The Dove in the Flood

A note about the following devotional: When I first read this passage on January 6, 2026 in my quiet time, it struck me. There was a quickening to it that led me to pause and meditate on this scripture, adding it to my notes app with a few remarks. The piece that really stuck out at the time was the juxtaposition between the dove and the raven, that when we are walking in obedience in the Lord, there's moments that we have to wait and see what is actually brought by the Lord and in that distinction, to let it go out and to see what brings peace back to you, mimicking Luke 10:5-6. To be very vulnerable, it felt like a word to me regarding a relationship I had just entered, where He told me to wait and see what would come back. There were parts of the Scripture that I had a hard time interpreting - specifically, what exactly the raven represented in this passage. When I first jotted down notes about it, I was thinking of it's connection to other Scriptures, where Elijah is given bread by a raven in the midst of famine, and it therefore becomes a prophetic messenger of the living word of God to him, and also in this passage, where as the raven is going "to and fro" over there waters, there also seems to be a reference back Genesis 1 where the Spirit is hovering over the water. At the time, I had all these conflicting thoughts around this but also knew it was distinct from the Holy Spirit, represented by the dove. I wrote a quick note about the passage and let it sit, thinking maybe eventually it would come to mind again, I would study further and add it to "This Wroughten Life". Fast forward a few months and a breakup later, and I had completely forgotten about the passage. But, at the end of May, the sermon at my church was on the Holy Spirit and based on this passage. Taking notes, I realized that the Lord not only brought this passage back up, but He brought its conviction to completion in my life. That just as the dove went out and came back with an olive branch, the Lord had given me this word that went out, and came back to me with a declaration of peace and annointing through my Pastor's (Jeff Wells) preaching on it. And now, having spent much more time to actually study it for myself has led to finally completing this devotion. I paraphrase Pastor Jeff’s interpretation of the raven in this passage, the rest of the devotion is my own through prayer, meditation, research using my ESV Study Bible and reviewing the original Hebrew on blueletterbible.com (no AI was used). To listen to Pastor Jeff’s sermon, please click this link. 

Genesis 8:1-12 ESV “But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of the 150 days the waters had abated, and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month the tops of the mountains were seen. At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he made and sent forth a raven. It went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground. But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she 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 her and brought her into the ark with him. He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth 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 forth the dove, and she did not return to him anymore.” 

For Context:

In Genesis 6:5-9:28, The Lord is grieved by the total wickedness of His creation and has determined to destroy it. The only exception to the wickedness is one man, Noah, who it says “was a righteousness man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:9).” And because of this, God told Noah His plan to flood the earth and His exclusive means of salvation for Noah, his family, and two of every living creature: for Noah to build an ark. God gives Noah the building instructions and Noah follows these instructions - he builds the ark to its specifications, he gathers all edible foods from the earth (for his family and for all living creatures), and when the earth begins to flood, he, his wife, three sons, each of their wives, and 2 of every living creature enter the ark and escape. It rains for 40 days and 40 nights, and as the waters increased, the ark floats over the flood over the earth, while everything outside of the ark was destroyed. Noah and his family were on this ark “and the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.” (Genesis 7:24 ESV) 

The word translated "prevail" here, גָּבַר, prounced gāḇar, means just that, to dominate and prove more powerful than any opposition; to conquer. It is in the sequential, imperfect tense, which is meant to be understood as an ongoing, incomplete tense of the verb, think- “were prevailing”. The focus up to this point is that the waters, the sheer torrential force, was actively devastating all that was alive on the earth, just as the Lord said. It dominated all focus for 150 days as the waters were continuously destroying all that was on the earth and therefore actively preventing any new life from forming or prospering. This single ark carried the only existing life as the world around them, the only world Noah, his family, and the animals knew, was completely destroyed. Scripture doesn’t say that Noah is aware of any next steps beyond the ark and a promise of survival. The only instructions given were to build an ark, a flood was coming, and that God would save Noah’s family and 2 of every animal (and 7 pairs of each clean animal for the purpose of sacrifice and food, although at this point they didn’t actually have a distinction of ‘clean’ vs 'unclean' beyond the Lord's specific instruction here). He had been obedient in faith, believing the Lord to do what He said regarding the flood, but didn’t know the rest of the story beyond just existing with all other living things in existence on the ark. At this point, from a visual (and literal) perspective, everything was washed away and there was no way for it to return and no promise that land would come. In a lot of ways, it probably felt depressing and bleak.

