Issue 1461 – The Raven and The Dove May 30, 2024
I was recently reading Genesis and rereading the flood narrative. I was struck by something I hadn’t paid attention to before.
At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made and sent forth a raven. It went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground. But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him. He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. Then he waited another seven days and sent forth the dove, and she did not return to him anymore. Genesis 8:6-12
That’s familiar to anyone who knows the classic Old Testament stories. What struck me was Noah’s choice of birds.
He first sends out the raven, an unclean bird (see Leviticus 11) often associated with death. It fails to complete the task. Noah then sends out the dove, a bird typically symbolic of peace and the Holy Spirit. The dove brings back proof of the receding waters and the existence of land.
I confess upfront that some of what is written this morning is speculative and designed to provoke thought.
The raven failed its task and wandered to and fro above the earth. Is there a parallel here to the evil one? He, too, is described as wandering to and fro on the earth, and both are associated with death.
The dove, the symbol of the Spirit, succeeds. Is there a picture here of good versus evil?
Why did Noah choose a raven in the first place? Was it because the Raven could live on whatever dead things it found, where the dove could not? We can only speculate, as the text doesn’t tell us why.
The fact that both clean and unclean still lived in the world after the flood may be a word picture and foreshadowing. After the flood and all sinners were wiped out, one might conclude that the newly dried-up world would be free of sin. Yet, it was not, and will not be, until the culmination of all things.
To be honest, I don’t know why the raven and the dove are included in the story, yet both are clearly important. There must be some significance, or the story wouldn’t have included both birds. If the raven had been omitted from the narrative, we would still see the dove succeed.
What do you think? Why the raven and the dove?
Be blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
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Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. Your value in God’s eyes is so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that his plan for heaven will not be complete without you.
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the English Standard Version (ESV)