_5. A Covenant of the Lord with Noah:_ Among the first acts of Noah, who may be regarded as the "second father" of the human race, was one of worship, for he built an altar unto the Lord and offered burnt offerings unto him. Renewed communion in fact with God. And the Lord covenanted with him in that day, that while the earth should remain, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night should not cease. (Gen. viii:20-22.) And in token of this perpetual covenant, "I do set my bow in cloud, said the Lord, and it shall be for the token of the covenant between me and the earth. * * * * And I will remember my covenant which is between me and you (Noah) and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh." (Gen. ix:13-15.) Of course it must not be supposed that the Lord at this time created the rain-bow for the sign of his covenant, for since ever there was sunshine and rain and dark clouds, there have been rain-bows and will be. But the Lord pointed to this beautiful phenomenon already existing, and made it the sign of his covenant with man. _6. The Seven Precepts of Noah:_ "It is an old tradition of the Rabbinical Jews, on which they lay great stress, that at this juncture Noah delivered to his children seven precepts, to be enjoined upon all their descendants. These prohibit, 1, idolatry; 2, irreverence to the Deity; 3. homicide; 4, unchastity; 5, fraud and plundering; the 6th enjoins government and obedience; and the 7th forbids to eat any part of an animal still living. Mr. Selden has largely illustrated these precepts, and regards them as a concise tablet of the Law of Nature. Though we have no positive evidences of their having been formally enjoined by the great patriarch, we can have no great reason for rejecting such an hypothesis." (Biblical Literature, Kitto, 427.)