What Does the Rainbow
Mean?
Genesis 9:8-17
By
Reverend Litton Logan
Scriptures:
Genesis
9: 1-17
1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them,
"Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.
2 The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every
beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the air, upon everything that creeps
on the ground and all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered.
3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and as
I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.
4 Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its
blood.
5 For your lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning; of
every beast I will require it and of man; of every man's brother I will require
the life of man.
6 Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be
shed; for God made man in his own image.
7 And you, be fruitful and multiply, bring forth abundantly
on the earth and multiply in it."
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him,
9 "Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your
descendants after you,
10 and with every living creature that is with you, the
birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of
the ark.
11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall
all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a
flood to destroy the earth."
12 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which
I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all
future generations:
13 I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the
covenant between me and the earth.
14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in
the clouds,
15 I will remember my covenant which is between me and you
and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become
a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will look upon it and
remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all
flesh that is upon the earth."
17 God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant
which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth."
Sermon:
One
evening sometime ago I was setting in my den tying flies and listening to the
weather channel for a weather forecast so I could make a decision about where I
was going fishing the next day. Instead
of the weather forecast, there was a program on tornados, in particular the one
that hit Moore, Oklahoma years ago. My
wife and I lived in Moore so the program was of interest to me.
The program featured several people, who had taken shelter under an
overpass during the storm. Throughout
the program, I heard a lot of God talk—sincere God talk.
It was so obvious that these twentieth century people saw the hand of God
in the storm and the hand of God in their being saved.
They did not explain why others had not been saved, just how God had
watched out for them. They told
about changes they had made in their lives because of the storm and what they
believed was divine deliverance.
We
saw a similar thing during Katrina. Some
people even saw God using this hurricane as means to warn and punish the Gulf
coast of our nation for its industries of sin.
We heard and saw people on TV, who attributed their safety to God’s
intervention on their behalf, but failed to explain the death of others.
Tragedy
seems to tap into some primitive, human understandings of the universe. It is equally amazing how we give meaning to tragedy after
the fact. Somehow, in tragedy we
see the hand of God at work teaching us, warning us, punishing us, giving us
another chance, or working out some grander plan.
Tragedy for some people becomes an opportunity to recreate themselves
out of chaos not unlike our story of Noah and the Flood.
It is almost as if tragedy gives some people the motivation to do what
they knew they should have been doing all along.
As one studies the Book of Genesis, especially the tragic stories of the
fall of humankind—the flood—the Tower of Babel, etc., we hear very clearly
people’s understandings of God’s hand in tragedy.
We see on one hand God ordering and limiting chaos and at other times
instigating chaos. The writers and
redactors of Genesis in their various traditions draw upon existing stories from
other cultures to explain human suffering, death, and the founding of different
races. However, they do this as a
way of asserting their point that Yahweh—their god--is not just the god of the
Israelites, but is the Creator-Sustainer-God of all people and reality.
In addition, God demands a certain kind of behavior from human beings if
their relationships to God, to nature, and to one another is be good and
beneficial. We are all familiar
with the many stories in scripture that make these points.
We
are also familiar with the story of the great flood and God’s sign of the
covenant that God made between humankind, the animals, and earth that we heard
read today. This flood according to
the author was precipitated by human wickedness in the forms of violence and
lust after beautiful women. (Seems some men haven’t changed much since the dawn of time.)
Many scholars believe that the “sons of man” referred to in Genesis
are the descendents of Cain, who lived in cities and became enamored with the
wholesome, natural beauty of the pastoral daughters of Seth--“the daughters of
God”. That shoots the crashed
alien theory out of the water.
I
add that Seth was Adam’s replacement for slain Abel and one could assume he
like Cain was a tiller of the soil. Likewise,
the sons of Abel became fascinated with the artificially adorned women of the
city of the descendents of Cain. [i]
Thus, we get a picture of lust, violence, and wickedness reaching such a level
that God laments the very creation of humankind and all animal life.
