Purify

Take away the dross from silver, and it will go the silversmith for jewelry.

Proverbs 25:4

In its natural state, silver is usually found embedded in rock and mixed with other elements and metals such as gold, copper, and zinc. It is mined as ore, carved out of the earth itself, and then subjected to an intricate refining process that will separate the silver from everything else to yield a purified product useful in many different ways.

As a precious metal, silver has long been used as a form of currency.

As a highly malleable metal, it is used in dentistry for fillings and in the manufacturing of vessels, tableware, armor and decoration.

As a catalytic element, it is used in the production of other useful chemicals.

As the most superior conductor of heat and energy, it is used in many electronic components.

As an anti-microbial element, it is used for medicinal purposes.

As a reflective, it is used in mirrors.

But before silver can be used, it must first be purified. And though there are several modern ways of extracting silver from ore, it’s the ancient Biblical way that has application through this Proverb.

In ancient times, the silver ore would be crushed and crushed and crushed again until it became a fine powder. Placed in a furnace at the right temperatures, and the silver and other metals would melt away from the rock. Add the appropriate agent, such as lye, and the other metals would be drawn away from the silver. Combine the silver with a suitable liquid, such as mercury, pour it into a container that is properly porous, and put it back in the furnace, and the silver with separate itself from all remaining dross, which is either absorbed into the pores of the refining vessel, or skimmed from the top. The end result is refined silver ready to be used.

And it is absolutely necessary for the refiner to sit and keep a watchful eye upon the whole process, because if the process exceeds the proper time or temperature, the silver will be harmed. The story is told of a silversmith who was asked about his craft, and at the end of explaining he added that he only knows when the refinement is finished when he can see his reflection in the silver.

How many times does the Scriptures tell us that God is acting upon us like a refiner’s fire? We are, each of us, in a process designed to remove from us all of the things that don’t belong. The crushing will be brutal, the separation arduous. The furnace will certainly be fiery hot and hard to withstand, and the removal of dross sometimes trying. But it is all for a purpose, so that we can be purified and useful in the Master’s hands.

Valuable and precious, for He gave His own life to save us.

Malleable, and therefore workable under His design.

Catalytic, thus causing a reaction when we are placed in the world.

Conductive, and thereby an agent of God’s power to demonstrate His truth.

Medicinal, for we bring healing through the atonement to both body and soul.

Reflective, so that we can show the world the reality of the One who lives within us.