“Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” Genesis 9:8-16

“Under the weather”

Here we have another nautical term. Originally, sailors used the phrase “under the weather bow,” referring to the side of the ship that would get the brunt of the wind during storms. To avoid getting seasick when the waves got rough, they’d bunker down in their cabins—literally under that bad weather—to let the storm pass.

Greek mythology attributes the rainbow to the goddess Iris who was the daughter of Thaumas and Elektra, the sister of Harpies and a messenger of the gods of Olympus. The rainbow is also said to be the belt of Iris or a footpath between heaven and earth.

When Noah and his family finally disembarked from the ark, the first thing they did was build an altar and make a sacrifice to G-d for saving them from this watery catastrophe. And of course, God did not forget them. And to make sure they would remember what G-d did for them, G-d made a covenant with Noah – and with all of creation. And the sign of that covenant is the rainbow. G-d is known as a covenant-making G-d who is faithful to keep His covenant. And here you have the first covenant that G-d makes. He makes it with Noah’s family which constitutes all of humanity, so, really, it is a covenant or a promise that He gives to all mankind – G-d cares for the environment, and will not forsake nor destroy it by flood until Christ comes again to establish the New Jerusalem.

Next time you see a rainbow, that’s G-d’s bow. He hung it up because this is not a sign of judgment, this is the time and a sign of peace. So G-d hung His bow as a sign of His mercy toward a world of sinners. Every sinner on the planet that sees the bow sees a sign of peace. You will not find a pot of gold, but you will feel G-d’s unconditional love, peace, mercy and Grace in believing and trusting in G-d’s promises.

Pastor Dave

“On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark. They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings. Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in. For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits. Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.” Genesis 7:134-24

“By and Large”

Sailors were the first to refer to things in terms of “by and large.” The first part of the phrase refers to the nautical term “full and by” which means a boat was traveling into the wind. On the other hand, “large” means the wind is coming from behind. “By and large,” then, would mean the wind is coming from any direction—giving rise to the current meaning of “in general.”

“The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered.” When the ark was built, it was not provided with any way to steer this enormous boat. Therefore, when the waters were at their highest, the boat just floated aimlessly, or in the nautical terms, it was going wherever the wind blew and the tides converged.

Does your life feel as if you are being driven “by and large” – meaning the winds of fortune are taking you this way and that – floating aimlessly in the sea of fate? It is hard, especially in these times, to believe that G-d has a plan for your life. But G-d does. No, we will never be able to predict where G-d is taking us – and often we will never be able to know why our journey goes where it goes. But, in this process, we do not just sit back, like Noah and his family, and allow us to drift through life, and faith. It is with G-d’s help we will continue on our path – through prayer, discernment, and action, we sail toward a stronger relationship with G-d, and the path G-d wants us to travel. It may feel as if it is “by and large” – but through daily prayer, constant and active discernment, and our trust in the working of the Holy Spirit, that path will be certain and true – no matter where G-d takes us.

Pastor Dave