“But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears?
For He is like a refiner‘s fire. And like launderers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner
and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold
and silver, That they may offer to the LORD an offering in righteousness.”
Malachi 3:2-3
Before the industrial revolution and mass production, everything was done in small home workshops. Every town would have had a blacksmith; all would have seen the refiner at work and would have understood the process.
Small furnaces would be dug into the earth and lined with bricks. Coal or very hard wood would fill the chamber along with silver ore. Air would constantly be pumped in at the base to make the fire intense. In the fervent heat, impurities would be burnt off and the liquid metal would pool at the bottom of the furnace. A brick would be removed and the molten silver would pour out, usually into molds. Ash floated as a powder over the glowing metal, and tin or copper would separate from the precious elements.
Most people don’t realize how intensive the work of the refiner was. Besides working the bellows almost non-stop, fuel would have to be added frequently to maintain the extreme temperature. Although the workshop would be hot, the refiner had to wear the ancient equivalent of long sleeves. The refining process throws off UV-radiant energy many times that of the sun. The whole process had to be repeated several times in order to get pure silver or gold.
The refining process is an illustration of God’s discipline in the life of a believer. “If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?”
(Hebrews 12:7).
Too often we focus on what we have to suffer in order to be purified for Christ. The emphasis should be the effort, energy, and endurance the Master puts into us to carry out His role of Refiner.
January 21
