So one of the lectionary readings this week is 1 Kings 19. It is chopped up and ended short but basically parts of the whole chapter are used. Chapter 19 tells the story of Elijah fleeing for his life after Jezebel sends him a death threat. But I got distracted and went on a little side excursion concerning hot coals! I noticed a story within the story that I thought might be worth exploring.
Elijah wakes up to a cake being prepared for him over “hot coals”. I believe that nothing is written in scripture that is just random and meaningless. So why mention that it was being cooked over “hot coals”? To me, I am guessing that the author wants to point out something.
Hot Coals Are Not Just For Cooking
I remember that in Isaiah 6 an angel takes a hot coal and purifies Isaiah for the work he needed to do. And in John 21 Jesus is cooking fish on the beach over hot coals before he restores Peter. So I suspected that there was a connection.
Fire is often present along with judgement and purification. But hot coals while in the family of fire, they signify something very different. In all three situations, they represent God’s presence in an intimate and restorative way. They signify that a calling is coming upon someone. God has chosen someone for a specific purpose and calling. But the other element that is there is that the one chosen by God is feeling unworthy and incapable and needs their confidence to be affirmed by the Lord.
- Elijah’s Coal-Cooked Cake – 1 Kings 19:6
“He looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones [coals] and a jar of water.”
Context: Elijah is in despair, fleeing from Jezebel after a spiritual high on Mount Carmel. He’s exhausted and wants to die. But an angel awakens him with food prepared on hot coals.
Significance:
Coals as provision: Like a mother caring for a child, letting him sleep till she has the food prepared, they show a tender side of God in a moment of total depletion. Waking up to this coal fire ties it to rest and renewal—its not by accident either. The hot coals foreshadow what happens next, God meets Elijah not in a storm but in a gentle whisper.
Isaiah’s Purifying Coal – Isaiah 6:6-7
“Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding a live coal… He touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.’”
Context: Isaiah has a terrifying vision of the Lord. He’s overwhelmed by his own impurity and unworthiness.
Significance:
Coals as purification: The hot coal, from the altar, is not punishment—it is sacramental cleansing, a symbolic burning away of guilt.
Commissioning moment: After seeing the glory of God and the coal touches his lips, Isaiah readily responds to God’s call: “Here I am. Send me.”
This coal signifies God’s intimacy when he commissions us —that is all Isaiah needed to confidently go and do God’s will.
Jesus’ Charcoal Fire – John 21:9
“When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread.”
Context: Post-resurrection, Peter and the other disciples return to fishing. Jesus appears on the shore and cooks breakfast over hot coals. Peter has yet to come face-to-face with Jesus, whom he denied around another charcoal fire (John 18:18).
Significance:
Coals as restoration: Jesus recreates the scene of Peter’s denial to redeem it. Around a fire of reconciliation, Peter will now confess love three times.
Coals of invitation: This is a moment of re-connection—”Come and eat.” The risen Lord serves a meal, drawing friends back into fellowship.
A charcoal fire when presented in the scriptures, is something we should pay attention to. In all three situations, the three men involved all just received a miraculous revelation of the glory of God.
- Elijah just went against 850 false prophets and God showed up miraculously
- Isaiah was in the temple and saw the glory of God.
- Peter witnessed Jesus rise from the grave.
What I find especially striking is that when Peter denied the Lord, he was warming himself by a charcoal fire made by man. But in all three stories of restoration and commissioning—Elijah, Isaiah, and Peter post-resurrection—it is the Lord who prepares the fire.
I love how the Lord takes something so ordinary—a simple charcoal fire—and uses it for something extraordinary. Then, just as powerfully, He takes ordinary people and uses them to do extraordinary things.
So maybe the next time I’m grilling out with friends and family, I will be reminded of the Lord’s presence and ask for direction and guidance on who I can encourage to live out their God-given purpose.
