“I will set my bow in the clouds…”

08 Mar “I will set my bow in the clouds…”

Happy Wednesday y’all!

 

I trust God has your week going well…or soon will.

Let’s get some business out of the way…then we can chat a bit…

1. Zoom Bible Study Catch-up — Friday – 10th March @ 1:00 PM

Join Zoom Meeting — https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83586782734 — Meeting ID: 835 8678 2734

This is our regular catch-up & review of the past week’s worship texts (John 4:5-42) & an opportunity to explore whatever it is God has put on your mind & heart.

All from the comfort of your home or office or a park bench if you’ve got mobile data & a device to use. 😉

2. GBO for Compassion! Wow! Just WOW! What a generous crew of disciples we are! About $800.00 (a bit more actually) to support Nguna & his family & their village. Well done y’all!
3. PICNIC! 26^th March immediately following worship. Bring food to eat & share & the essentials of hanging out at the park. There’s always fun to be had & games and you just don’t want to miss it. Invite a friend to come along too. The more the merrier!

 

The conversation with a friend in the US began like this… “I saw your Prime Minister on TV this week. Some sort of ‘parade.’ I bet you’re ‘proud’ of him.” It was a not-so-subtle jest about Anthony Albanese’s appearance in two of those “pride” parades in Sydney over the past week. My friend is a pastor who understands the weight of Proverbs 16:18 ‘Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.’ Our early disciple ancestors rightly referred to pride as one of the “deadly” sins. It leads to all sorts of mischief & can be destructive. The Bible is clear… “pride” is not something we should seek out or applaud as a desirable character trait. I can certainly feel proud of an accomplishment, the result of hard work I do or the concerted effort with a group…but imagine being proud of say…being born right-handed. And pride that flaunts & celebrates me…or my lifestyle choices…I’ll pass because I remember…

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” – James 4:6

“The lamp that guides the wicked — haughty eyes and a proud heart —is sin.” – Proverbs 21:4 

“Human pride will be brought down, & human arrogance will be humbled. Only the Lord will be exalted on that day of judgment.” – Isaiah 2:11

“Blessed are the (humble) meek, for they will inherit the earth.” – Matthew 5:5

I started to wonder about that after I had noted the worldly corruption of the use of “Mardi Gras” the other week. What historically was a time of preparation for the spiritual self-discipline of the Lenten season is now used as an excuse for self-indulgence, wild excess and at times mockery of the very notion of spiritual humility, chastity and sacrifice.

Then I remembered another promise that in the midst of all this other stuff had also been twisted & distorted. Genesis 9:13 – “I have placed My bow in the clouds, & it will be a sign of the covenant between Me & the earth.” Here, God is speaking to Noah after the floodwaters have dried up & Noah, his family & the animals have left the ark. God is again blessing his human remnant to resume our role of bearing God’s image, stewarding his world & living according to his purpose & design so the earth will flourish in life joyfully responsive to God’s goodness. Many Bible translators take that word “bow” & render it “rainbow,” because that is what a “bow in the clouds” looks like from our perspective. It’s not a bad way to understand that promise from God, that there is a visible sign that he will not wipe out life on the earth again like he did in the flood. It’s a wonderful promise & “rainbow” is an acceptable understandable way to picture it.

But again, “rainbows” have been co-opted into a symbol of an “anything goes” “you be you & I’ll be me as long as you celebrate me” sort of arrangement. Not at all what the “bow in the clouds” was intended to demonstrate. And notice…I’m choosing the word “bow” as the better translation of the word in Genesis 9:13 & and in 9:16. Why? Follow me here…The Bible is clear that God’s intention to save us from the deathly effects of sin is actually older than Creation itself. (Ephesians 1:4 is the most direct evidence) How did God do that? In Jesus crucified/risen, God suffers God’s own wrath against sin. Christ takes on our sin & therefore our punishment for sin. Christ becomes the object of God’s wrath, not us, so we can be free from sin, death & evil. He dies so we can live & is raised so “we too can walk in newness of life.”

The word “bow,” is most often used in the Bible to mean bow…as in bow & arrow…as in a weapon. I read Genesis 9:13 with an eye toward the cross. (I read the whole Bible that way…as a follower of Jesus so should you) God promises from now on his weapon of war against “the devil, the world & my sinful flesh,” is now pointed heavenward…toward himself. The “bow in the clouds” may be a “rainbow” but it is never an endorsement of “anything goes.” The cross was a weapon of war…it was how the Romans publically punished their enemies as an example to others. God transforms that weapon by using it against his own Son so that we could see in it the new covenant sealed in Christ’s blood & a death to my old self so a new self can arise daily in imitation of Christ. That’s not the “best of me being me,” but the only Son dwelling in & living through me. Our sinful self-indulgent self-congratulating world can only twist & distort. It can never truly create, so as inheritors of the new covenant it’s up to us to work hard at our role of bearing God’s image, stewarding his world & living according to his purpose & design so the earth will flourish in life joyfully responsive to God’s goodness, and sharing those God-given promises boldly & truthfully as we are intended.

God bless the rest of your week. Looking forward to seeing y’all on Friday & then again Sunday.

John