Testimony of the Rainbow

One of the things I love most about where I live is the huge empty lot across the street.

It is nothing but a patch of grass and weeds, but it provides an open sky that is perfect for showcasing the rainbows that appear almost every evening during our summer rainy season in Florida.

Rainbows are fascinating. During a recent late-afternoon storm, I sat outside for the better part of an hour staring at a glorious arch of radiant color towering above the neighborhood, set against a canvas of dark clouds. It was majestic. Enchanting. Mesmerizing. It provoked a deep sense of wonder at the extravagant and intricate beauty of God’s creation.

Of course, we could dissect the scientific properties that result in such a marvelous display. Light refracts through raindrops, separating it in to the colors of the visible spectrum, and then reflects in a bow shape. Does that process diminish the wonder and awe? It certainly shouldn’t. To put it more vividly: The light of the sun escapes from the veil of a storm cloud and pierces a sheet of rain, which then explodes the light so that it paints the sky with a flawless palette. That is remarkable. Mystifying. Incredible.

If that’s all we knew, it should be enough to rouse our souls to the presence of a Creator who delights in extravagant beauty. Yet the rainbow is one component of nature that the Scripture explicitly tells us is a witness to God’s faithfulness and patience. After the flood that devastated the earth and left only eight survivors, the Lord placed the rainbow as a seal and promise that His wrath would never again be poured out in a watery judgment. “When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that 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” (Genesis 9:14).

Thus, the rainbow is a witness to us that God has made an unbreakable promise, and somehow it is also a witness to the Creator that He will hold back the fullness of His judgment until the final day.

Interestingly, the only other places in Scripture that mention the rainbow are in reference to the throne of God and the One who sits on it. “Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord” (Ezekiel 1:28). “A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne” (Revelation 4:3).

Thus, the exquisiteness of a rainbow is truly something profound, giving us at least some tiny glimpse into the matchless glory of the God who set it in the sky.

So the next time you see a rainbow beginning to form, why not stop, stare, admire, and worship?