May 3, 2026 | Lorain Fellowship
NKJV Genesis 9:10-19          
The Rainbow as the Sign of God’s Faithfulness in Keeping His Covenant
10 and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. 
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.”
12 And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 
13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 
14 It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; 
15 and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 
17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
18 Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan.
19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.
Life Study of Genesis Message 32
With the Rainbow as the Sign
of God’s Faithfulness in Keeping His Covenant
What is the significance of the rainbow that God set in the cloud as a token of the covenant (9:12-17)? It signifies God’s faithfulness. God’s faithfulness is the rainbow. In the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, the Apostle John saw God sitting upon a throne, and round about the throne there was a rainbow (Rev. 4:3). As the closing book of the Bible, Revelation always brings us back to the beginning of the Bible. In the first book of the Bible was a rainbow, and in the last book of the Bible we still find a rainbow. God’s faithfulness remains forever. He cannot deny Himself (2 Tim. 2:13). Once He has spoken, He keeps His Word. He Himself is faithfulness. First Corinthians 1:9 says, ‘‘God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,’’ and 1 John 1:9 says, ‘‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous that He may forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’’ God is faithful.
To what is God faithful? He is faithful to what He says. He is faithful to His Word, and His Word is the testament, the covenant. The covenant is simply God’s Word. God is faithful in whatever He says. This is the rainbow. Whenever a cloud comes, you must call God’s faithfulness to come. That means that you call out the rainbow. Whenever you feel that you are weak, you must call for God’s faithfulness, saying, ‘‘O God, You are faithful. I am weak, but You must make me strong according to Your Word.’’ We are all living under the covenant with God’s faithfulness as the sure sign that the flood will not come. This is the church life.
Our Christian life and church life are absolutely a covenant life. We are under the covenant. In verse after verse of the New Testament, we find God’s promises. I want to give you one of them, which I have experienced very much. ‘‘No temptation has taken you except that which is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not let you be tempted beyond what you are able, but will with the temptation make also the way out, that you may be able to endure it’’ (1 Cor. 10:13). There is a verse for every circumstance that you face. If you hold on to God’s covenant, I can promise you that, regardless of what happens to you, there is a verse as a living promise for you to rely upon and live by. We all need to learn how to live under God’s covenant. We should not be threatened or frightened by the clouds of our convictions, feelings, and environments. We are under God’s covenant, fully under His blessing. There is no more condemnation, no more judgment, no more curse. Death has been abolished. In the church, we continually enjoy life. Everything is life. Do not be frightened about losing your job or your health. Do not be threatened by any dark or negative thing. We are the covenanted people, and we have a verse of promise to meet every situation. We must stand under the covenant and not believe in any failure, weakness, darkness, or negative thing. Our destiny is under the blood-sprinkled covenant. Hallelujah, we are the covenant people! There is no cloud and no flood----only life. There is no curse----only blessing. The church life is such a life, and the church people are a people under the covenant. We can actually be called the church of the covenant.
Notes and Cross references
Gen 9:131a bow  -   Ezek. 1:28; Rev. 4:3; 10:1
The rainbow signifies God’s faithfulness in keeping His covenant. God Himself is faithfulness (1 Cor. 1:9; 1 John 1:9). He is faithful to His word, and His word is His covenant. The rainbow is seen again at the end of the Bible (Rev. 4:3), indicating that God’s faithfulness will remain forever. See note 33 in Rev. 4, note 191, par. 2, in Rev. 21, and note 281 in Ezek. 1.
Rev 4:33c rainbow  -   Rev. 10:1; Ezek. 1:28; Gen. 9:12-17
The rainbow is a sign of God’s covenant with man and all living creatures that He will not destroy them again with a flood (Gen. 9:8-17). This book shows that God will judge the earth with all its inhabitants. The rainbow around His throne signifies that God is the covenanting God, the faithful God, who will keep His covenant while executing His judgment upon the earth. He will not judge mankind again with a flood nor destroy all mankind, but will keep a part of mankind to be the nations on the new earth for His glory (21:24, 26).
