The Origin Of Rain Follow Up

Q

I have a question about your response in “The Origin of Rain.” In your response you said “Simple logic tells us that the rainbow God promised to Noah after the flood wouldn’t have been necessary for reassurance if they had often seen rain in the past. (Genesis 9:14-16) No, it was promised because the only time they’d ever seen rain everybody had perished. They were scared to death of it.”

This seemed logical when I first read it, and then a thought came to mind. “Why would God need to send this sign? Why couldn’t He have told Noah that it wouldn’t flood again? If only he and a few others survived the flood, couldn’t they just “pass down” the promise to future generations? I am not afraid of rain because I was taught not to fear it, couldn’t this have been possible of the survivors?”

I mean, Noah had enough faith to build the Ark, wouldn’t this same faith in God’s Word be good that it wouldn’t flood again?

A

Covenants often included a sign as a visible reminder. When God made His covenant with Abraham concerning the land the sign He gave was circumcision. (Genesis 17:11) The sign He gave to Noah was the rainbow. These signs were meant to stimulate a question, usually from a child to a parent, as to their purpose. This helped to make sure that the provisions of the covenant were transmitted through the generations.