Normally, I’d jokingly call June “Rainbow Month,” but that no longer seems to be accurate. Overall corporate sponsorship is on the decline while grassroots support is fading as well, resulting in such celebrations becoming merely partisan protests. Like most political movements, when it seemed like the rainbow was once unstoppable, now it’s an unpopular marketing gimmick that panders to only part of the country.
That said, because my teens to 20s were filled with dedication to that “movement” and I lived in a town where there was a rainbow flag in almost every shop window even when it wasn’t “Rainbow Month,” myself and many people roughly my age will probably associate rainbows with June. As a result, maybe it’s about time the church took the rainbow back. After all, Rainbows prior to the 70s (and really prior to the 2000s) were a symbol of God’s love for his creation and hope for humanity. That’s why I’m going to make a new celebration. Going forward, June will be “Noahic Covenant Month.”
To explain the significance of the Noahic Covenant and its relationship to rainbows, we need to go a bit more in detail. Now, most people know the basic story of Noah, but there’s a few more details that don’t get discussed as much. To recap, following man being cast out from the garden of Eden, man fell to depravity and wickedness throughout the world. God grew angry at what he saw, and disappointed with his creation. However, he still desired to save mankind and found favor with Noah, whom he deemed virtuous.
So from there, he had Noah get two of every animal, male and female, his family, their families, and then the flood for 40 days and 40 nights, cleansing the world with his wrath. They stayed in that ark for another 150 days before the waters receded before Noah and the animals were able to leave the ark and repopulate the earth. Before doing so though, God made a covenant with Noah, promising that he would never again flood the earth. As a sign, he showed a rainbow and then commanded Noah to “be fruitful and multiply.”
The rainbow has been historically a symbol, then, of God’s love for mankind and hope. It’s a reminder of God’s promise that he is with us as well as a commandment to go forth and bring new life into the world. One could even infer to be good parents for his new creations. So the rainbow should serve as a reminder of that hope and a call to serve him, even when being appropriated by others.
In the modern day, Christians face much persecution. From theocrats who punish the faithful for questioning their rule to terrorists who seek power and submission to assassinations to political harassment, there are many in this world that hate the faith and persecute the faithful for believing in the almighty. Yet, the rainbow is still a symbol of God’s love for us, just like the ark, and we should remember that every time we see it.
So going forward, I’ll be celebrating June as the month to remember Noah. It should be a time of hope and optimism. A time to remember our families and our commitment to them, like Indiana and Tennessee seem to be doing these days. So when a rainbow is seen in the public square, albeit increasingly less, let’s remember what it truly symbolizes, and who sent it.
