We were sitting in a country restaurant in Austria when a member of our tour group stood, pointed out the window and exclaimed, "Look, it's the time of the gold!" The rainy sky over the small Austrian city was painted in shimmering gold light and reflecting a brilliant arching ribbon of colored light.
This, time of the gold, was part of the spectacular display we commonly call a rainbow. However, when God created it, He simply called it a bow as He explained His purpose for creating it. "I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of the flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh." Genesis 9:13,15.
The reader is reminded that it is very likely that prior to Noah, people had never seen rain! Hebrews 11:7 conveys this thought, "By faith, Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house..." The writer of Hebrews indicates that only by faith Noah believed God and that rain would fall and a flood would come. This is further affirmed by Genesis 2:5 which states, "...for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground."
An interesting parallel thought concerning the absence of rain as we know it today is found in the total unbelief of the people in their response to Noah's pleas that it indeed was going to rain. Of course, the Bible records the sad history of why God made it rain, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Genesis 6:5. And so the Scripture records, "In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all of the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights." Genesis 7:11,12.
Today, the time of the gold and the promise of the rainbow is an enduring reminder of Genesis 9:15 which states, "And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood and destroy all flesh."
For more information about how rainbows form and why they fashion into a magnificent arc in the sky, see any good encyclopedia.

Blessings in your study of God's Word!

Marvin HuntThere is never a charge for my articles, and if you have a good reason, there is no limit to how many you may request. However, if you find them valuable you may want to order my latest book, History, Mystery and Facts About the Bible. Order at 1-800-845-7618 (ext. 301). You may also order from Amazon.com. Proceeds from the book go to support this ministry.

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