Heap Burning Coals on Their Heads?
A couple of times over the past week or so I’ve come across the verses that mention the phrase “heap burning coals on his head”.
“If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.” Proverbs 25:21-22 (ESV)
“To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”” Romans 12:20 (ESV)
At first glance, it sounds a little ironic, like “be nice to be mean”. It almost seems a bit insincere as if we are doing good to our enemy in order to actually punish them in some way. However, through a little bit of further study I found some possible significance to the reference of “heap burning coals”, so I thought I would share my findings with you this week to give you some further understanding and insight as well.
A burning conviction
One possibility is that to heap burning coals on their head might mean to cause a sense of burning conviction. In a way, this will awaken a deadened conscience–think of stoking a fire to bring it back to life again. Being kind to them may cause them to feel shame or remorse for their behavior. An unexpected, undeserved, and merciful response might inspire a guilty conscience and assist in pointing out the error of their ways. At the very least, they should feel their sin more to the point of aggravating them.
Kindness and love bring in light which exposes sin and darkness.
“All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.” John 3:20 (NLT)
“But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them” Ephesians 5:13 (NLT)
Melt them into repentance
In his commentary on Romans 12, Matthew Henry says that to heap burning coals on his head is to
“Melt him into repentance and friendship, and mollify his spirit towards thee’’ (alluding to those who melt metals; they not only put fire under them, but heap fire upon them; thus Saul was melted and conquered with the kindness of David, 1 Samuel 24:16 and 1 Samuel 26:21)—”thou wilt win a friend by it, and if thy kindness have not that effect then.”[1]
In other words, our acts of kindness and love have the ability to melt or soften the hearts of our enemies and those who hurt us. These acts have the capacity to turn others around. God can take a stony, stubborn heart and make it tender and responsive.
“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” Ezekiel 36:26 (NLT)
This should not come as a surprise since God behaves the very same way with us. HIS kindness is intended to lead us to repentance.
“Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” Romans 2:4 (NIV)
“Yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 (NIV)
Heap burning coals by praying the presence of God over them
One of my favorite interpretations of this phrase came from one of Dave Adamson’s Instagram devotions where he relayed a possible cultural idea behind the phrase:
“Is there something in the Bible that makes no sense to you?
One of the things that never made sense to me was a verse in the Book of Proverbs that encourages us to “heap burning coals” on the head of your enemy (Provers 25:22). I mean, in a bible that speaks about compassion and forgiveness, this seems to be the opposite of loving those who have wronged you, right?
But there is a cultural idea that may explain this verse.
You see, in Genesis 15 God appears to Abraham as a “smoking firepot,” which is a clay pot like this one, filled with hot coals that cause smoke to come from the spout. The Hebrew language has a convention called the “rule of first mention”, that says the first time a word appears in a text defines that word for the rest of the document. As this story about God appearing to Abraham is the first time that “smoke”, “fire”, a “firepot” or “burning coals” appears in the Bible, the rule of first mention means these things represent the presence of God throughout the Bible. We see examples of this in the burning bush, and the pillar of fire that led the Israelites in the desert.
So, when you apply this to the verse in Proverbs, putting burning coals on an enemy’s head actually means praying that the presence of God would be over them!
Cool, right?!
See, there is no greater act of compassion and forgiveness than to pray this for someone who has hurt or wronged you. In fact, this is what Jesus told us to do—to pray for our enemies.
Has someone hurt or wronged you? Then you are called to show compassion toward them by praying that God will be present with them, and watching over them. I know first-hand how hard this is … but God has called us to live differently to the world.
“Temple was filled with smoke from God’s glory and power.” — Revelation 15:8”[2]
The bible calls us to love our enemies
“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48 (NLT)
“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you.
“If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.
“Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.” Luke 6:27-36 (NLT)
“Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.” Romans 12:14 (NLT)
“See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.” 1 Thessalonians 5:15 (NLT)
This is opposite of human nature
Our natural instinct is to retaliate when others wrong or harm us . However, the bible calls us to do the opposite. This will be extremely difficult, but the good thing is that we don’t have to do it in our own strength or power. We have access to the power, love and kindness of God via the Holy Spirit inside of us. It only takes tapping into that in order to respond in the way that God asks us to respond. We have the grace of God, his supernatural ability and power, which will help us to do things that ordinarily don’t come naturally.
“Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NLT)
“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13 (NIV)
“I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.” Ephesians 3:16 (NLT)
Take Some Practical Steps to Heap Burning Coals on the Heads of Your Enemies or Those Who Wrong You:
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First, you need to get your heart right—Have the correct motives.
You are not intentionally being nice in order to punish the other person (even though that might be your first instinct!). The purpose of your heart should be to point that person back to God. Remember…God knows the intent of your heart!
“We may think we are doing the right thing, but the LORD always knows what is in our hearts.” Proverbs 21:2 (CEV)
“You may think everything you do is right, but the LORD judges your motives.” Proverbs 16:2 (GNT)
“God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us.” Acts 15:8 (NLT)
“Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the LORD see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.” Proverbs 24:17-18 (ESV)
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Secondly, take action. Be intentional and showing kindness and love as your response as the aforementioned verses call us to do.
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Next, realize this may not always be easy, may not come naturally, and/or may seem impossible to do considering your circumstances. Call on God for help.
Remember that when you are weak, God can still be strong in the midst of your weakness IN and THROUGH you. Ask God for extra grace, patience, and strength in order to respond in love and kindness. Pray, “God, I can’t, but you can. I need your help.” God WILL empower you.
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Finally, pray for your enemy or the person who has wronged you.
Pray for God’s presence to be over them. Then, pray for God to soften their hearts, giving them tender and responsive hearts. Pray that your kindness and God’s kindness will lead them to repentance. Pray for God to convict them and show them the error of their ways and the hurt that they have caused. Genuinely pray that God will turn them back to Him. Pray that God will heap burning coals on their heads.
**Caveat: This post is by no means intended to condone or excuse behaviors of abuse, nor are we recommending that people stay in an abusive situation to lead someone to repentance. If you are in an abusive situation, please notify the proper law enforcement agencies and seek professional guidance and help.
Have you seen the positive effects of heaping burning coals on the heads of your enemies? Tell us about it by leaving a comment below.
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If you know anyone that could benefit from this, please pay it forward! Share this post via the sharing links below. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)
- Henry, Matthew. “Romans 12 Commentary – Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete).” Bible Study Tools, www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/romans/12.html. ↑
- Adamson, Dave. “Is There Something in the Bible That Makes No Sense to You?” Instagram, 23 July 2019, www.instagram.com/p/B0QW8I5HAsr/. ↑
