"Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.' 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.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:19-21 (ESV)
This passage has always stood out to me. Doing good for your enemy is so counter cultural, it flies in the face of everything we feel is just. And that is the point.
This one piece of scripture contains references to two others. the first deals with the very nature of our just and righteous God.
"Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.' For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone and there is none remaining, bond or free. Then he will say. 'Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge, who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise up and help you; let them be your protection! See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. For I lift up my hand to heaven and swear, As I live forever, if I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand takes hold on judgment, and will repay those who hate me. I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh-- with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the long-haired heads of the enemy.' Rejoice with him, O heavens; bow down to him, all gods, for he avenges the blood of his children and takes vengeance on his adversaries. He repays those who hate him and cleanses his people's land." Deuteronomy 32:35-43 (ESV)
Paul quotes only the first part, but any Jew of the day would have recognized it for what it was. This paints a very clear picture of God delivering judgment where it is needed, in the case of this passage, upon His own people. He is the one true God, there are no others. When we are told not to avenge ourselves, and are then directed to this scripture we can see the intent is to teach us to trust and rely on the power and sovereignty of God. I tis not our place to judge, but His, and not our place to execute a sentence. That is the role of our Almighty God.
The second quote gives us an alternative to passing judgment,
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
This passage is at once both challenging, and confusing, Providing for these who have attempted to cause you harm, and possibly succeeded, is no easy task. We are forced to swallow our pride, push away how we feel, and do what they would never expect. And in just that act we see so much of the Gospel. We see humility, forgiveness, and service. We see Christ, who did no less, and certainly much more, for us. But then, what is the part about burning coals? Is that to say our kindness is painful for them? Confusing? IN some way causes them to suffer? Would that not be a contradiction when paired with the last verse? Yet this is how it was taught to me. This part always left me wondering, because that meaning didn't fit. Not in Romans 12, and not in Proverbs, I didn't get it. Something had to be wrong. What was the meaning of the coals? Then one day I was in Isaiah and I found another reference to burning coals.
"Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: 'Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for." Isaiah 6:6-7
This was it! My missing puzzle piece. The seraphim cleansed Isaiah of all sin by simply touching him with one coal from the Altar. So now when we look back at the passages in Proverbs and Romans with this new understanding of the coals the glorious grace of God is revealed. Our kindness is a show of forgiveness. One that shows our enemy the grace of God. It is the first step in leading someone to Christ. Pulling them from the camp of the enemy and making them family. It is the Great Commission, the Lord's work. Something we should all strive for.
