The Rainbow Effect

Reading:   Genesis 3-11

Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, the beguiling of Eve, Adam falls that men might be, Cain's rebellion, generations of Adam, the great flood, and the generations of Noah - some fairly important events!  I wanted to discuss Cain and his curious willingness to so obviously defy God but will save that topic for another day (after I read from Moses in the Pearl of Great Price).  Instead of Cain, I am going to touch on the symbol of Gods covenant to Noah, the rainbow.

GENESIS 9:16-17

16    And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. 

17    And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

It is important to note that through Joseph Smith translation of the KJV (King James Version of the Bible) we are taught that God made the covenant with Noah "for" all living things not as it is written in the KJV where the covenant was made with Noah "and" all living things.  This one word change is significant because Noah, through Adam, was given dominion over all things (Gen. 1:26-28) and therefore the covenant was made with him; not with him and all living things as an equal...Noah had dominion over all and through him, the representative of man, the covenant was made that floods would never again destroy life upon the earth.  Of course we may be destroyed by some other means...

Here is the Joseph Smith Translation; compare Gen. 9:16-17

21 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant, which I made unto thy father Enoch; that, when men shall keep all my commandments, Zion should again come on the earth, the city of Enoch which I have caught up unto myself.  

22 And this is mine everlasting covenant, that when thy posterity shall embrace the truth, and look upward, then shall Zion look downward, and all the heavens shall shake with gladness, and the earth shall tremble with joy;  

23 And the general assembly of the church of the first-born shall come down out of heaven, and possess the earth, and shall have place until the end come. And this is mine everlasting covenant, which I made with thy father Enoch.   

24 And the bow shall be in the cloud, and I will establish my covenant unto thee, which I have made between me and thee, for every living creature of all flesh that shall be upon the earth.   

25 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and thee; for all flesh that shall be upon the earth.  

The importance of the translation change is not only in the weight of "for" -vs- "with" in regards to the covenant but also because the covenant God made with Enoch is proven and lengthened in the posterity of Noah.  There is also a note about the city of Enoch "...which [God] caught up unto [Himself] (verse 21)."  Hmmm, what is that all about?

The primary reason I chose the rainbow as a topic today was to emphasis how cunning and wicked the Father of Lies can be...here is a grand symbol, a promise between God and man, a covenant that we shall never be destroyed by flood again (sorry New Orleans) and yet this magnificent symbol has been marred by man - gay pride?  I have no quarrel with homosexuals and have many dear friends that have chosen that lifestyle but I do have a problem with the theft of God's symbol.   There are too many people who are offended and appalled by the gay lifestyle and, by association, get angry when confronted with any commercial depiction of a rainbow because of gay pride.  It is a sad fact and irks me greatly, still, when a real rainbow spans the sky it is quite a sight to see and exemplifies God's love for us - nothing else.

~Kipling

Next:   Genesis 12-19