Since that long distant day on which the dove, sent forth from Noah’s ark, sped across the waste of flood waters with an olive leaf in her mouth, assuring him that the judgment was past, and a new earth coming into view, the dove and the olive leaf have been the emblems of peace and love.
DOVES were used in Bible times for sacrifices (Lev. 14:22; Luke 2:24). They are harmless birds (Matt. 10:16) and gentle, dwelling in the valleys (Ezek. 7:16), far from the noisy crowd, making their nest in the rocks (Song of Sol. 2:14) for safety, mourning for their mates when absent (Isa. 59:11). In all these qualities they are fitting emblems of the Spirit of the blessed Saviour, our Lord Jesus, Who took that character in life, in death, in resurrection. All who are “in Him” (Jer. 48:20) are “like Him” in character and in spirit.
OLIVES are green (Psa. 52:8), fresh and full of sap (Judg. 9:9), and beauty (Hos. 14:6). They are “pressed” to provide health and healing for all. So it is with the gospel of Christ, the good news concerning Himself,” the blood that He shed, the life that He gives, the peace He has made (Col. 1’20). The olive leaf is the emblem of that peace and of the Spirit bestowed on all who trust in Christ (Eph. 1:13) as their Saviour.
VALLEYS, in which the Dove abides (Ezek. 7:16), tell where the Saviour sought comfort and relief, apart from the world in the lowly, peaceful vale with God. Here, too, all who are His should seek to be. Gethsemane means the “Olive Press,” and “Jesus oftimes resorted thither” (John 18:2).
EVERLASTING PEACE will be the happy portion of all the redeemed in heaven. Amid the storms, the trials, the sorrows of earth, they very often view that heavenly land afar off and say, “O that I had wings like a dove, that I would flee away and be at rest.” One day they will reach it sure, for the Lord Jesus is coming to take them there, to be with Himself forever. Oh, that you might be among them, dear reader.
ML 12/22/1968