Gen 9:12-15, And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. And it shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud, and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. 
	This morning, we will conclude our study of this passage of scripture. We have done something different in terms of joining together in an extensive reading of various expert examinations of this central covenant of God with Noah and with you and me. We finished last time with the realization that the rainbow is symbolic of the covenant of grace instituted by God with man through His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. God is faithful in the complete trustworthiness of His promises to us.
We pick up at this point as we listen to Solomon’s prayer recorded in 1 Kings 8:22-25. Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. And he said, "O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like Thee in heaven above or on earth beneath, who art keeping covenant and showing lovingkindness to Thy servants who walk before Thee with all their heart, who hast kept with Thy servant, my father David, that which Thou hast promised him; indeed, Thou hast spoken with Thy mouth and hast fulfilled it with Thy hand as it is this day. Now therefore, O Lord, the God of Israel, keep with Thy servant David my father that which Thou hast promised him, saying, 'You shall not lack a man to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your sons take heed to their way to walk before Me as you have walked.' 
This eternal heir of David is Jesus Christ, the everlasting King upon the seat of God’s dominion forever and forever. Because He is so trustworthy and full of the graciousness of God toward us, we need to take to heart the effect of His Lordship in our lives.
Warren W. Wiersbe spends much time instructing us with regard to this. Quote, If the rainbow reminds us of God's faithfulness and grace, then why do we fret and worry? God hasn't promised that we'll never experience storms, but He has promised that the storms won't destroy us. "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you" (Isa 43:2…). When the clouds appear and the sun is hidden, we have nothing to fear.
Let's think about the bow. A bow is an instrument of war, but God has transformed it into a picture of His grace and faithfulness, a guarantee of peace. God could certainly turn the bow of judgment upon us, because we've broken His law and deserve judgment. But He has turned the bow toward heaven and taken the punishment for us Himself! When Jesus died on the cross, it was the Just One suffering for the unjust … and bearing the suffering that rightfully belonged to us. End Quote
1 Peter 3:18-20, For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. 
Wiersbe continues in his consideration of the rainbow as follows, quote, Rainbows are universal; you see them all over the world. God's many-colored grace is sufficient for the whole world and needs to be announced to the whole world. After all, God loves the world (John 3:16),"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life, and Christ died for the sins of the world, (1 John 4:10), In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins, (and verse 14), And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 
But the rainbow isn't only for us to see, for the Lord said, "I will look upon it" (Gen 9:16). Certainly God doesn't forget His covenants with His people, but this is just another way of assuring us that we don't need to be afraid. When we look at the rainbow, we know that our Father is also looking at the rainbow; and therefore it becomes a bridge that brings us together. End Quote. (from The Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament © 2001-2004 by Warren W. Wiersbe. All rights reserved.)
	This calls to our attention one of the great attributes ascribed to God in the giving of this symbol of His grace and mercy. The rainbow is seen as the bridge between heaven and earth, as Jesus Christ is the bridge between God and man. Both God and man look at the rainbow and it brings to mind God’s eternal work of faithfulness and glory and trustworthiness and mercy and lovingkindness.   
 Wiersbe continues with regard to three very distinct rainbows recorded in scripture. Quote, Three men in Scripture saw significant rainbows. Noah saw the rain-bow after the storm, just as God's people see it today. But the Prophet Ezekiel saw the rainbow in the midst of the storm when he had that remarkable vision of the wheels and the throne… Ezek 1:28, As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking. 
Ezekiel also saw living creatures and each one had four faces! One was like a man, one like a lion, one like an ox, and one like an eagle — the same faces John saw… Rev 4:5-7, And from the throne proceed flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; and before the throne there was, as it were, a sea of glass like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. And the first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. 
Of course, the Apostle John saw the rainbow before the storm of judgment broke loose (v. 3). And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. 
In fact, John saw a complete rainbow around the throne of God! On earth, we see "in part"; but one day in heaven, we will see things fully as they really are… 1 Cor 13:12, For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known. 
The personal lesson for God's people is simply this: in the storms of life, always look for the rainbow of God's covenant promise. Like John, you may see the rainbow before the storm; like Ezekiel, you may see it in the midst of the storm; or like Noah, you may have to wait until after the storm. But you will always see the rainbow of God's promise if you look by faith. That's the Old Testament version of Rom 8:28. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 
	God's covenant with creation affects every living creature on earth. Without it, there would be no assured continuity of nature from day to day and from season to season. We would never know when the next storm was coming and whether it would be our last.
