The First Covenant After The Flood

 

Genesis 9:12, 13

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 a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth."

Covenant: treaty, alliance, compact, divine promise

    After the flood destroyed all life that was not in the ark, God set up a covenant between Himself and all life that remained and all life that would come after the flood. Never again would the whole earth be covered, destroyed, by one flood. The covenant itself is in verses 1-11. 

    God blesses Noah and his sons

    To be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth

    Every beast, every bird, every creeping thing would be fearful of Noah and his kind

    Every fish of the sea is given to their hands

    Every reptile and amphibian, every creeper, small or great, whether on land or sea, is given to Noah and his family to eat

    Every green herb that now grows in the ground is given to Noah to eat

    But whether beast or fish or bird or reptile or amphibian or any living thing that still has blood in it: the consuming of the blood is forbidden and will require that person's life: for the life is in the blood 

    Anyone who takes the life of another will have his own life taken, for we are made in the image of God

    Noah is again told by God to "be fruitful, and multiply", to "replenish the earth". 

    The rainbow is a sign of the covenant, but the covenant itself is the oath, the promise made by God; it is His promise: Genesis 9:11 "Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

    There are seven visible colors in the rainbow. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. Vibrant prisms of refractive light shine through water droplets. While we usually see them after the rains, arcing high above us in the clouds, wherever water refracts light we can see rainbows: watering our fields and gardens, waterfalls, fountains, sea spray. Gentle reminders of God's promise to us. 

    

The Color of Worship - Dark Green, Emerald

 

    Revelation 4:3 The One seated there looked like jasper and carnelian, and a rainbow that gleamed like an emerald encircled the throne. 

    The darker the shade of green in an emerald, the more valuable it is. Shaded or lighter colored emeralds are usually referred to as beryl, not emerald.  

We are used to seeing cut emeralds,

 but imagine, if you will, an emerald rainbow. Many Christian artists have attempted this, some known (Botticelli, Dore, Chagall), most unknown. 

Ezekiel 1:28

The appearance of the brilliant light all around Him was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of The LORD. And when I saw it, I fell facedown and heard a voice speaking. 

    The closer we get to the living presence of God, the deeper our walk, the stronger our covenanted relationship is with Him. The emerald rainbow surrounding God's throne is reminiscent of the covenant He instituted in Genesis 9:12-16, in which He created a rainbow and set it in the first heaven: the sky and the clouds. 

    The emerald is the fourth stone in the ephod of the priestly garment. While there is much conjecture as to which tribe it represents, the Bible states that the names of the sons of Jacob are engraved on each in the order of their birth, read from right to left. Therefore, emerald represents the tribe of Naphtali, Jacob's fourth son. Also, in Revelation 21:19, the fourth foundation of the new Jerusalem's walls is covered in emeralds. 

    Psalm 52:8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. Here emerald green testifies of trust in God's mercy because I have made God my Refuge, not material wealth and possessions (verse 7). Emerald green here is Abundant Living through Faith in God; a deep, expansive life in The Tree of Life: Jesus Christ.