Genesis 8:6 ¶ And it came to pass at the end of forty days,
that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: 7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth
to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. 8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if
the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; 9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of
her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the
face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled
her in unto him into the ark. 10 And he
stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;
11 And the dove came in to him in the
evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that
the waters were abated from off the earth. 12
And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which
returned not again unto him any more.
Forty days is a
period of testing and fasting in the Bible among other things but more
importantly of waiting on God, as Noah must do here. See Moses, Elijah, and
Jesus’ experiences.
Exodus
34:28 And he was there with the LORD
forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he
wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
1Kings
19:8 And he arose, and did eat and
drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto
Horeb the mount of God.
Matthew
4:2 And when he had fasted forty days
and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
There is a
symbolic significance to sending out a raven and a dove although the literal
meaning is that Noah did just that. As mankind is about to embark on a new
beginning on an earth that is being reborn the raven, a bird that is forbidden
to be eaten under the Law given to Moses later, is sent out of the ark. Ravens
are scavengers and predators so, presumably, this one would have found
something to eat.
Ravens are given
the task to feed Elijah in a time of drought in 1Kings 17:1-7. God is said to
provide their food in Job 38:41 and Psalm 147:9 and Luke 12:24.
And yet, they,
along with owls, bitterns, and cormorants are among the unclean birds that
represent the desolation of Idumea in Isaiah 34.
The dove with the
olive leaf in her mouth is a powerful motif in western civilization
representing making peace and Christ uses the dove in contrast to the serpent
in Matthew 10:16 with the serpent representing wisdom and the dove representing
the harmless nature of the Jewish witnesses for Him to Israel so that no one
could mistake Christ’s message to be rightly delivered by the sword. The
Catholic Church and Spain and the Anglican Church and England did much abuse to
the Scriptures by their evangelization of the world by conquest, murder, and
slavery. In this, the dove represents the witness for Christ, the essence of
which is peace with God, to a world that has been convulsed and destroyed by
sin and an alienation from our Creator.
The Holy Ghost
descends like a dove on Christ. Many Christian artists have represented the
Holy Spirit, though, by the dove with the olive leaf, or usually branch, in its
mouth.
Luke 3:22
And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and
a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am
well pleased.
Christ is our
peace with God, making of Jew and Gentile one new man, reconciling us both to
God.
Ephesians
2:14 ¶ For he is our peace, who hath
made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
15 Having abolished in his flesh the
enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in
himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in
one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17 And came and preached peace to you which were
afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18
For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
19 Now therefore ye are no more
strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the
household of God; 20 And are built upon
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the
chief corner stone; 21 In whom all the
building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an
habitation of God through the Spirit.
Also, both good
and evil, sacred and profane, proceeds from the Ark onto the earth, represented
by the dove and the raven. Mankind will visit his sinful nature and his desire
to walk with God upon this earth throughout history, both sides of his
character.
There are an
enormous number of sermons that have been made and can be made regarding the
significance of the raven and the dove.
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