But what immediately follows the waters prevailing is God's remembrance.

Genesis 8:1a ESV, “But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark…”

Despite this time of waters “prevailing”, the Lord remembered Noah and the living creatures that He had set aside. This word "remembered", זָכַר, pronounced zāḵar, is also in the sequential, imperfect tense: “was calling to mind”. It wasn’t that the Lord suddenly remembered something forgotten, but rather, that there was an intentional focus shift, He had completed the promise of the flood, and now He was shifting His focus to restoring creation through Noah, his family, and all the animals. He called to mind His sequential promise: salvation through the redemption of the Ark.  

Genesis 8:1b-6 ESV “And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of the 150 days the waters had abated, and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month the tops of the mountains were seen. At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he made”

The word translated as “wind” in Genesis 8:1, רוּחַ, pronounced rûaḥ, which is used here to describe God’s means of diminishing the waters is a Biblical Hebrew word that is often translated as “Spirit”. In this interchangable function of translation, there is a beautiful transition of narrative that begins a parallel of Genesis 1. The Lord is recreating from the heavens, the earth, except this time, it is in living partnership with mankind (Noah and his family).  The Hebrew word translated “window” in Genesis 8:2,אֲרֻבָּה, pronounced 'ărubâ, means window or chimney, while the word translated “window” in Genesis 8:6, חַלּוֹן, pronounced hallôn, is a different word and means specifically window (piercing of a wall). As God begins to decrease the flood waters, there is a shift where the work of heaven is no longer coming down from the sky onto the earth as it did when the water was prevailing. Instead, as the Spirit is once again hovering over the waters of a formless creation, Noah and his family have a horizontal view from the ark to creation as they get to watch the Spirit work on their behalf. 

Genesis 8:7-12 ESV “At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he made and sent forth a raven. It went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground. But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she 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 her and brought her into the ark with him. He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth 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 forth the dove, and she did not return to him anymore.” 

The first bird that is sent out is a raven, which “goes to and fro”, never returning to the ark. The raven is an unclean bird, a scavenger. And it never returns to Noah or the ark. 

In parallel, Noah also sends out a dove, but this bird is given a purpose, to reveal if the waters have subsided. The dove returns to him at first with nothing, but when sent out a second time she brings back an olive leaf, fresh growth.  Finally, Noah sends her out a third time and she does not return to him, marking a significant moment in which it is time to inquire if he can come out of the ark. 

There is a restlessness to the raven, we see it moving back and forth tirelessly, finding no ground to settle on, but also not returning to Noah. Because of the flood, there were dead and decaying bodies everywhere, flesh abounded. The scavenger had its fill, and where flesh was rampant, the Spirit could not rest. But the raven didn’t bring the decay back, rather, the Lord held Noah and his family and the living creatures there and in due time, brought back His anointing, an olive leaf, declaring life and peace between Himself and mankind and anointing them for His purpose. 

After the dove didn’t return, Noah checked and opened the ark and discovered that the ground was dry. Before going out, the Lord speaks to Noah, “Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh – birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth (Genesis 8:16-19 ESV).” 

They go out, build an altar to the Lord, and we see the completion of the new creation story, ending with the same command the Lord gave Adam and Eve at the end of the first creation narrative: "be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth", but this time with a promise to never destroy the earth with a flood again, creating a rainbow as a visualization of this promise.  

Wow, what a narrative, full of heavy parallels, emotion, and symbolism. Where do we go from here and what is the point? 

Central Themes:

• The Lord brought two and two of every kind of animal - male and female, not just to save the individual but also to secure their legacy and surviving lineage. His focus is never on just the individual, but always on the generation, which we see throughout Scripture. He didn't create a means for just Noah and his immediate family to survive for their life span, but every living creature to survive and multiply.

