At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had 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. God can use you for His glory. God created you and all the animals and He can do what He wants with us. In the above paragraph we read how God used a raven and a dove to support Noah and give him direction. God provided Noah data for his decision making and his peace of mind. But, the data came from a raven and a dove. The raven didn’t do much for him. It just flew away. But, the dove was more discriminating in its taste. It came back on two occasions. The first time with an empty beak. The second time it came back it had an olive leaf. Why an olive leaf? Why not something else? In God’s Word an olive tree was a symbol of peace, hope and blessings. (Note Revelation 11:4 and Judges 9:8-9).
God didn’t just use the dove to give Noah direction and instruction. He directed the dove to a specific olive leaf to bring back to Noah. This was the message that there was still hope and a time of rebirth. Noah and his family (and the other animals) would come out of the Ark onto dry ground. God directed a bird to be used to direct Noah.
If God can use a bird can He use us? Can if find a way for us to find our olive branch and be used to give hope and rebirth. God, throughout Scripture, uses animals for His task and to work His plan. Don’t fall asleep and forget that God moves every creature for His glory.
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