創世記9:8-17

9:8 上帝曉諭挪亞和他的兒子說：
9:9 「我與你們和你們的後裔立約，
9:10 並與你們這裡的一切活物─就是飛鳥、牲畜、走獸，凡從方舟裡出來的活物─立約。
9:11 我與你們立約，凡有血肉的，不再被洪水滅絕，也不再有洪水毀壞地了。」
9:12 上帝說：「我與你們並你們這裡的各樣活物所立的永約是有記號的。
9:13 我把虹放在雲彩中，這就可作我與地立約的記號了。
9:14 我使雲彩蓋地的時候，必有虹現在雲彩中，
9:15 我便記念我與你們和各樣有血肉的活物所立的約，水就再不氾濫、毀壞一切有血肉的物了。
9:16 虹必現在雲彩中，我看見，就要記念我與地上各樣有血肉的活物所立的永約。」
9:17 上帝對挪亞說：「這就是我與地上一切有血肉之物立約的記號了。」

⁸ Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: ⁹ “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you ¹⁰ and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. ¹¹ I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
¹² 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: ¹³ I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. ¹⁶ 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.”
¹⁷ So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

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    上帝在洪水以後，用彩虹做為記號，就是宣告：「我使雲彩蓋地的時候，必有虹現在雲彩中，我便記念我與你們和各樣有血肉的活物所立的約，水就再不氾濫、毀壞一切有血肉的物了。」

    也因為這樣，我們每此看見天空的彩虹，內心就充滿了快樂！因為彩虹是上帝立永約的一個記號，與因著這個記號，上帝不以洪水來毀滅全世界，因為這樣的毀滅太恐怖，是萬物無法承受得，要付的代價太大了！

    當然我們每次看到彩虹時，要想到耶和華的慈愛永遠長存！也因為這樣，我們更是要遠離惡事來歸向上帝！祂樂意我們悔改來歸向祂，祂是以馬內利的上帝，祂愛我們到一個地步，甚至藉由祂的愛子耶穌基督的犧牲，來與我們和好，拯救我們從審判中站立的住，進入永生，享受永遠的「彩虹」！