The Ember Keeper

@audreycfrank

A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. Isaiah 42:3

A golden fleece of evening sunlight spread over the gentle hills, inviting the village to slow down and rest after a dusty day’s work in the cornfields. The murmur of women and children as they exchanged their short-handled jembes for water buckets rose like a lullaby over the beautiful evening landscape.

A shrunken old lady wrapped in the commanding red linens of a head wife made her way slowly to a young girl, flicking her wrist as she quietly instructed, “Fetch the ember.”

It was time to light the fires for the evening meal. Each day, one person preserved hot embers from the previous day’s fire. Everyone in the village knew who that person was. The ember-keeper was responsible for stewarding precious hot coals for starting the dinner fires. Wood was sparse in this remote area of East African bush country. Protecting the embers was an honorable and important responsibility, and the villagers depended upon it.

The young girl took off immediately, her bare feet kicking up red dust as she raced along the path that wound its way through her father’s fields.

Moments later, she reappeared, an ember carefully shielded in a metal bucket of ash. With reverence, the head wife took the bucket and slowly placed the contents on her cold outdoor fire pit. Small bits of precious wood were stacked carefully on the pulsing orange cinder. Brow knit in concentration, the old lady blew. Patiently, she persuaded the ember to grow hotter. The wood sprang to life, consumed by hungry flames.

The evening fire had commenced.

As the sun made its journey behind the hills, a line formed, silhouetted against the bright flames. One by one, the village women borrowed from the now surging fire, each returning to start her own fire and feed her family.

Since the time of the tabernacle in the wilderness, God has ordained light that never goes out. The golden lampstand in the tabernacle was a constant reminder that God was with his people. Twice daily, in the morning and evening, a priest attended to the wick and replenished the pure beaten olive oil for the lamps ( Ex 30:7).

Then Jesus came, declaring in John 8:12,

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Immanuel, God with us, is the light that reminds us God is indeed with his people and will never leave them. He has sealed the covenant between God and man forever.

In John 9:5, Jesus makes the curious statement:

“As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no man can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Jesus was the ember, and he passed it to us when he ascended to heaven to the Father.

In Matthew 5:14, Jesus said to his disciples,

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”

If you are a follower of Christ, you are an ember-keeper, a fire-starter.

 

How are you tending your ember today? Stoke your faith with daily time in Scripture, talking and listening to God. Fan the coals with the winds of praise and worship.

If you are not a follower of Christ, find one of his followers who shines with the light of love and faith. And ask for an ember to start your own fire.

Lord, make me burn brightly with your light today, and bring others to me that I may share your light with them. Amen.