13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
Something as simple as a rainbow still brings joy to me when I see it. Not only because they are fairly rare, but also because of the beauty they portray. I understand the science of a rainbow, the refraction of the light through the water droplets. Each water droplet is like a prism, dividing the light into its various wavelengths, exposing all the colors. But I am still drawn to look intently at them. I have had the privilege of witnessing a complete double rainbow one time in my adult life. It was so bright and clear that it almost took my breath away. And there were two full bows, one right on top of the other one, and both reached to the ground. Kids seem fascinated with rainbows. Even the ones that are made in a sprinkler can bring awe to a child. But why would a rainbow be used as a sign to Noah and to us of God’s covenant to us? I think that they were a new phenomenon following the Flood. Something shifted in the atmosphere following that event. Perhaps prior to the Flood there was no rain and thus no rain clouds. That is what the text states earlier. Rain first came when the Flood started. It takes rain falling from clouds in order for the sunlight cutting through the clouds to create a rainbow. So the rainbow now appears as a sign of that shift, that change that took place as a result of the judgment of the earth. The rainbow is a visible reminder of God’s commitment to all of us. He will never destroy the whole earth by flood again. So next time you see a rainbow, take time to recognize that a change took place, that things have not always been as they are now, and that they will not always stay this way. God has intervened in this world in the past, and he will intervene again in the future.
The Arnold Journey 