The Day God Set Aside His Bow

Warfare has been an unfortunate part of human history from our earliest days. The weapons used in wars of the past have usually been the same regardless of geography and culture. One of the most consistently-used weapons throughout history is the bow—a weapon which fires a short, thin, and sharp projectile at a great distance. The advantage of this weapon is its range, allowing the user to cause great damage within a safe distance from his enemy.

Even some of the most notable, Biblical figures were experts with the bow, such as Ishmael (Gen. 21:20), Jacob (Gen. 48:22), Jonathan (2 Sam. 1:22), and God. God? Yes, God. One common poetic depiction that we find of God in the Old Testament is that of the Divine Warrior.

When Moses encourages the Israelites at the Red Sea, he reminds them that the “LORD will fight” for the them (Ex. 14:14). And after they cross the sea, they conclude that “the LORD is a warrior” (Ex. 15:3) because of the way in which He destroyed the armies of the Egyptians with the waters (Ex. 15:4).

God commonly uses the forces of nature as His tool of judgment, which is personified as a weapon such as the bow, which we see most clearly in Psalm 18, where David states: “He sent out His arrows, and scattered them, and lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them” (14). And Zechariah says, “Then the LORD will appear over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning; and the LORD God will blow the trumpet” (9:14). Even Habakkuk adds, “Sun and moon stood in their places; they went away at the light of Your arrows, at the radiance of Your gleaming spear” (3:11).

This depiction of God is central to understanding one of the covenants that God made ages ago with our father Noah. After the horrors of the Flood, Noah and the animals are allowed to enjoy the earth once more. Noah worships God by offering many sacrifices (Gen. 8:20). God is so moved by Noah’s loyalty and obedience that He makes an everlasting covenant with him and his family in Genesis 9:12-17:

“This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Many ancient covenants were established with signs that were meant to remind both parties of the agreement that had been made. Curiously, God uses the rainbow as the sign of this covenant. But why? Is it the colors? Not likely. Though beautiful, how would they communicate that a Flood will not come again?

Consider not the colors but the shape of the rainbow. In Hebrew, the word that is used for the bow as a weapon (Keshet), is the same word for the one in the sky, as it is in English. In fact, in nearly every place outside of Genesis 9, keshet refers specifically to the weapon, not the rainbow. Another consideration is that the bow typically has two positions: an attack position, where the curved portion is perpendicular to the ground and pointed at an opponent to kill, or a docile position, where the curved portion is pointed up, the same position the rainbow is seen in.

In light of the fact that God is consistently portrayed as a warrior, in light of the fact that the elements are personified as His weapons, and in light of the fact God is often depicted destroying His enemies with a bow, many scholars conclude that what God is doing with Noah is making a sign that pictures God setting down His bow in a docile position in the sky. This is to communicate that He is done destroying the world with a Flood. And for generations to come, when humanity sees the rainbow, we are reminded that God has set His bow aside and will not destroy us in that way as He once did.

This should always be an encouraging thought—every time we see God’s bow in the sky. Remembering that He set it aside, because of His love for us, though we have failed him from our youth (Gen. 8:21). He chooses to extend mercy and grace instead of destruction.