Never Forgotten Promise

Dusk at Gaia Cafe and Crafts, Sagada

Thousand years ago when God saw the escalation of man’s wickedness on earth, a righteous man witnessed the worldwide judgment of God’s offended justice and at the same time experienced salvation for his family through his obedience. Noah, being the only man who walked uprightly before God, was called to prepare for the Flood, a major event of the early biblical history. Irrational it may seem for those who ridiculed his preaching about the catastrophe no one has ever seen, he fulfilled God’s command to build the Ark. As he finished this special task, others spent days mocking him.

Sea of clouds in Sagada

At last, after a hundred years the Ark was ready. By faith, Noah and his family, together with the animals who came in pairs, entered the Ark. And God shut the door.

It rained day and night. The waters covered the earth, and none survived except those who entered the Ark.
I wonder how Noah felt as God poured out His righteous anger on the corrupted world.

Noah and his family stayed in the Ark for an incredible 371 days until the waters subsided. When the Ark rested on the mountains of Ararat and the earth was completely dried up, God told Noah to go out of the Ark. Leaving the Ark with his family and the animals that were with him, the first thing that Noah did was to build an altar for the Lord and worship Him.

This is the Bible story that flashes back into my mind whenever I see the colorful rainbow in the clouds. While Noah offered his burnt offerings on the altar, the Lord accepted it and made His first covenant with mankind. God promised not to bring worldwide destruction to the earth again despite man’s persistent wickedness. The token of God’s tolerance for man’s sins is the bow that He set in the clouds.

Daybreak at Sagada

It never failed to amaze me how God keeps the promise He made a thousand years ago until today. The rainbow is a reminder that God is a longsuffering God, that while the evil imaginations of humankind replenish in the society, the politics, the economics, the philosophy, the education and everything else, God will remember the covenant He established with Noah.

There may be times when we feel God has forgotten us. There may be some doubts in our minds if God ever cares about our issues in life. There may be times when we can see nothing but darkness around us. Just look at the colors of the rainbow reminding you that God has never forgotten His love and mercy for you.

Rainbow at Bontoc

References

-Genesis 6-8, 9

-Isaiah 54:9

-I Peter 3:20 

-II Peter 2:5
-Berrey, T. W. (2016). From Eden to Patmos: An Overview of Biblical History. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.