46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Matthew 5:43-48 New International Version ( NIV)Ĥ3 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. If he is thirsty, give him water to drink.Ģ2 In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, Proverbs 25:21-22 New International Version ( NIV)Ģ1 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat Now I can see that Jesus’ commandment & Proverbs are not contradictory at all! “heaping burning coals on your enemies head” is all about genuine acts of kindness towards him, regardless of how he has behaved towards you. It isn’t about doing good to your enemy so that he feels bad & reforms his behaviour towards you either! It is all about genuine acts of thoughtful kindness, ie loving your enemy, regardless of how you have been treated. So, as you can see, the idea of “heaping burning coals on your enemies head” is not a reference to getting revenge, or getting even, or even making him suffer. So, the word for you today is – treat your enemy with kindness.” – Word for Today, 03/Oct/2017 You can experience the short-term satisfaction of retaliating and get into trouble with God for doing it, or show mercy and kindness and be rewarded by God for doing it. When you treat an enemy this way, the Bible promises, ‘The LORD will reward you.’ You have a choice. ‘Heaping burning coals on someone’s head’ came to be a popular expression for a spontaneous and courteous act one person would voluntarily do for another. Thanks to the thoughtful generosity of a few folks, they would arrive at the site with a pile of burning coals on their head, and a ready-made fire for cooking and keeping warm. So, as the individual passed beneath second-storey windows, thoughtful people who had extra hot coals in their possession would reach out the window and place them in the container atop their head. The container was commonly carried on the head. Frequently, a person would run low on hot coals and need to replenish his or her supply. What does it mean to ‘heap coals of fire on his head’?Ĭharles Swindoll explains that in ancient days, homes were heated and meals were fixed on a small portable stove, somewhat like our outside barbecue grills. ‘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’ (vv. “It’s not enough to simply leave your enemies alone you must demonstrate God’s love towards them. Here’s the entire W4T devotional to explain, the key bit is in the 2nd paragraph… It all comes down to our understanding of what “heap burning coals on your enemies head” actually means. I read a Word for Today (W4T) daily devotional the other day that answers that seeming contradiction rather neatly. If you read the Proverb in terms of using your kind acts to make your enemy feel bad about his own behaviour towards you, then it sounds more like low-level revenge than kindness! So how do we reconcile these two ideas? I’ve sometimes wondered how we reconcile Jesus’ New Testament command to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48, Luke 6:27-36) with the Proverb “heap burning coals on your enemies head” (Proverbs 25:21-22). Burning coals on his head or love for enemies?īible Cartoon: Proverbs 25v22 – Heap burning coals on head of enemyįollow this link to see this Bible Cartoon on the BC Gallery page, with download & purchase options:
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