As
a side note:
Originally human kind and all animal life were vegetarians, but by the time of
the flood people are killing and eating animals, and evidently animals are doing
the same thing. Rather like,
“Monkey see, monkey do”. In the
beginning in Genesis, humans ruled over animal life as stewards of life.
Later, we read in the Noahide covenant in Genesis, that God in concession
to the human inclination to violence allows humankind to eat “every moving
thing” but the animals will now live in fear of humankind not in respect of
humankind as their stewards. In
this, we see the original divine order passing away and the new human order
ruled by fear, distrust, and violence in human and creature alike.
Let
me point out that prior to the Flood Narrative in Genesis, humankind’s
relationships to one another and to the animals was governed solely by the
dictates of the human conscience and the utility of cooperation.
In Genesis 6:3, God’s says in effect that the original spirit of
God’s goodness, which was created as an innate conscience in humankind, no
longer functions to promote good stewardship of all life on the planet.
As a result, God shortens the maximum human life span as evidenced in
Genesis, chapter 5, to 120 years; there by, limiting the damage humans can do.
God also contemplates purging the world of corrupt human and animal life.
However,
Noah, who was evidently the best of the worst, seems to find favor with God and
is worth saving along with his family. In
addition, in the opening verses of chapter 6 God says in effect that it would
not matter if God wiped every thing out and started anew because it is the
nature of the created human being to seek its own prideful determination.
God reverses the decision to purge all life from the planet and preserves
Noah, his family, and a reproductive sampling of animal life.
This
story of Noah’s obedience to God culminates in our scriptures today with the
Noachian laws or the Noahide Covenant out of which humanity recreates itself,
only now under the laws of God.
God
dictates two laws. This is the
first time there is an external force of divine commandment or law brought to
bear on human behavior since the Garden of Eden.
Now the way of nature must bow to law.
Since human nature has been corrupted and is killing and eating other
creatures God commands that these animals must at least be killed and eaten with
respect for their life force. People
must not eat or dismember a living creature, and they must reverence the divine
life force by not eating the blood, which is the life of the creature.
The second law is a commandment not to kill another human being.
Moreover, if someone should murder another, that person’s life will be
require as punishment for his or her homicide.
I
find it amazing that the first two laws given to humankind deal with killing and
the consequences of such actions.
As a sign of God’s covenant with humankind, God placed the rainbow in
the sky to remind God—not us—that God is not going to use a universal flood
to purge human wickedness ever again. No
promise of not using something else, just not a flood.
As I have said, Genesis is wisdom literature drawn from humankinds’
understanding of the ways of God and of humankind.
Genesis reflects the human struggle to understand why we have creation
and destruction; order and chaos. Why
do humans have to suffer and struggle to live?
Why is there crime and murder in this world?
Why does the law of predation rule in the animal world?
Why are there differences among people that cause suspicion and
alienation? Why is creation and
life on one hand so good and on the other so bad at times?
The resounding answer in scriptures is because people violate and corrupt
God’s innate laws of the divine good in their relationships with God, one
another, and creation.
We know that these scriptures were written by a pre-scientific mind.
In such a time, the physical universe behaved according to the caprice of
the gods or demons. Therefore, the
Bible writers and sages of all cultures struggled to know and to give answers to
both the blessings and tragedies of life as best they could with what they had.
They strove to offer people the wisdom of life.
These
ancient ones understood that people were blessed when they pleased the gods and
cursed or punished when they displeased the gods.
Sacrifices and votives, things people enjoyed and valued, were offered to
the gods to keep their wrath at bay and their beneficence at hand. (See Noah’s sacrifice of animals)
Every now and again, there is a TV special about the search for Noah’s
ark. I’ve met some of the folks
who have been on expeditions to find Noah’s ark.
The thing that all these TV programs and the people, who go on such
expeditions in search of Noah’s ark, have in common is this: They believe that
if they find the actual ark it will somehow validate the Bible in its entirety
as the inspired word of God. In
short, the facts in one instance will support the facts of the whole.
This is a real fallacy in logic. Such
quests in effect miss the wisdom of the Flood Narrative and again settle for
another act of human arrogance and pride.
