After the rain stopped and the world was underwater, Noah was stuck in that ark waiting for a sign. He needed to know if the earth was ready for life again. To find out, he used two very different birds, and their stories show us a lot about the two ways we can choose to live our lives.
The Raven: The Restless Scavenger
The first bird Noah sent out was a raven.
Genesis 8:7, “And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.”
The raven is a scavenger. It is a bird that feeds on what is dead and decaying. The Bible says it just went “to and fro.” It didn’t have a home to go back to, and it didn’t bring any good news back to Noah. It was content to just fly around over the destruction, probably landing on whatever was floating on the surface to get a meal.
Even though God cares for the raven, like when he commanded them to bring bread and flesh to Elijah in the wilderness (1 Kings 17:4), it is still a restless creature. It represents a heart that is okay with a world under judgment. It can survive on its own, but it has no peace and no message to share.
The Dove: The Messenger of Peace
Next, Noah sent out a dove. The dove is a completely different kind of bird. It doesn’t eat rotting flesh; it looks for life.
Genesis 8:11, “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.”
The dove couldn’t find rest in a dead world. It kept coming back to the ark until it found something fresh, a sign of new life. That olive leaf was the first sign that the judgment was over and a new beginning had started.
Throughout the Bible, the dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and the gentle presence of God. When Jesus was baptized, the Spirit of God descended like a dove upon Him. The dove doesn’t just “scavenge” to survive; it seeks out a clean place to rest.
So, at the end of the day, we have a choice in how we live.
Are we going to be like the raven? Are we going to be restless, just scraping by, and feeding our souls on the “dead” things this world has to offer?
A lot of people live that way. They go to and fro, busy and tired, but they never bring back a sign of peace to anyone.
Or are we going to be like the dove? Are we going to be the kind of people who can’t stand to rest in a world under judgment, but instead seek out the “olive leaf” of God’s Word?
Isaiah 26:3, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
The raven found enough to survive out there, but the dove found something to live for. One bird stayed out in the mess; the other brought a message of hope back home.
Don’t settle for being a scavenger. Find your peace in God, and be the one who brings the olive leaf of hope to the people around you.
