“For all the promises of God in Him (Christ) are “Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” 2 Corinthians 1:20
In my previous blog, I spoke of Noah as a man who found grace or favor in the eyes of the Lord. God established His covenant, or promise, to never again destroy the earth by flood both in and through Noah.
After the flood- waters had receded, Noah built an altar and offered burnt offerings to the Lord. Noah profoundly realized that God had protected and provided for him and his family during the flood. Noah’s heart was filled with thanksgiving for what the Lord had done.
Interestingly, up until the flood, it had apparently not rained on the earth. Genesis 2:6 states that, “a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.” So it had not rained up until the time when Noah acted in faith and obedience to what the Lord had told him: build the ark.
That is exactly what the Bible says about Noah in Hebrews 11:7 which reads, “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with Godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” Likewise, Genesis 6:7 tells us that Noah was just a man, was perfect (or blameless) in his generation, and Noah walked with God.
A number of years ago, I was invited to attend a Bat Mitzvah for the daughter of a Jewish friend. It was my first time to attend a synagogue service. Afterward during the reception, I was amazed as I viewed all the pictures and artwork that depicted numerous scenes from the Old Testament. One such scene was of an ark with a dove returning holding a small branch or leaf. I wondered to myself whether or not the leaf was an olive branch. That was confirmed when I found in Genesis 8:11 that after the dove had been sent out a second time, it returned to him in the evening with a freshly plucked olive leaf in her mouth.
It is interesting that after the flood, Noah sent out two different birds. The first was a raven, which kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. Gen 8:7. The raven, as an unclean bird, may represent the effects of sin in earth after the fall of man.
Noah also sent out a dove three different times. The first time that the dove returned, Noah “reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark.” It was really a tender moment of Noah receiving the dove back to himself after it found no place of rest. Noah waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, and when the dove returned to the ark, it came with a freshly plucked olive leaf in its beak. After seven more days, Noah sent out the dove once more, and on that occasion, it did not return.
In an allegorical sense, the doves may represent three different aspects or periods of time when the Holy Spirit (the dove) has acted in the earth. In the Old Testament, only certain people (usually prophets, priests, kings and judges) were impacted by the power of the Holy Spirit: Saul, David and Ezekiel would be good examples. The dove’s first flight could represent the first time in history the Holy Spirit was sent out but found no place to land. The Holy Spirit would come on these men and empower them, but it did not indwell and remain with them. They were anointed by the Holy Spirit to accomplish God’s purpose for specific occasions.
When the dove returned the second time with an olive branch in its beak, this could represent the formation of the church through Christ. When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, we are told that the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove (Mark 1:10). In addition, Paul states in Romans 11 that the church is like a wild olive branch that has been grafted into the olive tree, which represents Israel. Paul then says in verse 19 that Romans will say, “Branches were broken off, that I may be grafted in.” To this Paul replies, “Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith.” Even as Noah, Abraham and the patriarchs were people of faith, we are called to be a people who stand in faith, believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
The third time the dove went out and did not return could represent the day in which we live – the church age which began with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. I will discuss this more in a future blog.
Paul links these Old Testament images to the New Testament in Romans 11:17, in speaking of Israel and the church, that we, the church, as being a wild olive tree were grafted in among them (Israel) and became a partaker of the root and fatness (richness) of the olive tree. In other words, when we come to faith in Christ, we partake of all the promises of God. 2 Corinthians 1:20 states, “For all the promises of God in Him (Christ) are “Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.”
This gives us a beautiful picture of who we are in Christ. The dove represents the Holy Spirit. When God does His redeeming work in our lives, the Holy Spirit comes and convicts us of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:7-11). When we respond in faith, like Noah, God does a supernatural work in our lives, and we become justified by faith – born again. Ephesians tells us that we become part of the common wealth of Israel (Ephesians 2:11-13). We become partakers of the promises God made to Israel. We become a part of the faith family of God, heirs to all the promises made to Abraham. We are the olive branch held in the mouth of the dove and grafted in to those promises. All the promises of the father are yes and amen in Christ. (2 Cor. 1:20)