Updated 12/18/2008
"April showers bring May flowers" - so the saying goes. What else do showers bring?
And it just so happens that April 3 is "Find a Rainbow Day"!
Before you can have a rainbow, though, you need rain. You can read all about the earth's largest rainstorm in history in Genesis 6:11-22:
Now the earth
was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt
the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.
So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is
filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and
the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and
coat it with pitch inside and out. This is how you are to build it: The
ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high.
Make
a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top. Put a door in
the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks.
I
am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the
heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth
will perish. But
I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your
sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you.
You
are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep
them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal
and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be
kept alive.
You are to
take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you
and for them."
Rainbows... the promise of God. But what does it all mean? The answer is found in Genesis 9:8-17:
Then
God said to Noah and to his sons with him: "I
now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you
and with every living creature that was with
you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out
of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I
establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the
waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth." And
God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and
every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:
I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it
will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever
I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds,
I will remember my covenant between me and
you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a
flood to destroy all life. Whenever the
rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting
covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."
So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant I have established
between me and all life on the earth."
So, in a nutshell, God put a rainbow in the sky as a covenant and promise
to remind His people that He would never destroy all mankind by water again.
The rainbow is also a symbol of God’s faithfulness and mercy.
The falling
rain dissolves into mist
And
the thunder begins to die;
As
the sporadic lightning fades,
Colors pour from the sky.
Rainbows appear after mighty storms
When
things may look their worst;
Just
when the skies are darkest gray,
We
can see the rainbow burst.
God
first sent the rainbow to Noah
As a
sign that His word is true;
But
he rainbow's eternal message
Still speaks to me and you.
The
rainbow is a sign of God's promise
That
He will guide us through any storm;
That
He will help us through our troubles
No
matter what their form.
When
you feel battered by life's storms
And
you are filled with doubt and dismay,
Just
remember God's rainbow is coming -
It’s
only a prayer away.
~ Author
Unknown ~
When we consider the many colors of the spectrum from a
Scriptural perspective, it appears that even in the simple design of the
rainbow, each shade may hold deeper meaning.
Red or scarlet depicts blood and redemption.
Yellow or gold depicts perfection and deity.
Green stands for new life or resurrection.
Blue portrays heaven and infinity.
Indigo was the dark blue dye obtained from the plant; the
color of skins used for the Tabernacle covering.
Violet or purple is the color of royalty and kingship.
This month's Noah & Rainbow Trivia Quiz can be found here.
Check out Humorous Lessons from Noah
Check our Trivia Vault for all our past trivia pages.
We have designed our web site to keep friends and families informed of news and events in our lives. Nothing fancy,
nothing to sell, no pizzazz - but we are always looking for ways to add a little spice!
We hope you enjoy your visit. After browsing our site, please take a moment to E-mail our WebMaster and/or sign our Guestbook.
We would really appreciate your comments and suggestions for improving our site.
Thanks to those of you who have sent us a variety of graphics for use on this site.