David Heller captures the innocent humor, and I think the most basic
truth inherent in the Flood Narrative in the answers of some children who were asked
questions about Noah, his family, the Ark, and the float trip Noah, his family,
and the animals took in his book, Just Build the Ark and the Animals Will
Come.,
Let me share some of those questions and answers:
o
"Noah was a
leader. He had a loud voice, so the
animals would listen to him when he told them to get up on the boat fast because
it started to rain.” Joe, age 8
o
"No, Noah,
you can't take your exercise equipment with you on the Ark.
This isn't a pleasure trip!” Natalie,
age 10
o
"The same
things as they do on the Norwegian Carnival boats you see on TV, except they
couldn't stay outside and get tans.” Christopher,
age 10
o
"Whenever
the ship bumped into the shore and knocked everybody down, then it was time to
land.” LeToya, age 11
o
"A rainbow
that was shaped like an arrow pointed to where the land was.”
Emilio, age 7
o
"Thank God
we don't have to do this every year!” Barry,
age 10
o
"Rainbows
always mean: 'Everything is going to be okay from now on.’
“ Janet, age 10
And,
what answers do we find in the story of the Flood and Noah’s Ark in spite of
its inaccurate science, cosmology, and theology?
The answer is this: No matter how bad we humans are, no matter what
natural disaster may over take us, no matter what craziness humanity may
perpetrate on itself, God, who created us, will not let the righteous be lost
to God or let us live without hope.
These
stories in the opening chapters of Genesis tell us in effect that the forces of
the universe have favored life on this planet; placed human life at its apex,
and nothing is going to countermand this except God.
In addition, humankind has come to understand across time that that the
Creator-Sustainer of Life abides with humankind in the chaos of tragedy as the
ever present power of hope if…, if…, as the writer of 2 Chronicles 7:14
says:
14if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and
seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and
will forgive their sin and heal their land.
2
Chronicles 7:14
(RSV)
This doesn’t mean that we can’t wreak havoc on this planet, destroy
whole species of plant and animal life, wipe out, or contaminate the eco-system
for huge portions of the planet. It
doesn’t mean that we can’t kill large numbers of people.
What I am saying is that we may destroy the optimum possibilities of
life, health, and wholeness on this planet, but we are not without hope in God, if….
In a real and profound way, I guess Janet, age 10, was right on target:
"Rainbows
always mean: 'Everything is going to be okay from now on.’ “ Janet, age
10
Things might not be as good as they should have been or could have been,
but overall, God will hold open to us the fullest range of possibilities for
goodness and wholesomeness in life no matter what we have done as individuals or
as a species. This truth has
sustained humankind across millenniums and it sustains us in these days of
uncertainty, tragedy, and chaos. In
each tragedy, there is hope of a better day from now on.
This truth lies at the heart of all we understand in the Christ.
In
closing let me leave you with some additional insights and lessons from this
story of The Flood and its universal message of hope.
EVERYTHING
I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED FROM NOAH'S ARK [Author Anonymous]
1.
Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone might ask you to do
something REALLY big.
2.
Don't listen
to critics -- do what has to be done.
3.
For safety's
sake, travel in pairs.
4.
Two heads are
better than one.
5.
Take care of
your animals as if they were the last ones on earth.
6.
Don't forget
that we're all in the same boat.
7.
Stay below
deck during the storm.
8.
Remember
that the ark was built by amateurs and the Titanic was built by professionals.
9.
If you have
to start over, have a friend by your side.
10.
Remember that
the woodpeckers INSIDE are often a bigger threat than the storm outside.
11.
No matter how
bleak it looks, there's always a rainbow on the other side.
Trust this, live this,
celebrate this in the hope of a living, and ever present Christ.
Amen.
________________________________________
Interpreter’s Bible
Interpreter’s Bible
Dictionary
The New Interpreter’s
Study Bible
Westermann, Claus.
Genesis 1-11.
Trans. John J. Scullion VS, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House,
1984.
[i] Kass, Leon R. The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis, (New York, Free Press, 2003), p.153-159.