The dove came to him toward evening, and behold, in her beak was a freshly picked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the water was abated from the earth.
– Genesis 8:11
In addition to sending out a raven, Noah also sent out a dove. Doves are clean animals that don’t like to touch the dead. When it found out there were nothing but dead bodies everywhere, it returned to the ark.
Noah waited one more week and sent out the dove again. The dove came back in the evening with “a freshly picked olive leaf.” The old creation had been taken away, and Noah and his family began to live in the new creation. His life became an expression of resurrection. He lived a fresh, renewed life.
Adapted from A Sketch of Genesis, page 73.
Tomorrow: “A Fresh Start in Resurrection” (5)