Malachi 3:3 says, “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.”
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study I attended. What did this statement signify about the character and nature of God? When Scripture speaks to us, and we do not understand its message, we must seek; we must search to find the answer. And that is exactly what one woman did.
She volunteered to find out the process of refining silver to see if it gave a clue to our puzzlement. She would report back the findings of her research at our next Bible study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She did not mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. She watched the silversmith as he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in the refining of silver, the refiner needs to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames are the hottest in order to burn away all dross and impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot. Then she wondered again about the verse that says, “He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.”
“Is it true that the refiner must sit there before the fire the entire time the silver is being refined?” she asked.
“Yes, the entire time,” the silversmith answered. “Not only does he have to sit there holding the silver, but he has to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it is in the fire. You see, if the silver is left a minute too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.”
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?”
He smiled at her without taking his eyes off the silver. “When I see my image in it.”
The woman thought about the nature and character of God. Suddenly, she made the connection with a refiner of silver. God patiently and attentively brings us to, and through, a trial to purify our hearts until He sees His reflection in us. God does not trust this task to anyone else. It is far too important! So, the woman concluded, God patiently and graciously keeps His eyes on His children the entire time, or season, of trial – not one minute longer than necessary to purify us.
Today, if you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you, and He will keep watching until He sees His image in you.
