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Posted by No-Heller Here's the true meaning behind coals of fire on their heads.
In Reply to: Hey *****, I don't want people to go to hell...... posted by #####
I'm doing a long series of writings called "The Burning Love of God and the Raging Wrath of man." The first one deals with that "coals" story. I think it's beautiful. Hope it blesses you:
I've cut out the part about the Hot coals at brought it up front in case you didn't want to read the whole story.
Hot Coals on Our Enemies' Heads
"Abraham, wake up, son. It's time to bless the village."
His mother had been up much early striking the flint to prepare the coals which Abraham would carry to each of the homes in his small village.
It is hard for us Westerners to appreciate many of the seemingly insignificant details found in the simple life of the Jews of Palestine. Hundreds, no, thousands of treasures lie on the pages of our Bibles if we would but dig back a few thousand years.
It was customary in the ancient East to share the responsibility of preparing the fires on which the women would prepare the meals for the day. Families would take turns rising up especially early to make enough coals to start fires for each family in the village. Then these coals would be placed in a container, perhaps a broken piece of pottery. A child was
usually selected to take the coals to each home in the village so they might use them to start the fires for their homes.Abraham was just days away from his Bar Mitzvah. Very soon he would become a "son of commandment" and be allowed to sit with the men. As he went from home to home, he practiced the portion of Scripture he would read on this great occasion in a Jewish boy's
life. The coals on his head were nice and warm bringing their warmth all the way down to his toes.Gentle knock at the door of the Solomon home.
"Ah, good morning, Abraham. Thank you for bringing the coals." The lady of the house took just enough coals to start her own fire.
Abraham felt good, bringing fire to each of the houses in the village while singing a Psalm.
"Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord by God, You are very great:
You are clothed with honor and majesty,
Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,
Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters,
Who makes the clouds His chariot,
Who walks on the wings of the wind,
Who makes his angels spirits,
His ministers a flame of fire."
Yes…Abraham is warm…his body is warm from the heat of the coals on his head and his soul is warm towards the Lord as He sings of the greatness of Yahweh. His mind flashes back to the day the vessel on his head came to be used for carrying hot coals.His sister, Ruth, had gone to the well to bring the family its daily water supply with her clay jug. He was playing with his friends, Jacob and Ephraim. Ephraim was chasing him. Trying to escape, Abraham ran around his sister, grabbing one of her arms as he hid behind her. Ruth was caught off balance and the clay vessel on her head came crashing
down.Ruth immediately burst into tears as she ran towards her home. She felt ashamed. The Semites had many deep-rooted traditions--traditions that are hard for other peoples to understand. The clay water container to Ruth was like her soul. In Semitic mindset, the body is like a clay vessel which contains the water of life, that is, the soul. So in a sense, for this water girl, her life was broken and poured out on the dirt. I realize it may be difficult for us Westerners to grasp these feelings. The idea of shame is becoming a rare commodity these days in our culture.
In those days, (and even to this day in some middle Eastern villages) all the large pieces of the water-pot would of course be saved and used for other purposes. Job used such a piece to scrape his sores. The largest piece would become the "brazier" to be used to carry the coals from house to house. It was not uncommon to see in the middle of the day a young boy carrying a few coals to a neighbor's house whose fire had gone out. And if one wanted to be generous, they would give a heaping pile, which would get the fire going quickly.
Each piece of the broken water-pot would find a useful purpose. Only the smallest pieces would be discarded being buried on the property of the owner. A broken water-pot would become a "vessel of destruction," that is, a vessel which no longer served its original purpose. This is how the ancients used this term. Amazing, isn't it, how differently the Bible begins to read when we immerse ourselves into the culture of the Biblical period. Perhaps we are entering a time when the Lord will remove the thick layers of crust over our eyes so that we can catch the spirit of the original writers. It is really quite difficult to see through the thick, cloudy scales of the traditions and superstitions of men. These
traditions and superstitions have covered the truth like the cities of bygone days which have been covered with layer upon layer of dust and sand, waiting for this generation to unearth them so that they could retell their stories. We call these earth-covered cities, "tells." The Arab world is sitting on thousands of "tells" waiting for minds who are ready
to receive the truth they have to "tell" us.Having read the above story, perhaps the following portion of Scripture begins to take on a different meaning:
"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.BACK - Tentmaker - Newer Posts - Spirit of the Word -"Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved do NOT avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. Therefore,
'If your enemy hungers, feed him;
If he thirst, give him a drink; For in so doing you will HEAP HOT COALS ON HIS HEAD.'"Do not be overcome by evil, but over come evil with good.
Romans 12:14-2