Hang Up Your Bow
Genesis 9:8-17
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, "As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 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. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."
Hang up your bow
I confess that when things feels unfair, or when mistakes are made, I want people to pay for it. I want there to be judgement. While it's true that there is a real need for judgement sometimes, most of the time I am really bad at doling it out, and it never quite satisfies me the way forgiveness and mercy do.
God judges because it's necessary, and his judgment is perfect, but moments like this with Noah and all creation is what he longs for and is working out in his master plan. Moments of wholeness, peace, and new beginnings.
God puts a bow in the clouds as a sign of a new covenant that he will never flood the earth again. The Hebrew word used here, qesheth, is most frequently used of an archer’s bow. While it most certainly is a rainbow being referenced here, the connotation of the archer's bow would not be lost for the first listeners of this story. God's judgement and wrath was over, he's hung up his bow.
It's really hard to hang up your bow.
Judgment and wrath come out of us so naturally, but usually with terrible consequences. Let's follow God's lead on this one, hang up our bows, and make a promise to live in a new way with all of creation. A way marked with love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Peace of Christ,
Pastor Mitch
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, "As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 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. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."
Hang up your bow
I confess that when things feels unfair, or when mistakes are made, I want people to pay for it. I want there to be judgement. While it's true that there is a real need for judgement sometimes, most of the time I am really bad at doling it out, and it never quite satisfies me the way forgiveness and mercy do.
God judges because it's necessary, and his judgment is perfect, but moments like this with Noah and all creation is what he longs for and is working out in his master plan. Moments of wholeness, peace, and new beginnings.
God puts a bow in the clouds as a sign of a new covenant that he will never flood the earth again. The Hebrew word used here, qesheth, is most frequently used of an archer’s bow. While it most certainly is a rainbow being referenced here, the connotation of the archer's bow would not be lost for the first listeners of this story. God's judgement and wrath was over, he's hung up his bow.
It's really hard to hang up your bow.
Judgment and wrath come out of us so naturally, but usually with terrible consequences. Let's follow God's lead on this one, hang up our bows, and make a promise to live in a new way with all of creation. A way marked with love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Peace of Christ,
Pastor Mitch
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