Recently, in the children’s catechism class at church, we reviewed the story of the Flood, Noah, and the ark. And, in the course of reviewing that story with them, I reread Genesis 6-9 and, in doing so, noticed something that should have been clear before. Hear Genesis 9:12-16:
And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
Whenever the story of Noah’s ark is told and we get to the rainbow – the sign of God’s covenant with man – we typically recall that God sent the rainbow to remind us of the Flood, and of His promise not to destroy the world and man with a flood again, right? But, the Scriptures actually say, “When the bow is in the clouds, (GOD) will see it and remember the everlasting covenant…”
God remembers His covenant with us. We are in God’s memory. He does not forget us, nor the covenant that He has made with man. Throughout the Scriptures, God commands His people to remember, and His people fail to do so. We forget who we are, we forget who God is, we forget His commandments, His promises, and His goodness. But, God does not. And, truly, that is all the difference in the world.
When we kneel to confess our sins each week (and, hopefully, more often than that), we are acknowledging that we have forgotten God and His commandments, forgotten who we are as His people. But, when we kneel to confess our sins, we are also acknowledging that God has not forgotten us.
If God’s covenant and promises were dependent upon our remembering, then we would be without hope. But, God’s memory is perfect and He remembers His people.
