God’s Mirror
Even in the midst of God’s fury, there is a hint of redemption and reconciliation for Israel, for what is the purpose of removing impurities from silver? The refiner has some higher purpose in mind for it.
I will bring you to my crucible in Jerusalem. Just as copper, iron, lead, and tin are melted down in a furnace, I will melt you down in the heat of my fury. I will gather you together and blow the fire of my anger upon you, and you will melt like silver in fierce heat. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my fury on you. (Ezekiel 22:18-22).
God used the imagery of a silversmith several times through several different prophets during this period of Israel’s history. He told Isaiah, “I will raise my fist against you. I will melt you down and skim off your slag. I will remove all your impurities,” (Is. 1:25). “I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering,” (Is. 48:10). Here the Lord is very specific in telling Isaiah the reason for the suffering—God is using it to refine them, to remove their impurities. He made similar statements to Malachi. “He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord,” (Mal. 3:3).
It seems that God’s last resort, when all else fails, is the crucible of suffering. “Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: ‘See, I will melt them down in a crucible and test them like metal. What else can I do with my people?” (Jer. 9:7). “I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’” (Zec. 13:9). God’s desire is to make his people look like what they already are—His people.
What hides the beauty of the silver? The impurities–just as our sin hides the beauty of our salvation. Every saved person is a new creation in Christ, but so often what the casual passer-by sees is the dullness of our impurities.
A silversmith was once asked how he knew when the silver was pure. At the time, he was sitting over a crucible of silver, heating it and skimming off the impurities. He glanced up from his work only long enough to say, “That’s easy—when I can see myself.” God uses suffering to purify His people—and He’ll know the job is done when we reflect His glory.
If you’re reading through the Daily Walk Bible, today’s passage is Ezekiel 20-23.
