We have been deeply indoctrinated that blessings are almost always "material." When God speaks of blessing, most often in this age of grace it is associated with spiritual matters and holiness.
Job 5:17 "17 “Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves;
therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty."
Ephesians 1:3 "3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,"
Yes, God does bless with material possessions and safety, but blessing is not always associated with these things, often it is a correction, redirection, even a severe spanking that changes our course from sin to obedience.
I learned just recently that "heaping hot coals" is a Jewish idiom that explains the phrase much more fully, even exposing the fact that our modern culture of psychology has changed that meaning to be almost opposite of what we were taught, almost!
We were taught that "heaping hot coals of kindness" as mentioned in Proverbs 25:21-22 "…21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; 22 For you will heap burning coals on his head, And the LORD will reward you."" means to act friendly, happy around them while providing something material to them.
What we as westerners didn't know is that when the priest found someone sleeping and neglecting their duties, he would take hot coals and pour it over their head to shake them awake while showing the foolishness of their folly.
Psalm 140:9-11
9 As for the head of those who surround me,
May the mischief of their lips cover them.
10 “May burning coals fall upon them;
May they be cast into the fire,
Into deep pits from which they cannot rise.
11 “May a slanderer not be established in the earth;
May evil hunt the violent man speedily.
Psalm 140:9-11
9 [As for] the head of them that compass me,
the mischief of their lips shall cover them.
10 Coals of fire shall fall upon them on the earth;
and thou shalt cast them down in afflictions:
they shall not bear up [under them].
11 A talkative man shall not prosper on the earth:
evils shall hunt the unrighteous man to destruction.
Romans 12:19-20
19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Our modern church psychology teaches that we heap hot coals of kindness so the sinning person involved will feel bad about their behavior and begin to like the person who blessed them and possibly God. This is not Biblical, but antithetical to good understanding of that phrase, "heap hot coals of kindness." God is the One Who brings down the coals, we do not do that with our actions. We must remain faithful to God and He in turn will do what is needed with the wicked man.
We know this by this verse: Isaiah 26:10 "10 Though the wicked is shown favor, He does not learn righteousness; He deals unjustly in the land of uprightness, And does not perceive the majesty of the LORD. "
Giving material possessions to a wicked man only solidifies the rebellion in his heart. When we bless someone with food who is hungry, we are responsible for our own heart, not for the responses of the one we bless. We should never give a gift to heap hot coals. We are to obey God, and the hot coal heaping is God's work.
When a wicked man will not repent we are responsible to tell them the truth and leave the results of for the hearing to Christ. Continually attempting to convince a wicked man through giving them good things, is in modern terms, "becoming an enabler."
When we bless with our friendship and possessions we are validating the lifestyle of the one we bless. We do not take food as an expression of "heaping coals" to one who is not hungry.
It is a curse rather than a blessing to help a wicked person feel good about themselves when their lifestyle is rebellion against God. It is not alright with God that we become a willing partner in sin with others by validating their rebellion by not speaking truth about it.
If a wicked man is comfortable with us and enjoys our company, then we can be sure we are not demonstrating our Christianity in the presence of the evil man. Evil men cannot stand to hear truth, if we speak and demonstrate truth when in the presence of the wicked man, he will hate it and remove himself or become so vile that we will have to remove ourselves.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 "3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these."
Proverbs 13:5-6 "5 A righteous man hates falsehood, But a wicked man acts disgustingly and shamefully. 6 Righteousness guards the one whose way is blameless, But wickedness subverts the sinner."
Psalm 11:5-6 "5 The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates. 6 Upon the wicked He will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.…"
When we do our "coal heaping", remember that it is not us doing the heaping of hot coals, but God. We obey the Holy Spirit in blessing with truth and possibly with "needed" food. I am convinced that food can not only be the kind we eat but it can also be of the Spiritual nature.
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