The Picture of Forgiveness • Leviticus 16:6-10, 15-19, 20-22
By Don Hicks
The lesson writer’s focus is on how “God’s plan has always included forgiveness for His people.” Aren’t we glad God’s plan is to forgive us for all our sins when we accept His gift of eternal life through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ? The new Christian needs a simple picture of forgiveness to help them better understand what it means to be forgiven. Some of us, like me, need a simple picture of God forgiveness, even after more than 70 years of being blessed by this wonderful gift.
Let’s look closely at the pictures provided in the “Adult Personal Study Guide” on pages 105-106. Specifically look at the beautiful rainbow picture in the upper right corner of page 106. The author asks how you can use this picture to emphasize God’s forgiveness to those around you. With a little study of Genesis 8-9, we can come to appreciate God’s promise to Noah and his family and to you and me.
God made a tremendous promise after Noah, his wife, his sons, and his sons’ wives built an alter to the LORD and worshiped HIM because of his gracious care during the flood. “Then God spoke to Noah, ‘Come out of ark, …Bring out all the living creatures…and they will spread over the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth’” (Genesis 8:15-19 CSB).
“Noah built an altar to the LORD, …When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, he said… ‘I will never again curse the ground…And I will never again strike down every living thing as I have done. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease’” (Genesis 8:20-22 CSB).
From the earliest days of my childhood, I remember my mother pointing out at every opportunity two very specific beautiful things in nature that God had made for our enjoyment and pleasure. Those two things were cardinals (red birds) and rainbows with all their bright colors. When she pointed out the rainbows, she would either read to us from our Bible Story Book or tell us that the rainbow was God’s way of reminding us of his love and care.
Mother knew very well the story behind the rainbow in today’s study passage found in Genesis 9. For a fresh reminder of the meaning of the rainbow, its history, and the promise behind it, read Genesis 9. In my Bible, this chapter is titled, “God’s Covenant with Noah.” “God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The fear and terror of you will be in every living creature on the earth, every bird of the sky, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are placed under your authority’” (Gen. 9:1-2 CSB).
In verse 7, He again repeats: “But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it. Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, ‘Understand that I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you,’”( Gen. 9:9 CSB). Notice God keeps repeating, “be fruitful and multiply.’
The meaning of the rainbow God created is lovingly and carefully explained in Genesis 9:12-17. In a world where the rainbows’ meaning is often misappropriated to conceal and/or promote filthy, hateful sin, we need to remember the Biblical explanation.
First read and study what God said the purpose of His rainbow is: “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 future generations: I have placed my bow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you” (Genesis 9:12-15a).
Without doing any violence to the meaning of Genisis 9:15a, it could be: “I will remember my convent between God and (put your name here).” Did you notice that God, after explaining his covenant, often repeated the statement to be fruitful and multiply? God’s care makes our world a safe, very good place to bring our children into with loving families where God and Godly parents will give them a good home.
Hicks is a member of Park Place Baptist Church, Pearl.
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