Single lesson

Noah and the Rainbow: Remembering God's Promise

Genesis 8:20–9:17

In this lesson, children learn what the rainbow means in Genesis 8:20–9:17. They will see that the rainbow is not presented here as a general symbol of hope, but as the sign of God’s covenant about the flood.

6–10 years30 minutes

Before you teach

This passage begins after Noah offers burnt offerings to Yahweh. God speaks about the earth continuing, blesses Noah and his sons, gives instructions about life and blood, and then establishes a covenant with Noah, his offspring, and every living creature on the earth.

Learning aim

Students will be able to explain that in this passage the rainbow is the sign of God’s covenant that the waters will never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.

Welcome: promises and signs

4 min

Ask the children to name a promise and a sign that helps people remember something, such as a note or a string tied on a finger. Explain that in today’s Bible passage, God gives a sign for his covenant. Tell them to listen for what the sign is and what God promises about the flood.

Genesis 9:11, Genesis 9:12, Genesis 9:13

Read and explain: from offering to covenant

8 min

Read Genesis 8:20–22 and 9:8–17 aloud. Explain that Noah first offers burnt offerings to Yahweh. Then God says the earth’s regular patterns will continue. Later, God speaks of a covenant, which in this passage means a commitment God establishes with Noah, his offspring, and every living creature. Point out that the promise is specifically about flood waters not destroying all flesh again.

Genesis 8:20, Genesis 8:22, Genesis 9:9, Genesis 9:10, Genesis 9:11

Discuss: what does the rainbow signify?

6 min

Help the group trace the words of the passage. God calls the rainbow the token or sign of the covenant between God and the earth. When the rainbow is seen in the cloud, God says he will remember his covenant. Emphasise that the text itself explains the rainbow’s meaning, so we should use the passage’s own words.

Genesis 9:12, Genesis 9:13, Genesis 9:14, Genesis 9:15, Genesis 9:16, Genesis 9:17

Make and respond: rainbow promise reminder

8 min

Children make a simple rainbow reminder and write or dictate one sentence: “The rainbow is the sign of God’s covenant.” If able, they can add, “The waters will no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.” As they work, briefly mention that God’s covenant includes Noah’s offspring and every living creature on the earth.

Genesis 9:11, Genesis 9:13, Genesis 9:15, Genesis 9:17

Closing: say the meaning clearly

4 min

Finish by inviting each child to complete this sentence: “In Genesis 8:20–9:17, the rainbow signifies...” Help them answer from the text: it is the sign of God’s covenant that there will never again be a flood to destroy all flesh. Close with a short recap of the exact promise.

Genesis 9:11, Genesis 9:13, Genesis 9:17

Questions to explore

Who is included in the covenant God establishes in this passage?

Look for the repeated words showing that this covenant is with Noah, his offspring, and every living creature on the earth.

Genesis 9:9, Genesis 9:10, Genesis 9:17

What does God say the rainbow is a sign of?

Use the wording of the passage itself: the rainbow in the cloud is the sign or token of a covenant between God and the earth.

Genesis 9:12, Genesis 9:13

What exactly does God promise will not happen again?

Read carefully for the specific promise about the flood, rather than saying only that God made a promise.

Genesis 9:11, Genesis 9:15

Make, think or respond

Rainbow Promise Reminder

What you’ll need

Paper
Coloured pencils or crayons
Scissors
String or tape

Try it together

Draw a rainbow on paper and cut it out if desired.
Write: “The rainbow is the sign of God’s covenant.”
Add a second line: “Never again a flood to destroy all flesh.”
Attach string or tape so it can be hung at home or near a Bible-reading space.

This craft gives children a visual reminder of the sign God named in this passage and the specific promise attached to it.

Adapt for your group

For younger children, pre-draw a rainbow outline and have them repeat a short sentence: “Rainbow means God’s covenant.”
For older children, ask them to find and copy the verses that show both the sign and the promise, then explain the difference between the two.

An optional closing prayer

Suggested prayer: “God, thank you for speaking clearly to Noah and for giving the rainbow as a sign of your covenant. Help us remember what this passage says. Amen.”

Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic

Genesis 8

²⁰ Noah built an altar to Yahweh, and took of every clean animal, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

²¹ Yahweh smelled the pleasant aroma. Yahweh said in his heart, “I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake because the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth. I will never again strike every living thing, as I have done.

²² While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.”

Genesis 9

¹ God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth.

² The fear of you and the dread of you will be on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the sky. Everything that moves along the ground, and all the fish of the sea, are delivered into your hand.

³ Every moving thing that lives will be food for you. As I gave you the green herb, I have given everything to you.

⁴ But flesh with its life, that is, its blood, you shall not eat.

⁵ I will surely require accounting for your life’s blood. At the hand of every animal I will require it. At the hand of man, even at the hand of every man’s brother, I will require the life of man.

⁶ Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in his own image.

⁷ Be fruitful and multiply. Increase abundantly on the earth, and multiply in it.”

⁸ God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying,

⁹ “As for me, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your offspring after you,

¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the livestock, and every animal of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ship, even every animal of the earth.

¹¹ I will establish my covenant with you: All flesh will not be cut off any more by the waters of the flood. There will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.”

¹² God said, “This is the token 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 will be a sign of a covenant between me and the earth.

¹⁴ When I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud,

¹⁵ I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters will no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

¹⁶ The rainbow will be in the cloud. I will look at it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

¹⁷ God said to Noah, “This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

World English Bible Classic. Public domain.