Noah and his family have been aboard this ship for over 150 days. The rain- the never-ending rain- has finally ended. The great, dark, dank ocean is receding. Already mountain tops have been sighted. They are bare- any vegetation or life ripped apart by the pressure of the water that had descended upon them.
This new world is a scary, foreboding land. It is a harsh and cruel environment. Aboard the ark, the men and women dream of land, of a home- a resting place.
Noah sends out a raven. Surely it will find a safe harbour. But the raven doesn't return. It flies to and fro across the landscape- far, far away from Noah's ark.
Instead Noah sends out a dove. The dove found no where to land and returns to Noah, who lovingly reaches out to her and she lands upon his hand. Seven days later Noah again sends forth the dove. She returns, this time clutching in her beak a fresh olive branch: there is life again in this new world!
Noah waits another seven days and again sends his dove. This time surely she shall find a home- a place of peace and rest- an island of hope in these stormy seas. The dove does not return. She continues to fly, from nation to nation, from continent to continent she soars and dives. She seeks a home, a place of rest for God's people. Back and forth, around and around she flies- nothing eludes her gaze.
And then, in the tiniest of nations, in the wilderness lands, she finds what she has been seeking. Rest, peace, safety. Read it for yourself,
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Like the dove, in Jesus alone we can find true peace and sanctuary.
Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin? The blood of Jesus whispers peace within.
