"thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head"

[Susanne]

Romans 12:20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

I was touched by the tenderness of treating an enemy with kindness and then thought, what on earth does it mean that “in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head”?

Instead of just sort of glossing over this I sought the meaning behind this passage.
The passage is taken directly from Proverbs 25:21-22.

I found this helpful from hiskingdomprophecy.com:

“What is the original connotation of heaping burning coals on the head of an enemy, of anyone else, for that matter? … / …

Robert Jewett’s relatively recent Romans commentary (Romans: A Commentary (Hermeneia: A Critical & Historical Commentary on the Bible) suggests that since Proverbs draws on some Egyptian literature, it is probable that it refers to an Egyptian practice of a repentant person carrying on their heads, some form of vessel with hot coals in it, symbolizing their repentance.

Thus the idea of Proverbs 25:21-22 would be to feed and give drink to your enemy, so that he or she will repent of their animosity toward you.

It is, after all, the enemy’s benefit which is of importance here. When the enemy is treated as a friend, when good is returned for evil, then there is the chance evil will be overcome.

Your enemy, your antagonist, may be overcome not by your words, but by your good deeds.”

[Florence]

The last two paragraphs of the resource above, sounds like what Christian Science commends as a way to help someone. It says, “when the enemy is treated as a friend, when good is returned for evil, then there is a chance evil will be overcome.”

That sounds like what we are taught to impersonalize error and destroy the error while seeing and knowing man’s true self right where the lie appears to be. Remember, “Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man….”

It appears a whole lot of condemnation and malpractice was going on with Nabal. He is described as churlish, son of Belial.

Churlish 1828:Rude; surly; austere; sullen; rough in temper; unfeeling; uncivil. Selfish; narrow-minded; avaricious; Unpliant; unyielding; cross-grained; harsh; unmanageable.
Such thoughts about him couldn’t have given him any chance. True, it’s difficult to see through stubborn behaviour but that is our challenge when we choose to walk in this narrow path. We do not have to like or live with stubbornness but love, that is to separate the evil from the man, and see as Mind sees His image and likeness we must do!

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