An Everlasting Covenant
God's nature is to make covenants or contracts between Him and others. Some are temporary or conditional, while some are everlasting covenants. The rainbow is a sign of one of those everlasting covenants. God puts rainbows in the sky after a rain to show that He will never destroy all flesh with a flood again.(Genesis 9:16) This is a comfort to us, but it also shows us God's character. He said that part of the reason for the rainbow was so that He would remember His everlasting covenant. Why would God say that?
God is holy. He hates sin. Sin makes God angry with a holy, righteous indignation. When He sees sin, He has to bring punishment, because He is righteous and just. He knows the wages of sin is death. He does not want people to die in their sins and to be separated from Him for eternity. He wants all to come to repentance and salvation. At the same time God is love, so that He acts in mercy. He does not punish us as much as we deserve, even if He seems harsh at times. The rainbow is a sign to God for Him to act in mercy. That is what He has promised to do in His covenant with all living creatures, and that is what He will do. No more world-wide floods to kill all who sin.
God sent His Only-Begotten Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty and to receive His wrath against sin, so that He can righteously forgive the sins of those who trust Christ as Lord and Savior. Then, He makes another everlasting covenant with those who know Christ. He gives them the Spirit as the seal of that covenant. He wants us to know that we are secure in Christ, if His blood has washed us white as snow, and we belong to Him. When He looks down on us, He sees the blood of Christ applied to our sins, and He sees Jesus' righteousness in the place of our filthy righteousness.
We ought to be so glad that God is a faithful God who makes everlasting covenants. We must hold up our end of the covenant, too, by giving ourselves fully to Him in love and faith. Then, we enjoy the New Covenant in the blood of Jesus and all of it's benefits for us.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 12-14.
God is holy. He hates sin. Sin makes God angry with a holy, righteous indignation. When He sees sin, He has to bring punishment, because He is righteous and just. He knows the wages of sin is death. He does not want people to die in their sins and to be separated from Him for eternity. He wants all to come to repentance and salvation. At the same time God is love, so that He acts in mercy. He does not punish us as much as we deserve, even if He seems harsh at times. The rainbow is a sign to God for Him to act in mercy. That is what He has promised to do in His covenant with all living creatures, and that is what He will do. No more world-wide floods to kill all who sin.
God sent His Only-Begotten Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty and to receive His wrath against sin, so that He can righteously forgive the sins of those who trust Christ as Lord and Savior. Then, He makes another everlasting covenant with those who know Christ. He gives them the Spirit as the seal of that covenant. He wants us to know that we are secure in Christ, if His blood has washed us white as snow, and we belong to Him. When He looks down on us, He sees the blood of Christ applied to our sins, and He sees Jesus' righteousness in the place of our filthy righteousness.
We ought to be so glad that God is a faithful God who makes everlasting covenants. We must hold up our end of the covenant, too, by giving ourselves fully to Him in love and faith. Then, we enjoy the New Covenant in the blood of Jesus and all of it's benefits for us.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 12-14.