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 I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 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. . 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
As we mourn the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, I wonder how many people will reflect on the picture above printed in The Times.
Was the rainbow there over Windsor Castle by chance? I think not.
If it was not by chance then reflect on what it is saying at this time of great grief and great need in our land and indeed throughout the world.
The one we mourn was unashamed to speak of the Lord Jesus Christ and the place he had in her life. She committed herself to a lifetime of service to her people and a key part of that, as many have written and as she made very clear, was her commitment to serve her King.
She made a Covenant as she came to the throne that she would serve her people and as far as any human being can be she was faithful to that covenant no doubt believing God’s words quoted above from the Book of Genesis. She believed in a faithful covenant keeping God and sought to rule under his authority.
As we mourn and thank God for her we do well to remember the significance of the rainbow juxtaposed against the flag at half mast, namely that God is the supreme King and that leaving him out of our daily lives is to miss out on the blessings he has for us.
The Psalmist wrote these words in Psalm 20.7
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
As a momentous week for the UK draws to a close with a new Prime Minister and a new King may our prayer be that they might see the deep significance of the rainbow and look to the King of kings, the Lord of lords and the only ruler of princes, for wisdom to rule aright with the resultant blessing to our nation and the world that such rule will bring.