• 40 days - there is two references to 40 days in this account, once in how long it rains, and then in the length of time between the ark beaching and when he opens a window. This is similar to other parallels of 40 days in Scripture. Moses goes to Mount Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights twice (once prior to the golden calf) the second after, where the Lord's redeems what could have been lost by Israelites intentional idolatry, forgives them and repeats the process of Moses returning to the mountain and retrieving The Law, which was at first broken and then remade, for them to be set apart. The same pattern can also been seen in the story of the Israelites' 40 years in the Wilderness of Sin paralleled in Jesus' 40 days in the desert being tempted but never sinning. Where there is sin, the Lord always creates a restitution of sin plan at His own expense. He always mirrors the wrath and incomplete story that suffers consequence of sin with a sequential, parallel to that same situation redone that leads to salvation. His plan is patterned to create a narrative arch that never ends in just destruction, but is always made whole through a responsive act of merciful redemption.

• 7 Days (One Week)- there are multiple references throughout the narrative to 7 days. God instructs them to get into the boat seven days before He says He will flood the earth. Additionally there was a 7 days span between each time Noah sent the dove out of the ark. Each of these references is meant to remind the reader of the 7 day timeline of Genesis' creation narrative and create an anticipation and expectation of it's retelling. Just as Noah, his family, and the living creatures all wait in anticipation of the renewal of creation after the flood - it also foreshadows the desire of all creation for its final redemption as is stated in Romans 8:19-23.

• Water - throughout Scripture there is an emphasis of water - the waters which cover the earth at the beginning of Genesis, this flood narrative, God providing water to the Israelites through desert rocks during Exodus, water flowing out of the Temple and reviving a desert in Ezekiel, Jonah running away from God by a ship to Tarshish and being swallowed by a great fish, John’s water baptism of repentance, the central setting of the sea of Galilee in the Gospels and the storms that would come upon it in the midst of travel, and the call to believer’s baptism. Water is required for life and it can be nourishing or devastating, it has the power to destroy life and also birth it. In this narrative, there is a beautiful symbolism of the power of the Holy Spirit and also the process of salvation - the narrative of the flood and redemption of creation is a picture of the very first baptism. Just as Noah and his family were saved from the wrath of God by His plan to use a wooden ark, so mankind can be saved from the wrath of God through His plan to use a wooden cross.

• The Raven vs. the Dove - The raven, flesh motivated, is tireless. It's goes back and forth over the waters restlessly, getting it's fill of the flesh and never returning with peace to the ark. Meanwhile, the dove is given purpose- it rests with the Lord's promise continuously, going out in search of His Word, in expectation of His timing, and providing peace to the Lord's people. We can either live in the flesh of our circumstance, feeding upon negative circumstances as fuel for bitterness, anger and sin, focused only by what is seen and never finding rest in the promises of God. Or we can be led by the Holy Spirit, trusting the Lord's purpose in every situation, having an expectation of His promise, and giving comfort to His people in the midst of God-given peace.

• God is by nature redemptive and doesn’t have to share His entire plan with us to prove it. We see this throughout Scripture, the greatest example being the plan and execution of salvation through Jesus slowly unfolding throughout thousands of years. We are called to live by faith and not by sight, and we can trust the nature of God to honor His promises and that His desire is for redemption and He has a radical, intentional plan for this for each person if they chose obedience in Jesus Christ. 

Every part of Noah's story had a purpose. I’m sure Noah had an idea that the flood wouldn’t last forever, that the animals and people were meant to multiply and therefore couldn’t be on the ark for the rest of their lives. But he wasn’t given the game plan of how redemption would happen. Even my story of how this particular devotional was written is a great example of not knowing the full story but that God will never let His Word return void in our life.

Application:

What about you - what is holding you back from faith in Jesus’ redemption plan for your life today in your present circumstance? What waters have prevailed that have made you question His remembrance? Admit these to the Lord and ask Him to heal these areas and remind you deeply of His care and devotion to you/your story, ask Him to minister to your heart. 

Prayer:

Father, thank you for loving me and caring for me. Thank you that there is no unseen thing in my life but that You are a God who remembers, restores, and has a plan for me and perfect timing. Forgive me where I lose sight of that and give me faith to trust You even when I don’t understand. (You can take it from here, make it personal - He cares for you). Amen. 

Creative Activity:

Meditate on the narrative of the creation story and this one, ask the Lord to bring these story elements to mind and inspire creative focus with the Holy Spirit. Grab paper and either a pen or pencil and let the words or image lead you to a creative exercise in tune with the Holy Spirit.