The Sign

This is the story of the latest song that I received!

I was doing some emailing with a friend about keeping Sabbath etc and was looking in my bible (on the computer) for words like "covenant" and "everlasting" because I knew that similar wording was used in giving the commandments to keep Sabbath and observe feasts. BUT, the first place I ran into this wording was in Genesis 9:11-16 - the very familiar story of the covenant between Noah and Yahweh.

11 "Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth."
12 And Yahweh said: "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
13 "I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.
14 "It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud;
15 "and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 "The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between Yahweh and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."

This was great! I knew that the rainbow still showed up after it rained so it seemed obvious to me that this covenant was still in place.

Then in Genesis 17, Yahweh makes His covenant with Abram and in verse 19 says that He will make an everlasting covenant with Isaac.

In giving the command for keeping Passover: Exodus 12:14
14 'So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to Yahweh throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.

In Exodus 31:14-17 - in giving very clear commands about the Sabbath Yahweh says:
14 'You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.
15 'Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to Yahweh. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
16 'Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.
17 'It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.'"

Concerning Tabernacles Leviticus 23:41
41 'You shall keep it as a feast to Yahweh for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month.

So all this lead me to realize that inasmuch as the rainbow was a visible sign between Yahweh and His people that the keeping of the Sabbath and observing the feasts were a sign from US to Him! Did you know that the rainbow, if seen from the air, is seen as a complete circle? I believe the Lord was giving his people a "ring" with the covenant promise. Now think of this: As we keep the feasts and observe the weekly Sabbath it appears that we are moving in a circle! Yes, while we live in obedience we give the "ring" back to the Lord.

Then I was given this song which I will put the words down here and try to figure out a reasonable method to put a recording of it here also.

        Many years ago, God sent a might flood, destroying all the earth!
        He saved one righteous man, and his family, to repopulate the earth.
        God made a covenant with Noah and his sons,
        He said I'll never send a flood to destroy the world again.

And this will be the sign; My rainbow in the sky; a sign for all generations!
So when you see My sign, please remember I said, it was for all generations.

        God spoke through Moses to His chosen people,
        and He gave us feasts and days to remember,
        He said, keep my Sabbath, and observe all my commands
        and He said it was for all generations!

        God said this will be the sign, between My own and I,
        a sign for all generations - so when you see My sign,
        My rainbow in the sky - please remember; I said celebrate My feasts
        And keep my Sabbath day - to Me it is a sign!

Maybe some of you are thinking, "Ahem. This is obviously a sign between God and his very first people, the Jews." Yes, I used to believe that too. I had my thinking readjusted though by reading Romans chapter 11. All of sudden I have become a humble "adoptee". Seeing myself, a believer, as grafted in to the rich Olive Tree of Israel has made many passages more meaningful and many more passages even understandable. But this topic is for yet another discussion!