Genesis 8:6-12

⁶ At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made ⁷ and sent out the raven, and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. ⁸ Then he sent out the dove from him to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground, ⁹ but the dove found no place to set its foot, and it 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 it and brought it into the ark with him. ¹⁰ He waited another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark, ¹¹ and the dove came back to him in the evening, and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. ¹² Then he waited another seven days and sent out the dove, and it did not return to him any more.

Mark 1:9-11

⁹ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove upon him. ¹¹ And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my Son, the Beloved;^[h] with you I am well pleased.

Is there a dove in the Bible? Yes. In the first book of the Old Testament (Genesis) and in the first written of the 4 gospels (Mark). And the dove is a sign of peace and power.

In Genesis, the dove finds a sign of new life after the flood. Peace has once again returned to the earth and God’s relationship with us. And in Mark, the Spirit descends like a dove on the Son of God as Jesus is baptized. Peace and power has come into the world.

Is there a dove the Bible? Yes. Does that dove remind us of God’s work in our lives? Yes, indeed.

Prayer

God, Your Spirit has blown into our lives again and again like a fluttering dove. Touch my life again with the peace and power that you provide to all who follow Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Amen.