God’s Covenant Promise
This gorgeous stone is a piece of rainbow obsidian, a type of volcanic glass. It comes in a wide range of colors and patterns. I suspect it was a piece my father had in his lapidary stuff, but I don’t recall for sure.
If you are churched at all, you are familiar with the story of the flood during the days of Noah, as God’s righteous judgment on a sin-filled world. You will know the sign of His covenant.
I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Genesis 9:13 ESV
We see the rainbow and remember God’s promise. Yet do we understand what the rainbow actually symbolizes and the depth of that promise?
The Hebrew word for rainbow is קֶשֶׁת (Qeshet). This term also means a war bow, reflecting the connection between the rainbow and God’s promise after the flood.
In ancient times, a covenant was typically a solemn agreement between two parties, with the consequences for breaking it clearly laid out. If one party made the covenant alone, the consequences were still laid out.
In Genesis 15, God made a covenant with Abraham. It seems strange to us, with figures walking between the remains of bloody carcasses while Abraham slept. The people of the day would clearly have understood that God alone was making the covenant and was alone responsible for keeping it. If he failed, the consequences for Himself would have been grave.
So it is with the Noahic Covenant. The rainbow, really a Qeshet, a war bow, is pointed, curved side up. The ancient Hebrews would have understood the symbolism of a bow with an arrow pointed straight up at the heart of God. If he broke the covenant, his very heart was to be pierced.
Only God made the covenant and put up the symbol. Only God is responsible for keeping it. We can see the Qeshet bow and remember God’s promises.
God is faithful to keep His promises. When He promises to redeem by faith and hold us fast against everything, it is better than money in the bank. He will not fail us.
Hold fast to your faith no matter what comes. God has us in his hands.
Be blessed today,
Kevin
SUMMARY
I explore what the rainbow really meant to the ancient Hebrews, a Qeshet, a war bow pointed at the heart of God Himself, and how the Noahic Covenant shows that God alone is responsible for keeping His promises to us. God is faithful to keep His promises, so hold fast to your faith no matter what comes, knowing God has us in his hands.
TAKEAWAY
The Hebrew word for rainbow, Qeshet, also means “war bow,” tying the sign directly to God’s covenant after the flood.
Ancient covenants normally bound two parties, yet God made both the Abrahamic and Noahic covenants alone and bore the risk alone.
The bow’s upward curve symbolized that if God ever broke His promise, the consequences would fall on His own heart, not ours.
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