Rev 4:34d  emerald  -   Rev. 21:19; Exo. 28:17
The rainbow around God’s throne is like an emerald in appearance. An emerald is a precious stone whose grass-green color signifies the lives on earth. This indicates that as God is executing His judgment upon the earth, He will remember His covenant and will spare some of the lives on earth, as indicated in Gen. 9:11.
Rev 21:191a foundations  -   Rev. 21:14
The New Jerusalem is a city of foundations (Heb. 11:10). These are the twelve apostles of the Lamb (v. 14), each of whom is signified by a precious stone. Peter, the first of the twelve apostles, was originally named Simon. When Simon was brought to the Lord, the Lord changed his name to Peter, meaning a stone (John 1:42). Later, the Lord called him by that name when He spoke concerning the building of His church (Matt. 16:18). Precious stones are not created but are produced by the transforming of things created. All the apostles were created as clay, but they were regenerated and were transformed into precious stones for God’s eternal building. Every believer needs to be thus regenerated and transformed that he may be a part of the New Jerusalem.
The colors of the foundation’s twelve precious stones, which signify the twelve apostles, are as follows: the first stone is green, the second and third are blue, the fourth is green, the fifth and sixth are red, the seventh is yellow, the eighth is bluish green, the ninth is yellow, the tenth is apple-green, the eleventh and twelfth are purple. The twelve layers of the foundation in the above colors have the appearance of a rainbow, signifying that the city is built upon and secured by God’s faithfulness in keeping His covenant (Gen. 9:8-17) and that the foundation of the city is trustworthy and reliable.
Ezek 1:281a rainbow  -   Rev. 4:3; 10:1
A rainbow as the brightness around the man who is sitting on the throne signifies the splendor and glory around the Lord on the throne. At Noah’s time the rainbow in the cloud was a sign of God’s faithfulness in keeping His covenant with man and every living creature that He would never again destroy mankind with a flood (see note 131 in Gen. 9).
A rainbow can be considered as being produced from the combining of three basic colors — red, yellow, and blue. Red, the color of fire, refers to God’s holiness; yellow, the color of electrum, signifies God’s glory; and blue, the color of the sapphire throne, signifies God’s righteousness. God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory are three divine attributes that keep sinners away from God (see note 241 in Gen. 3). However, Christ came, died on the cross to satisfy the requirements of God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory, and was resurrected, and He is now our righteousness, holiness, and glory (1 Cor. 1:30). Because we, the believers, are now in Christ, in the sight of God we bear the appearance of Christ as righteousness, holiness, and glory. This is the appearance of a rainbow as a testimony of God’s faithfulness in sparing us and saving us, the fallen ones, from His judgment on sinners. In the New Jerusalem, a city whose foundations have the appearance of a rainbow (Rev. 21:19-20), we, the aggregate of the saved ones, will be a rainbow reflecting the brightness of God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory and testifying forever that our God is righteous and faithful (see note 191, par. 2, in Rev. 21). As portrayed in this chapter, the Christian life and the church life will consummate in such a rainbow. At that point God’s eternal plan will have been accomplished.
Biblego.com- Gen 9:17
God tells Noah about the covenant, not as a formal agreement but as a promise resembling a covenant. The rainbow symbolizes divine grace, a sign of God’s promise and a reminder of His mercy towards all creation. This covenant ensures that no flood will destroy the earth again, showcasing God's graciousness despite humanity's evil nature. God's covenant assurance with Noah and all creation binds God to His promise, ensuring a future without destruction, displaying His compassion despite human wickedness, and setting forth a stable covenant likened to divine grace.
Biblego.com- Gen 9:18
Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, emerged from the ark after the flood. The mention of "Ham [as the] father of Canaan" foreshadows Ham's disrespectful actions towards Noah and the resulting curse on Canaan. The choice to highlight Canaan over Cush underscores the cursed lineage of the Canaanites. This emphasis on Noah's sons illustrates the rapid growth and diversification of nations as part of God's command to replenish the earth. The curse falling on Canaan, rather than directly on Ham, highlights a special curse on the Canaanites, making evident the prophecy's broader implications for Ham's descendants.