Beauty for Ashes

Beauty for Ashes    

Isaiah 61:2-4  .. To comfort all that morn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planning of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.

Newel K Whitney built an Ashery in Kirtland, Ohio. North American ashes contained a larger percentage of pure potash. Large 500 pound barrels were valued between $80 and $100. Cash was easier to obtain for potash than for wheat in the 1800’s.

When farmers cleared their land, they would burn the tree stumps and save the ashes to be collected and processed. The ashes were placed in a sieve over a trough or tub. Hot water was run through the ashes to drip down to the trough. The process was repeated until the water was strong enough to make lye, which was boiled down until there was a residue of brownish ash which was called potash or black salts. Potash is used for glass, tanned leather, paper, and bleached cotton.

When potash was put into an oven and continuously stirred, it would eventually become “perlash” which was far more valuable. It was used in the manufacture of pottery, china and soap. Making potash and perlash was time-consuming, and demanded constant attention. Both products had to be handled carefully and packed in wooden barrels for transportation.

In the mid-1800s the ash trade was one of the most important trades in North America and worth a great deal of money. Getting the ashes to market was an arduous journey, but was very profitable, when you consider a pound of butter cost 28 cents and you could get $100 for a barrel of potash. That would be $1071 in today’s dollars. (If butter is $3 a pound)

We are given “beauty for ashes” as we are refined and processed through the Lord’s method to help us become purer and more valuable to His kingdom.