CHAFF . . .
“They are like chaff that the wind blows away.” Psalm 1:4
Baking bread is much easier today than in Bible times. Today we go to the grocery store and purchase several pounds of flour and some yeast. In the Bible they first needed to make the flour.
When the grain was ripe, they went into the fields with a scythe or sickle to cut the wheat. After it was bundled, it was taken to the threshing floor. There it was spread out to be threshed, trampled, or beaten to separate the outer covering on the grain from the edible grain. That outer covering was called chaff.
After the grain was trampled and the chaff was loosened from the grain, workers came with long wooden winnowing forks to toss the grain high into the air, where the wind blew the chaff away and the good grains fell to the ground. Luke 3:17 tells us, “His winnowing fork is in his hand,” and Jeremiah 13:24 continues, “I will scatter you like chaff driven by the desert wind.”
In the New Testament, this process takes on a very different meaning. Here Jesus is presented as the one holding the winnowing fork, tossing the grain into the air to separate the grain from the chaff. John the Baptist said it his way: “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:12).
When Jesus comes again it will be to judge the world. Then he will separate his people from the wicked, unbelieving chaff, which will be sent to the fires of hell. We thank God that he has planted faith in our hearts. Second Corinthians 9:15 says, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”
From: Precious Words of the Bible by Reynold R. Kremer