Genesis 8: The Raven and the Dove
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Noah opened a window and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth. Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground but the dove could find nowhere to perch.
Noah waited seven more days and again sent out the dove. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth.
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First Noah sent out a raven.
Good choice.
The raven is an intelligent bird--a sly bird--sometimes a trickster.
Tricksters can be very good or very bad.
They are tricky like that.
But Raven brought no good news.
Then Noah sent out a dove.
Doves can be dumb as a hammer.
But they are gentle messengers of peace.
The dove brought an olive branch--a sign of life and hope.
Turn on the news and you will hear from lots of ravens.
They are smart. Clever. Tricky.
But they bring no signs of hope.
In the storms of this world there are still plenty of signs of life and hope.
The message of the dove may seem to be drowned out by the calls of the raven.
But you listen to the dove.
Look for signs of life and hope.