Genesis 8:6-9 Raven and the Dove

Genesis 8:6-9 “So it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. 7 Then he sent out a raven which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth. 8 He also sent out from himself a dove, to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground. 9 But the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned into the ark to him, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her, and drew her into the ark to himself.”

Romans 15:4 tells us “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”

The things recorded in Scriptures are for our learning. Each letter is a revelation from God. To pay attention to the details will reveal the wonders of the scriptures and show the inerrancy of God’s Word.

What significance are the raven and the dove in Genesis 8? Why does Noah choose to send out a raven and a dove? Why does the raven not return whilst the dove does?

Could it be that the raven represents man and the dove represents the Holy Spirit?

The flood was God’s first judgment upon sinful man. Gen. 7:22 states, “Al in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died.” Outside of the safety of Noah’s ark, it must have been a terrible sight of judgment. Debris and bodies of all living things would of filled the waters upon the earth. Think of the footage of the aftermath of recent Tsunamis, how dirty the waters became. Outside would have been filled with death and stagnation.

If the raven represents man. It is no wonder that he did not return to the ark when he was released onto the earth. For if he represented man and its sinful and unclean nature, the raven would have enjoyed what it saw and felt at home amongst the death and filth. For we know that sin is death. John 3:19 tells us “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and man loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”  He would of enjoyed his time amongst the defilement for sin appeals to it. Hebrews 11:25 tells us that sin is pleasurable to us.

Despite our love fro the things that God detests, God still has mercy on us to the point that He sent His Son to rescue us out of the death-filled miry waters that our sinful nature so loves.

Turn to Luke 12:24. The Lord makes a comparison between man and the raven. “Consider the ravens for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?”

If the dove represents the perfect Holy Spirit, then no wonder she returned to the safety of the ark.  For she could not find anywhere to rest amongst the death and filth and judgment, lest she defile herself. Death is a very unclean thing. Haggai 2:13 illustrates to us that if any unclean thing touches something clean, it will defile that thing and make it unclean. (Numbers 19:13).

The Holy Spirit had no place to rest on the earth; only a visitor to empower certain characters until its pouring out on all believers in Acts 2.

The Holy Spirit had no place to rest until Luke 3:22, when it found a clean place without defilement to settle: “And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are my bellowed Son; in You I am well pleased.”

-BACChristian