"And
God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you
and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:
I
have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant
between me and the earth… Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will
see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living
creatures of every kind on the earth." (Genesis 9:12-16 NIV)
As we
were driving through Southern Arizona and California last week my wife and I were
in unusual weather for us, there was rain, lots of rain. It was somewhat
unusual because every now and then the sky would clear and we would have
sunshine for awhile. During these times we saw no less than 4 different
rainbows, which was quite amazing in itself. But as we saw those we commented
to one another about God's promise to Noah and his family after He had
destroyed the earth with the Great Flood. God said, "I will see it and remember the
everlasting covenant…" He said, "I promise I will never do
this again."
There
was another covenant even before that one though. After Adam and Eve were
expelled from the Garden of Eden for their sin and disobedience, God Said, "And I
will put enmity between you (Satan) and the woman, and between your offspring (Satan)
and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
(Genesis 3:15) This was his promise even in the very beginning of time that
Jesus would come to the world as its Savior.
In Luke 2 God spoke again through an
Angel: "An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone
around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not
be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah,
the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths
and lying in a manger." (Vs.
9-12)
If
there is a message we see reinforced at this time of the year through this
holiday the world proclaims as "Christmas," it is that God remembers
His promises! Think about all of those who proclaim, "Keep Christ in
Christmas." Many of the Songs that
are sung are a reminder of at least part of the promise of God being fulfilled.
We
know that the word "Christmas," is not in the bible. We understand
that the early Christians did not have Christmas celebrations. We understand
that most of what takes place in our modern Christmas celebrations has nothing
to do with what is recorded in the bible. However that doesn't make the birth
of Christ any less wonderful, any less worthy of being remembered. This one
event truly was a miracle that changed the course of our world as well as each
of our lives for eternity.
God
spoke, He promised, He remembered and He fulfilled that promise through a baby
born in a stable. Let's not forget the fulfilled promise of a Savior which was
born to us in Bethlehem, not just at this time of the year, but all year long.
