THE RIVER OF FIRE

God’s Redemptive Purposes For The Kanawha Valley Region

"Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble here a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night: over all the glory will be a canopy"Isaiah 4:5

In 1835 a young Cincinnati watchmaker was experimenting with a hot-air balloon–the first west of the Allegheny Mountains. One early Spring afternoon he was practicing his ascents and descents when the balloon suddenly slipped its moorings and the prevailing winds began to carry him eastward. 

While continuing his drift toward the east shortly after midnight he passed through a cloud of smoke and when he glanced toward earth he saw a river valley alight with fire and he knew he was passing over the salt works industry of the Great Kanawha River Valley in the vicinity of what was then Charleston, Virginia.

As we prayed, January 2, in our Pastors’ Prayer Fellowship and particularly for the three days of prayer and fasting on January 7-10, 2001 a picture continued to come up about our area being ablaze with the passionate fires of God’s love. 

I was immediately reminded of the above account which I had read within the past couple of days in a book I had received as a Christmas present. -Annals of The Great Kanawha by William D. Wintz.

In preparation for this 72 hours of consecration and supplication we are desirous of discovering God’s redemptive purpose for the people of our community. 

The greater Charleston, West Virginia region is bisected by a river and has come to be known as the Great Kanawha River Valley. The first white settlers to come to this region and to bring the gospel message came because of the abundance of salt. 

There was no indigenous Native American presence at that time, this area being used by them for a hunting ground and not a place of permanent residence. However, as a result of their desire to preserve their hunting lands many of the early white settlers and the natives lost their lives in the struggle.

Salt had been discovered on the surface of the land where it had erupted from the earth below in the form of springs. The saltwater sometimes leaked into the river itself in such quantities that it caused a fish kill. Some have said that the Indians named the river the River of Death because of this, but Kanawha actually means "white stone" from the encrusted salt on the banks of the river. 

It does make one think of the white stone of Revelation 2:17, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it." The white stone in the days of the New Testament signified "not guilty" or life when a verdict was returned whereas a black stone meant "guilty" or death.

It has been said that what God plans to do in the spiritual He first reveals in the natural (1 Cor. 15:46). Using this premise as a key we might unlock the secret of God’s redemptive purposes for our region which seem to be two-fold.

           The River of Fire

The first is the river of fire. As our young balloonist of the early 19^th Century passed over the Kanawha River Valley he saw the fires under the evaporating kettles, but often there was another phenomena at work that made the river itself seem to be ablaze. 

The salt-laden water was brought to the surface via deep drilled wells and then piped to the kettles where the water was evaporated away leaving only the salt. 

A byproduct of the drilling could also be natural gas and petroleum. The natural gas was allowed to escape into the air until it was later captured and used to fuel the fires of the salt works. The petroleum for which they could find no usable purpose was bled into the river. At times the petroleum would catch fire on the surface of the river and make the stream appear to be a river of fire. 

There is a community in that area today called Burning Springs so named because the water, gas and oil came forth from the ground together and could be ignited. It was said that anything tossed into the flame was hungrily consumed and the fire was very difficult to extinguish. (Hebrews 12:29* ...for our God is a consuming fire.")

In the spiritual we believe this speaks to us of God’s passionate purifying zeal for His people and as we attract His white hot gaze by consecration and supplication we too will be set ablaze with our passionate desire for Him and the fulfillment of His purposes. 

In the Hebrew Scriptures God is often referred to as "El Qanah" (early spelling of Kanawha - Canawagh or Canhawa) or "I am a jealous God." The following scripture takes the meaning of this word one step further, 

Exodus 34:14 "...for you must not worship any other god, because the Lord, whose name is Impassioned, is an impassioned God" (Tanakh, The Holy Scriptures). Also, Deuteronomy 4:24 "For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, an impassioned God" (also the Tanakh). W.E. Vine says, 

"While the word is used in our language in an evil sense, it has a somewhat different meaning, especially in the Old Testament. It is often used in connection with the marriage relation, and, in this respect, the relation between Jehovah and Israel. Just as jealousy in husband or wife is the forceful assertion of an exclusive right, so God asserts His claim, and vindicates it, on those who are His sole possession."

We see this holy passion so adequately revealed in Jesus’ lament over the city of Jerusalem, (Luke 19:41-42) As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace -- but now it is hidden from your eyes." This is something that we have longed for in our Pastors’ Prayer Fellowship, but have known that we could not make it happen. This past Tuesday we began to see for the first time this holy desperation for citywide transformation begin to express itself through the anguish of weeping.

          The Salt of the Earth

The other facet of His redemptive purpose is seen in the salt itself. At the peak of production the yield would be 500,000 barrels of salt in one year or 2,500 to 3,000 bushels a day. From a booklet published by one of the leading chemical companies of our area that has grown out of the salt industry, "It may rightfully be said that there is scarcely a home in America which does not bear evidence in some manner of what has grown out of ingenious man’s accomplishments in the Magic Valley of West Virginia." Matthew 5:13a, 

"You are the salt of the earth."

As a result of the purifying fire of His impassioned love may we become salt to the nations–causing men and women to thirst after the Living God. As our hand is extended to lost and yearning humanity may they find in it a white stone that says, "Not guilty! Your sins are forgiven, go and sin no more."

Ron Thaxton,
Church in the City