseases, tax collectors and non-Jews. He came to bring peace between God and all people who have disobeyed God. The apostle Paul referred to Jesus as the Reconciler. We worship the God of the whole world, the God of resurrection life, the God of peace, the God who keeps his promises.
I Peter 3:18-22 comes in the middle of a passage about Christian attitudes to persecution. The outcome of Christ’s death (v 18) was that he atoned for sin. When he was raised he went to preach to rebellious fallen spirits from the time of Noah before God judged the world with the flood (vs 19,20). At that time, as now, a small minority remained faithful while the rest persecuted them. Noah and his family were saved by water. God’s grace, symbolised by baptism, saves us now (v 21) and acts as a sign of God’s promise of ultimate salvation, however harsh the persecution might be. The risen Christ who now sits at the right hand of God is ample reassurance (v 22), better even than a rainbow in the sky.
Daily we are lured and tempted to trust humans and human systems – the economic system, the social system, etc – and not God. Human systems constantly lets us down. They promise much and deliver little. We suffer because we haven’t trusted God for our needs. Can God really do for us what the system doesn’t? Yes. He can and he does for those who trust him. For God has gifted a love richer than all the world’s possessions. He has promised good to us and he keeps his promises.
In conclusion, I encourage everyone to learn and remember Genesis 9:13. To help you remember God’s promise. I have shortened it to this: The rainbow will remind you that I will keep my promise forever.