Turtledoves

   I've recently discovered reruns of Touched by an Angel on our cable network. At the end of each episode, a dove usually comes to represent God's presence in the resolution of the conflict.  Did you ever wonder why the dove is used to symbolize the Holy Spirit?  Of course we know that at Jesus' baptism "the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove...."*. That alone is reason enough.  However, I've come to understand how much more symbolism is packed into that image. (Plumbing the depths of God's imagery in Scripture is definitely a lifetime process.)
   I was unaware that in the time of Abraham a contract was ratified between two people when they walked together over the blood between the halves of the animal sacrifice. 10 witnesses stood on either side to serve as 'enforcers' of the agreement in the future, should either side renege. However, when God made the covenant with Abraham, only He passed between the halves of the sacrifice. He already knew we wouldn't keep our side of the covenant and that He Himself, through His Son, would have to pay our penalty for us.
   The dove** was not divided, however, as were the other animals. It remained whole. Chaim explains that the word for dove or pigeon (tsiphar) in the Hebrew carries a second meaning of a humble or soft voice bringing the presence of the Holy Spirit.  The second word used for bird in this passage is gozel, which can mean 'to pass over.'  Hmmmm, where have I heard that passover thing mentioned before in Scripture?  Ah yes, the angel of death passed over the Hebrews when they put the blood on their doorposts in Egypt. Yeshua, Himself, was the Lamb at the Great Passover. Wow, the whole Trinity of God was represented in the Covenant ADONAI made with Abraham. (Why am I surprised?)
   Another meaning for the word tavar, whose first meaning is turtledove, is to search out one's heart to discover the truth, which, indeed, is a function of The Holy Spirit according to Scripture.  The wonderful thing is that ADONAI knows it all, every beautiful and ugly detail within our hearts, and yet has provided Himself to stand in the gap between who we are and who we should be. He made the Walk through the sacrifice, and He is the Sacrifice. He presents us with one of two interlinking turtledove ornaments as a remembrance and presses the other close to His heart. May we do the same.

*Luke 3:22
**Chaim explains why the singular, versus the plural, of the word(s) for bird might be more correctly used, in his Study 68 of Hebrew Word Study:  Revealing the Heart of God. The chapter includes other insights as well.