Morning Devotions: Clouds and Rainbows

Rainbows and clouds. As children we draw pictures of them. The Irish search for pots of Gold under the rainbow, Dorothy (Judy Garland) sang a song about rainbows and Joni Mitchel sang one of my all time favorite songs about clouds (… .bows and flows of angel’s hair and ice-cream parlors in the air…) There are clouds and rainbows in one of the first Bible stories we learn as little children. Noah’s Ark. 

Went with a picture from an older blog post.
We have cloud covers in western Washington, not clouds. 

"I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth."  God said, "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."  Genesis 9:11-16  nasu

 A covenant: an agreement There will never be another flood of water to destroy the earth. That is the promise to the earth (Genesis 9:13) The promise to the descendants of Noah is hidden behind the English word “this” but that study is for another day.  Back to the cloud…. Is Genesis 9 the end of the story for the cloud and the bow? 
  
Flip back to Revelation chapter 10. Between Genesis and Revelation there are literally dozens and dozens of references to this cloud, but for now look at Revelation 10:1 A mighty messenger (that is what an angel is often called in the NT) comes in a cloud with a rainbow on his head. Who is this angel? We are not given a name but only One that I know of is described the way this one is described. 
  
Now flip to Revelation 14:14-16

Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.  And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, "Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe."  Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped. Revelation 14:14-16

Because of all the languages we are using, Hebrew, Greek and English, I am not sure that the bow and the sickle are the same but I’m thinking that they are. Look again. In Genesis 9 The bow was hung in the cloud, and a promise was made about not judging the world by water ever again. Then in Revelation 14 we see another cloud and a sickle... a bow shaped instrument used to reap a harvest. Matthew 13:30f tells that a harvest of souls is coming. The wheat will be separated from the weeds (tares) and the weeds will but burnt with fire. But did you know that before the wheat is gathered into the barn, before believers are ushered into the kingdom of heaven, they are separated from the chaff, which is burnt.  Are you worthy of the harvest? If you are a believer in Y'shua then you are ready. But let me ask this... has the Almighty called you to do something for him? Are you doing it? Will YHVH ignore your disobedience? I wonder what the prophet Jonah would tell you about that?
  
By the way, today’s secret word is “ maple” Use it in a sentence today for extra points on your school work or a chocolate if you are in day school today. 
February 2, 2016 
Mrs. Hagerty