Refiner and Purifier

Malachi 3:3 "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness."

He will sit as refiner and purifier…sounds like a passive role until you research what a refiner actually does, how detailed, hands on and precise they have to be.  And how do they know when the silver is refined? When they see their reflection in it.

Being an Christian isn’t about doing the “right” things, being a “good ole boy or good ole gal.” It’s about becoming less about ourselves and more about Him.

Transcript

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Hey everybody, thanks for listening to today's episode of Unfiltered with Jesse B. I recently ran across the scripture in Zechariah 13 9, which was a prophetic verse about the shepherd being struck and the scattering of the sheep, which represented a period of judgment, followed by purification of the remnant. The remnant, which means the faithful few who have remained loyal and continue to trust and obey God after many have turned away. The entire verse reads, This third, talking about the remnant, I will put into the fire. I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them. I will say they are my people, and they will say the Lord is our God. Malachi three three also describes God's refinement, saying, He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver, then the Lord will have men and women who will bring offerings in righteousness. Have you thought about God sitting as a refiner and purifier of silver and why this illustration was used to describe one of the many things that he does? When we think of gold and silver, we think of the finished product on display in stores costing thousands of dollars. Silver and gold, even in its raw form, are treasured finds, but they do not come from the earth shiny and glamorous. In order to get that Cartier or Tiffany quality, the metals, especially silver, need to be refined so it can be shaped and molded into something beautifully appealing and even more valuable. Just like gold and silver, in the same way we as believers, we too need to be refined from our image to the image of Christ. I know I often fall into the mindset of yes, I accepted Jesus, I'm saved, and I do all the right things, I go to church every service, I pray and read my Bible, I'm on the praise and worship team, I read good Christian books, I volunteer when needed, and that's it. Well, being truly surrendered to Christ isn't about just doing all the quote unquote right things. It's about refinement. In fact, the more I've grown in the Lord, the more my life has become less about me and more about Him. Now I do have to be reminded by this every now and then, or as my grandfather used to say, be taken down a notch or two in order to get back to reality. As believers, we are called to walk in the same way in which Jesus walked, as we learn about in 1 John 2.6. Second Corinthians 3.18 talks about being transformed in the same image from one degree of glory to another, and Romans 8 25 emphasizes the importance of being conformed to the image of God's Son, Jesus Christ. Back to God sitting as refiner and purifier, the refined silver or to refined silver means to remove impurities and imperfections to reach 99.9% to ninety nine point ninety nine percent purity. Fire refining is used to separate metals such as silver and gold from base metals such as lead and copper. This metal is heated to temperatures high enough to oxidize and be absorbed into a couple or porous magnesia container, leaving behind pure silver. Temperatures need to be at least 1750 degrees to eighteen hundred degrees. But it's not done yet because there is a final purification after this. The refiner watches the molten pool of metal closely. To refine by fire back in that time, silver could go through up to seven refinement processes. Being held over the fire is a painful experience, but many times God uses our sufferings to refine us. I don't know why it has to be that way, but for most of us we didn't develop good character by living in rose garden. Another way to put that is a bodybuilder doesn't get that chiseled six pack by sitting on the sofa consuming the six pack every day. It takes daily discipline, exercise, and healthy diet, even when they don't feel like it. As to whether or not the refiner ever left the silver alone, that he's just sitting around twiddling his thumbs until this process is finished, that's not true. According to the traditional process, the silversmith must sit and watch the silver in the hottest part of the flames. Leaving silver for even a moment too long will destroy it. In addition, the only way the silver is considered completely refined is when the refiner sees their own reflection in the finished product. Now I know that there are times when it feels like that God is leaving us alone and he's nowhere to be found when we go through these processes, but the fact of the matter is he's right there and has been there all the time. We need to just surrender to him, trust in his process, even when it doesn't make sense. And let's just be honest, there are many times when it doesn't make sense. But God always knows what he's doing, and he will never forsake his children. Love you guys. Thanks for listening. Have a good evening.