A rainbow surrounds God’s throne in the heavenly throne room. (Rev. 4:2-3; Ezekiel 1:28) The rainbow stands above Christ’s head. (Rev. 10:1) Jehovah calls it “My bow”—not “a bow” or “the bow.” (Gen. 9:13) This gives it a past history before He set it in the sky. There is more substance to its meaning than what we know about Noah and God’s promise to never cover the earth again with water.
“I do set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth.” Genesis 9:13
Then we learn that when He sees the bow in the sky, He will remember His covenant of mercy with us. (It’s not just for our remembrance!)
“And I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh.” Genesis 9:15
And He remembers the covenant constantly because He has surrounded His throne and His head with the rainbow.
We don’t see God carrying on business with other worlds. The picture this shows of Him is that He has completely enmeshed Himself with us and our covenant with Him. So that day and night, no matter what business comes before His throne, He is thinking about us and the mercy that He has promised to show toward us.
I have always said that God signed the covenant in the blood of His own Son to show the depths of His intention to keep His side of the contract even to the death. The rainbow tells the same story. God intends to show us mercy, so He has surrounded Himself in the bow to have a constant reminder of His covenant so that He cannot forget. When Jesus looks at the Father, He sees the bow. When the Father looks at the Son, He sees the bow. And not only do they keep us ever present in their minds this way, when we look to the sky and see the bow, we join in with them in a perfect trio of unity.
The rainbow in the sky is not only a memory aide to help us remember God’s promise not to cover the earth again with a flood, it also serves as a memorial for GOD TO REMEMBER US and the covenant He made with us—specifically His covenant promise to show us mercy.
The rainbow is the symbol of that mercy and God placed it in our sky, above His throne, and surrounding His head so that none of us will forget that we are joined together in an unforgettable covenant of love.
(For further reading, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 106ff)
