Consider the Ravens and Doves (Part 2)

Scripture — Genesis 8:6-12 (NRSV)

At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made and sent out the raven, and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. Then he sent out the dove from him to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground, but the dove found no place to set its foot, and it 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 it and brought it into the ark with him. He waited another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark, and the dove came back to him in the evening, and there in its beak 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 out the dove, and it did not return to him any more.

Devotion

Last time we learned that God’s providence will even use the birds of the air. After cramped conditions and the stench of the ark for at least 150 days, God can use anything in his providence to redeem. God closed the ark door (Gen. 7:16)—thankfully there were windows. Noah sent out a raven. The raven did not return. He waited seven days and then sent out a dove. Where ravens go looking for carrion, doves go looking for peace.

Think how our work could be like the ravens: we could only look for decay and destruction. Or we can be like the doves. Doves teach us lessons about courage and help our motivation. First, doves show us to look for life. In verse 8 Noah sent out the dove looking for life, vegetation, and a place to land. The text tells us it could not find a place to place its feet (8:9a). Doves fly with courage and hope.

Secondly, doves try again and again. Unlike the raven, Noah welcomes the dove into the ark again. The dove does not look like the frailty of humanity in the face of difficulty and brokenness. This four-ounce, 12-inch-long bird does not say

• “We already tried that, Noah. It won’t work.”
• “Send someone else.”
• “That’s not my responsibility”
• “You’re on your own, Noah” (as it quietly tucks the olive branch under its wing)
• Doves keep searching, seeking, and knocking on creation until they find something.

Finally, doves find hope. Noah waited seven days and then he sent the dove out again. And when it returned it came with an olive leaf (vs 11). Doves go out again and again looking for signs of life and hope. When the dove returns with an olive branch it means there is grace upon grace: Water has receded, God’s call to creation in Genesis 1-2 is still active, and humanity will walk on dry ground again. God’s wrath has been tempered.

God’s providence enables us to be courageous when we consider the ravens and doves. And if we are birds, we are not ravens. We are to search for redemption and salvation and bring it to others. We are not ravens; we bring peace like doves.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: God’s Covenant with Noah (Genesis 9:1-19) .