Reference: Refiner
Easton
The process of refining metals is referred to by way of illustrations in Isa 1:25; Jer 6:29; Zec 13:9; Mal 3:2-3.
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And therefore shall I lay my hand upon thee, and burn out thy dross from the finest and purest, and put out all thy lead,
The bellows are burnt in the fire, the lead is consumed, the melter melteth in vain, for the evil is not taken away from them.
And the same third part will I bring through the fire, and will cleanse them, as the silver is cleansed: Yea and try them, like as gold is tried. Then shall they call upon my name, and I will hear them: I will say, 'It is my people.' And they shall say, 'LORD, my God.'"
Who shall endure in the day of his coming, or who shall stand to behold him? For he is as trying fire, and as the herb that fullers scour withal. And he shall sit trying and purging silver, and shall purify the sons of Levi, and shall fine them as gold and silver. And they shall bring offering unto the LORD of righteousness.
Fausets
He who reduced the metal to fluid by heat and solvents, as borax, alkali or lead (Isa 1:25; Jer 6:29), to remove the dross. His instruments were the crucible or furnace ("fining pot," Pr 17:3) and the blowpipe or bellows. Affliction removes the dross from the godly (1Pe 1:7). But the fiery ordeal only hardens the reprobate (Jer 5:3; Isa 9:10). Translated for "tower" and "fortress" (Jer 6:27), "I have set thee for an assayer and explorer," separating the metal from the dross "among My people." In Mal 3:2-3, Christ "shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and shall purify the sons of Levi." The purifier sits before the crucible, fixing his eye on the metal, taking care the heat is not too great, and keeping the metal in only until, by seeing his own image reflected in the glowing mass, he knows the dross is completely removed. So the Lord with His elect (Ro 8:29; Job 23:10; Ps 66:10; Pr 17:3; Isa 48:10; Heb 12:10).
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But as for my way, he knoweth it: and tryeth me as the gold in the fire.
For thou, O God, hast proved us; thou hast tried us like as silver is tried.
Like as silver is tried in the fire and gold in the furnace, even so doth the LORD prove the hearts.
Like as silver is tried in the fire and gold in the furnace, even so doth the LORD prove the hearts.
And therefore shall I lay my hand upon thee, and burn out thy dross from the finest and purest, and put out all thy lead,
"The tile work is fallen down, but we will build it with squared stones. The Mulberry timber is broken, but we shall set it up again with Cedar."
Behold, I have purged thee, and not for money. I have chosen thee in the fire of poverty;
Where as thou, O LORD, lookest only upon faith and truth. Thou hast scourged them, but they took no repentance: thou hast corrected them for amendment, but they refused thy correction. They made their faces harder than stone, and would not amend.
"Thee have I set for a prover of my hard people, to seek out and to try their ways.
The bellows are burnt in the fire, the lead is consumed, the melter melteth in vain, for the evil is not taken away from them.
Who shall endure in the day of his coming, or who shall stand to behold him? For he is as trying fire, and as the herb that fullers scour withal. And he shall sit trying and purging silver, and shall purify the sons of Levi, and shall fine them as gold and silver. And they shall bring offering unto the LORD of righteousness.
For those which he knew before, he also ordained before, that they should be like fashioned unto the shape of his son, that he might be the first begotten son among many brethren.
And they verily for a few days nurtured us after their own pleasure; but he learneth us unto that which is profitable, that we might receive of his holiness.
that your faith, once tried, being much more precious than gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto laud, glory, and honour, at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Morish
God is the refiner of His people, as the precious metals have to be separated from the dross that clings to them. Pr 25:4 (where the A.V. has 'finer'); Isa 48:10; Zec 13:9; Mal 3:2-3. So God tests the believer's heart (1Th 2:4), and his faith, which leads to endurance. Jas 1:12; 1Pe 1:7.
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Take the dross from the silver, and there shall be a clean vessel thereof.
Behold, I have purged thee, and not for money. I have chosen thee in the fire of poverty;
And the same third part will I bring through the fire, and will cleanse them, as the silver is cleansed: Yea and try them, like as gold is tried. Then shall they call upon my name, and I will hear them: I will say, 'It is my people.' And they shall say, 'LORD, my God.'"
Who shall endure in the day of his coming, or who shall stand to behold him? For he is as trying fire, and as the herb that fullers scour withal. And he shall sit trying and purging silver, and shall purify the sons of Levi, and shall fine them as gold and silver. And they shall bring offering unto the LORD of righteousness.
but as we were allowed of God, that the gospel should be committed unto us: even so we speak, not as though we intended to please men, but God, which trieth our hearts.
Happy is the man that endureth in temptation, for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
Smith
Refiner,
The refiner's art was essential to the working of the precious metals. It consisted in the separation of the dress from the pure ore, which was effected by reducing the metal to a fluid state by the application of heat, and by the aid of solvents, such as alkali,
or lead, Jere 6:29 which, amalgamating with the dress, permitted the extraction of the unadulterated metal. The instruments required by the refiner were a crucible of furnace and a bellows or blow-pipe. The workman sat at his work,
he was thus better enabled to watch the process, and let the metal run off at the proper moment.
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And therefore shall I lay my hand upon thee, and burn out thy dross from the finest and purest, and put out all thy lead,
And he shall sit trying and purging silver, and shall purify the sons of Levi, and shall fine them as gold and silver. And they shall bring offering unto the LORD of righteousness.