Genesis 9: Somewhere Over the Rainbow

After the flood, God promises that he will not destroy the world by showing Noah a rainbow. Why a rainbow? A rainbow appears when the light of the sun refracts through droplets of rain at different angles. The ever present white light is broken up and we get to see all the colors of the spectrum. God uses the tool of destruction- the rain- to send a message that he knows the world is more complex than just black and white (light). A singular light strand is made up of an infinite number of different colors. Just like the light, humans are also complex. But the rainbow is also meant to teach us a lesson. Think about the effect a rainbow has on everyone. People stop and take pictures and gawk at the beauty of the world, yet all we are looking at is the same light we see everyday. The rainbow, therefore, is God’s challenge to humans. God will not destroy the world because God understands it is complex, but we must also recognize this complexity and not destroy it.