God wants us to enjoy the blessings of natural life and spiritual life, because He "gives to us richly all things to enjoy" (1 Tim 6:17). When you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the world of nature around you becomes much more wonderful, because the Creator has become your Father. End quote. (from The Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament © 2001-2004 by Warren W. Wiersbe. All rights reserved.)
In terms of our relationship to God as Our Heavenly Father, we learn to more fully love and appreciate Him as He works in our lives through the storms and the gales in order to instill His lovingkindness seen and experienced in the midst of the trials and dilemmas.
E. B. Elliot writes the following. Quote, Further, not only is the rainbow, as offspring equally of storm and sunshine, a fitting emblem of covenant of grace, it is also type of that equally distinctive peculiarity of Christ's Gospel, THAT SORROW AND SUFFERING HAVE THEIR APPOINTED SPHERE OF EXERCISE BOTH GENERALLY IN THE PROVIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION OF THE WORLD, AND INDIVIDUALLY IN THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONAL HOLINESS. Other religions have enforced lessons of patience and of submission beneath the pressure of irremediable ill. It is the Gospel of Christ Jesus alone which converts sorrow and suffering into instruments for the attainment of higher and more enduring blessings. In all God's dealings with His people, when He brings a cloud upon the earth, He sets His bow in that cloud, insomuch that they cease to fear when they enter into it by reason of the presence of Him whose glory inhabits it… Isa 54:9+10, "For this is like the days of Noah to Me; When I swore that the waters of Noah Should not flood the earth again, So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, Nor will I rebuke you. "For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, And My covenant of peace will not be shaken," Says the Lord who has compassion on you. 
Here we seem to find the explanation which is needed of the close and inseparable connection between the cloud and the rainbow -- i.e., between judgment and mercy; between the darkness of the one and the brightness of the other. In the person and work of the atoning Mediator we find the only solution of that marvellous combination of judgment and of mercy which is the distinctive characteristic of the whole of the Divine economy. As the rainbow spans the vault of the sky and becomes a link between earth and heaven, so, in the person and work of Christ, is beheld the unchangeableness and perpetuity of that covenant of grace which, like Jacob's ladder, maintains the communication between earth and heaven, and thus, by bringing God very near to man, ushers man into the presence chamber of God. End quote. (from The Biblical Illustrator Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2006 Ages Software, Inc. and Biblesoft, Inc.) 
	F. W. Brown is the final commentator to whom we will hearken in this study of the rainbow of God’s covenant. He highlights the manner in which the rainbow perfectly presents the beauty of the handiwork of God’s grace in our lives on a day to day basis. He makes three distinct points concerning it that we should very definitely take to heart as we ponder God’s so great grace in our lives. Quote,  
1. God does not display the bow upon a blue and cloudless sky, but when there are clouds, and there is rain. The bow does not remove the clouds, but beautifies and illumines them. So the promises of God do not remove, but beautify and illumine, the darkness and mysteries of earth. The cloud of guilt is arched with the bow of pardon. The cloud of sorrow has the promise of support and relief; for bereavement, there shall be reunion; for cross bearing, crown wearing; for conflict, victory; for labour, rest; for pilgrimage, home. The cloud of mystery has the bow of providence arching it. The cloud of death has the bow of hope.
2. The bow can be seen only when the sun is shining. So the promises of God which arch the clouds of sin, sorrow, death, are produced by the light of the benign countenance of God, who is a sun and shield, and gives both grace and glory.
3. The bow can only be seen when the beholder looks up. End quote. (from The Biblical Illustrator Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2006 Ages Software, Inc. and Biblesoft, Inc.) 
	We should never expect God to give us only blue skies and temperate weather. His grace can only be understood and appreciated in relation to the manner in which it overcomes and is contrasted by the storms and the need for His overarching love and mercy. Without the need for God’s intervention in our lives, we would never understand just how much His grace abounds to us. And, finally, we can only see the rainbow of God’s love if we choose to look up. It takes a conscious effort to see and to recognize and to appropriate the great compassion that God holds forth unto us each moment of each day. 
	Lord willing, this has not been just a casual reading of these various authorities, but a time in which we each have received some enlightenment as to the full course of God’s grace represented in the rainbow of God’s promise to Noah and to us. Let us ever rejoice in the faithfulness of God’s heart of love as we, together, search out and learn to appreciate each rainbow of Christ’s love in our day to day walk with Him. So be it!
And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. And it shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud, and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. Amen. 

This morning’s benediction is 2 Peter 3:17+18. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard lest, being carried away by the error of unprincipled men, you fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.