And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, ‘It is my people’: and they shall say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ (Zechariah 13: 9)

And some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time. (Daniel 11: 35)

 And some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand. (Daniel 12: 9-10)

Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. (Isaiah 48: 10)

The Lord has repeatedly said that He will refine His people like silver and gold. But what does that really mean?

What does the process of sanctification and the process of refining silver / gold have in common?

---

The Silversmith Story (author unknown)

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. (Malachi 3: 3)

One day, after a bible study on Malachi 3, a woman went to visit a silversmith to see what the process of sanctification and the process of refining silver had in common. 

After the silversmith described the process of refining silver, the woman asked: “But sir, do you sit while the work of the refining is going on?”

“Oh yes, ma’am,” replied the silversmith. “I must sit with my eyes steadily fixed on the furnace, for if the time necessary for refining is exceeded in the slightest degree, the silver would be injured.”

At once, the woman saw the beauty and comfort of the expression: “He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” 

God pays careful attention when His children are in a test or trial, and in the fiery furnace (so to speak). God’s eyes watch intently, carefully observing the work of purifying. As the heating proceeds, some dross and impurities bubble up to the surface and He skims them away.

And then at a higher temperature, more impurities float to the surface of the silver and He removes them. He is sitting with His eyes carefully intent on the work of the purifying.

God’s wisdom and His love are expressed in what He allows in the life of a Christian, so that the test and trial is not wasted and it does the job of purification. These trials of Christians are not random – the trials serve a purpose. 

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8: 28)

God doesn’t take His eyes off of us and no detail escapes His notice:

“The very hairs on your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10: 30) (Luke 12: 7).

Only the exact amount of fiery trial that is needed is applied, at the right time, to remover the dross and not hurt the silver.

As the silversmith was about to finish his work with the silver, the woman asked him how he knew when the purifying process is complete. 

He answered her: “It is when I can see my own image perfectly reflected in the silver.”

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8: 29)

The same transformation that happens to the silver happens to us, if we will cooperate with God’s plan of refining us and removing the dross. We must turn from things that are not of Him and turn toward Jesus with all our heart, letting God transform us into the image of Jesus.

And we all, with unveiled faces looking as in a mirror beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory. (2 Corinthians 3: 18)

---