“I have made you a tester of metals among my people,
that you may know and test their ways.
They are all stubbornly rebellious,
going about with slanders;
they are bronze and iron;
all of them act corruptly.
The bellows blow fiercely;
the lead is consumed by the fire;
in vain the refining goes on,
for the wicked are not removed.
Rejected silver they are called,
for the Lord has rejected them.”
Jeremiah 6:27-30
Refining is a firery process–the bellows must blow fiercely. The Apostle Peter assures us that while the trying of our faith may feel grievous (1 Peter 1:6-7) it is necessary and well worth it –if the result is purer faith. Faith, he reminds us, is more precious than gold–the purer the better. If we know and agree that faith is our most precious possession we will be able to endure suffering–even rejoice in it knowing the fires are accomplishing something very good.
How terrible though to go through refining fires to no effect. Israel, in the days of Jeremiah was called “rejected silver.” For after all the heat they were still full of dross. Even though the fires were stoked–still they could were not purified of their corruptions. They’re stubbornness and rebellion were not cured.
The fires of purification are meant to melt and soften our hearts so that the evil in our hearts can be separated and burned off. But stubbornness and rebellion resist this softening process–and if not overcome they will keep us hardened to the purifying works of God.
But we have complete confidence in Christ that the refining fires of God will not be in vain in our lives. The hope that sustains us in the midst of purifying fire is the reality that God has already “caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3-5). Because we have been born again to an imperishable inheritance, and since we are “by God’s power…being guarded through faith” we have complete confidence and hope that His refining fires will increase our joy, and not cause us to become rejected silver.
Lord thank you for making my heart soft so that your refining fire’s work will accomplish its intended effects in my life. Do not let the fires burn in vain. Make my faith purer, make it more precious to me than gold. Amen.
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