Genesis 08

The first bird Noah released from the ark was a raven.  It never came back.  Ravens, after all, are carrion birds, and the whole earth was probably liberally supplied with dead things.  A whole planet full of delicious rot, and he was the only raven around.  I bet it didn't take long before that was the fattest dang raven there's ever been.

Doves, on the other hand, like seeds.  They like plants.  They like trees they can nest in.  A raven will nest anywhere and do just fine.  Doves are more delicate.

The dove returned the first time after finding no place to land.  She came back the second time with a leaf; a step in the right direction, but things still weren't right.  The third time she went out, though, she didn't return at all.  The earth had dried, the plants had sprouted, the trees had their leaves.  The earth was ready for her, and thus for the rest of the animals ... and for man.

God spent a good deal of time preparing the planet for mankind in Genesis 1.  It makes sense that here, in a lesser, secondary act of creation, he would do no less.  I like, though, that on her second trip the dove returned with a leaf.   God had promised to keep Noah and his charges safe, but at that moment, between the horrors of the Flood and the joy of the opened doors, he gave Noah that little bit of hope.  Just a little longer, the leaf said, and everything will be alright.

God was preparing a place for them, and he's doing that for his people now.