10 Jan. God makes a new agreement with mankind
"Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, 'Have many children; grow in number and fill the earth. Every animal on earth, every bird in the sky, every animal that crawls on the ground and every fish in the se will respect and fear you. I have given them to you.' "
"'Everything that moves, everything that is alive, is yours for food. Earlier I gave you the green plants, but now I give you everything for food. But you must not eat meat that still has blood in it, because blood gives life...'"
"Then God said to Noah and his sons, 'Now I am making my agreement with you and your people who will live after you, and with every living thing that is with you - the birds, the tame and the wild animals, and with everything that came out of the boat with you - with every living thing on earth.'"
"'I will make this agreement with you: I will never again destroy all living things by a flood. A flood will never again destroy the earth.'"
"And God said, 'This is the sign of the agreement between me and you and every living creature that is with you. I am putting my rainbow in the clouds as the sign of the agreement between me and the earth.'"
"'When I bring clouds over the earth and a rainbow appears in them, I will remember my agreement between me and you and every living thing. Floods will never again destroy all life on the earth.'"
"'When the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and I will remember the agreement that continues for ever between me and every living thing on the earth."
(Genesis 9:1-16)
After the devastating flood, God promised to bless Noah and established a new covenant agreement with him: "I will make this agreement with you: I will never again destroy all living things by a flood. A flood will never again destroy the earth." (Genesis 9:11)
And to show that he would keep his promise for all time, a rainbow in the sky was to be the sign of God's everlasting promise that the whole earth would never again be destroyed by a flood: "When I bring clouds over the earth and a rainbow appears in them, I will remember my agreement between me and you and every living thing." (Genesis 9:16)
The Old Testament (literally 'the Old Covenant') is the story of how God made agreements ('covenants') with mankind, and how mankind continuously broke these covenant agreements and rebelled against God. Ultimately, God decided that the only way to bring mankind back to himself was to send his only Son to establish a new covenant relationship - and that is the subject of the 'New Testament' (literally 'the New Covenant').
As part of the first covenant agreement made with Noah, God introduced the first of the food laws which would become a prominent feature of the Jewish way of life right up to the present day: "Everything that moves, everything that is alive, is yours for food... But you must not eat meat that still has blood in it, because blood gives life." (Genesis 9:3-4)
This was to develop into a complex system of Kosher food laws that were firmly established in Jewish life and culture by the time the descendants of Jacob moved into the 'promised land' of Canaan (see, for example, Leviticus 11:1-47).
The photo (by Wing-Chi Poon) shows a rainbow in the sky at Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada.
You can read more about God's covenant agreement with Noah @ https://www.thebiblejourney.org/biblejourney2/23-the-journeys-of-adam-enoch-noah-abraham/noah-journeys-to-aratta-on-the-flood