Heaping Coals

Prov. 25:21-22  If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the Lord will reward you.

We all would agree that feeding a hungry person or giving water to a thirsty person would be an act of kindness.  But how can either of those two efforts be likened to heaping coals of fire on someone's head?  Well, it seems to me that, however unlikely, this too must be an act of kindness because we are told that the Lord will reward us for doing it.

Notice that we are talking about being kind to our enemy.  Something that doesn't come naturally to us.  Something that would certainly surprise them and be quite unexpected.

At first, I was inclined to think the idea here was that by being kind to our enemies, we would make them feel ashamed or guilty for how they mistreated us.  That they would feel really bad about it or hurt in some way.  But it doesn't make sense to me that God would reward us for making someone else feel rotten.  Even our enemy.

I have read the explanation that, in the Bible, fire was a valued possession.  People nursed the coals from last night's fire to be ready for the next.  To rekindle it.  These coals were carried in buckets or baskets on top of someone's head.  So you see, sharing your embers really would be an act of kindness.  Something that you would usually only do for a friend.

The Message Bible translates verse 22 this way, "Your generosity will surprise him with goodness and God will reward you."  Surprise your enemy with goodness.  I like that.  Share your valued possession of God's love.  Rekindle something in others, especially your enemies.  And God will reward you for heaping coals!


Sock Monkey Snippet:  Surprise your enemy with goodness.