A Faithful God
Genesis 9:8-17
I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
- Genesis 9:13
Some of you may remember the events of January 13, 1990. The dark and stormy day when lightning took the life of my dad, Gerrit Griffioen. The next morning, the storm clouds were retreating and the sun was peeking through. An enormous double rainbow stretched across the sky. My mom gathered her five children to the living room window. She pointed at the rainbow and said, “Look kids. God has not forgotten us.” God had not forgotten us. Looking back, I can see all the ways that He faithfully cared for us and sustained our family through the darkest days of our lives.
The rainbow has been a sign of God’s faithfulness since the days of Noah. After Noah stepped out of the ark, God announced a covenant, promising that he’d never again destroy the earth with a flood. He put no conditions on this covenant; no clauses or addendums. God promised to be faithful to his creation and to remember his promise, even when his creation forgot.
God had every reason to give up on his creation. He knew the condition of humanity’s heart (Gen. 8:21-22). God knew that the flood did not wipe away sin or repair the world’s fallen state. Before Genesis 9 is even over, the new creation after the flood will be marred by sin. Noah’s descendants will fail to obey God, just like those of Adam and Eve. But God has remained faithful to his covenant.
God can make this promise to be faithful because he is the only perfectly faithful One. Moses tells Israel in Deuteronomy 32:4,
“He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is he.”
During these forty days of Lent, we are reminded of what this covenant God made with humanity cost him. A faithful and just God cannot ignore the problem of sin. But instead of sending another flood to wipe out the world, God sent his only Son into the world. The destruction that humanity deserved was poured out on Jesus on the cross. He would give his own life to save ours for eternity.
This is the great hope my family clung to in our grief. God was faithful to the cross. And He has promised a day when “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.” He will come again to make everything new. (Rev. 21:4-5)
When we are faced with trials in life, it can be hard to see God’s faithfulness. Sometimes it’s revealed in a beautiful rainbow stretched across a morning sky. Sometimes it comes by remembering that God has been faithful in the past. And sometimes, you just have to trust that when God promises to be faithful, he keeps his promises. He will never forget us.