Rainbow: All is good/all is God

The story of Noah's Ark is one that has crossed from the Bible into popular culture. Most people can tell you that the animals went in two by two, and even children of non-religious parents may find themselves with a toy ark featuring two of each unclean animal and fourteen of each clean animal and bird. (What, you don't remember that bit of the story?) And in the end all the good people are saved and all the bad people are drowned and we find that God loves the smell of roasting meat, which makes you wonder if He wouldn't prefer a Saturday night barbecue to a Sunday morning church service. And then God puts a rainbow in the sky as a sign that he's not going to destroy the earth with a flood ever again.

When I was young, I was taught that the rainbow reminds us of God's promise, and there are plenty of Christian cards and posters with a rainbow to show that God keeps His promises. Of course, it would be possible to be cynical and think "Gee, thanks for that promise not to drown the entire human race. I really appreciate that," but that's not the point of those lovely rainbow cards. They are intended to remind us that God does make promises and does keep them, and His promises include other things apart from ruling out specific forms of speciocide. 

But stop. Have another look at Genesis 9. The rainbow isn't a reminder for us. It's a reminder for God.

God says He's making a covenant between Him and the whole earth, every living thing. A covenant is an agreement between two or more parties, which usually involves an undertaking that each party will do something. The covenant between God and Israel is commonly expressed in the Old Testament as "You will be my people and I will be your God." It's a mutual agreement, with actions for both parties. But in Genesis 9, God is the only one who promises anything. He doesn't say "As long as you behave, I won't send another flood," or even "I'm not going to send another flood, so you'd better remember how nice I've been to you." He doesn't tell Noah to look at the rainbow and be grateful. He tells Noah that He, God, will look at the rainbow and remember His promise. There's nothing for the inhabitants of earth to do. It's all down to God.

There's a temptation to caricature the God of the Old Testament as capricious and demanding, and the God of the New Testament as consistent and loving. But here is God, nine chapters into the Bible, saying "It's all down to me. You don't have to do anything to deserve this promise. I'm making the promise - here's my reminder of it, here in the sky, so that I'll keep it, and you don't have to do anything." God reminds us through this story that yes, He has the power to condemn us all, but He has the grace to save us all too.