REFINING IN THE BIBLE

Although the ancient Jews were not especially noted for their overall knowledge of the theoretical sciences, they were well versed in the technology skill of purifying metal ores to obtain valuable metals such as gold and silver. Therefore it is not unusual that metallurgical terminology was often employed in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, as a metaphor.

In my own experiences in the field of organic chemistry, I gained a minor reputation during my undergraduate research by being able to separate the desired chemical products from any associated impurities through techniques such as selective recrystallization and column chromatography. However, in the field of inorganic chemistry such as is the case here, completely different methodologies are employed, as described by Keener:

“Heating a furnace sufficiently allowed ancients to extract precious metals from ore: lead melts already at 327 degrees C, and its main ore would be heated to 900 or 1000 degrees C to extract silver. Gold remains long after lead, melting only at 1063 degrees C. Thus gold would remain after most other ore was removed.”

However, Keener only describes a physical process for separating metals from their ores. But it was almost always accompanied by addition of a flux which chemically reacted with the base metals present so that the resulting dross could be scooped off the top of the molten metal to further purify it. This was especially helpful in purifying gold since it is chemically inert to almost all reagents.

And as to the underlying meaning of this biblical metaphor, Keener adds:

“Believers who stand firm in the testing prove faithful; the language of 'testing' can include the nuance of those who pass the test being 'approved.' Just as testing refines gold and improves the final product as pure gold, so testing improves those who persevere through it.”

Deuteronomy 4:20 “The temperatures reached in the iron smelting furnaces were the highest known in biblical times and are used to indicate the unpleasantness of life in Egypt (Deut 4:20; I Kings 8:51; Jer 11:4).” (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery)

I Kings 8:51 “...for they are your people and heritage which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron-smelter.”

Cogan: “Egypt, mostly known as a 'slave-house,' was compared in Deuteronomic circles to a blast furnace used for smelting iron ore, so harsh were the conditions of life.”

Job 23:10

The second half of this verse reads, “When he tests me, I shall emerge as gold.”

“Job's use of the analogy of purifying gold for his own testing is another indication that the basic motivation for his lament is the restoration of his own honor, not the restoration of his wealth. With this metaphor Job is rebutting Eliphaz's exhortation to lay aside gold (22:24-25) and to make God his gold. Rather than owning the precious metal, Job longs for a golden character.” (Hartley)

Psalm 12:6 This verse states that God's promises are pure just as silver is refined in a furnace.

Anderson explains that “God's promises or words are compared with purified silver, which is in a sense true silver, i.e. its quality can be relied upon. This word-picture would have been well known, because the purity of silver had great importance in business transactions, for silver was one of the main media of exchange.”

Psalm 66 “For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.”

Tanner says that “the testing of v. 10 is clearly reminiscent of how the Israelites tested God at Massah (Exod. 17:7; Deut. 6:16; 33:8; Ps. 95:8-9).” Only here the tables are turned.

Proverbs 27:21 The Anchor Bible translation reads: “The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, and a person is tested according to his praise.”

Ruiz calls this “an idiom for removing sin from one's life.” And Waltke explains that it can mean either (a) “one is tested by the character of the one who praises him” or (b) “a person's mettle is tested by whom or what he praises.”

Isaiah 1:25 “I will smelt away your dross as with lye and remove all your alloy.” Other translations read something like: “I will burn away your dross completely. I will take away all your impurities.” In either case, as Oswalt puts it, “God's hand will not be upon them to destroy but rather to restore. The slag and the tin will be removed; the rulers will be as they once were, and the city name, City of Righteousness, whether an ideal past or an actual one is in view here...the prophet looks forward to a time when God's people, having passed through the fires, will relate to him, and thus to one another, as they ought.”

Isaiah 48:10 “See, I have refined you, but not like silver; I have tested you in the furnace of adversity.”

The reference is to the experience of exile in Babylon whereas in Deuteronomy 4:20 and Jeremiah 11:4 it refers to the Jews' time in Egypt. (Blenkinsopp)

Jeremiah 6:27-30 Here we have an extended metaphor in which “lead is added to silver ore in the furnace to act as a flux to remove impurities. The image speaks of God's attempt to purify Israel by removing the impurities of the wicked under the Babylonian onslaught.” (DBI)

Jeremiah 11:4 speaks of the time when God delivered the Jews from the “iron furnace” of Egypt.

Cawley and Millard say, “It marked their deliverance from the iron furnace, the smelting oven being symbolic of intense suffering.”

Ezekiel 22:17-22 states that Israel has become dross. As Cook puts it, “The judgment will be like a smelter in which base metals are removed.”

Daniel 11:35 “Some of the wise shall fall, so that they may be refined, purified, and cleansed [lit. 'made white'] until the time of the end...”

“In 11:35, the author speaks again of the wise leaders of the Jews first mentioned in 11:33 and later in 12:3,10; here the purpose of their being 'tested' is stated explicitly...The Deuteronomic theology of retribution...did allow the possibility of adversity serving as a test of fidelity or as a means of purification, as here...Our author may have had some feeling for the Maccabean revolt, but his true sympathies lay with those engaged in non-violent resistance. It was their suffering love unto death that would 'refine, cleanse, and purify' the nation and vindicate the principles of true religion which no human power can crush.” (Hartman and DiLella)

But not everyone agrees entirely with the above view. For example, Longman says, “I believe it is wrong-minded to say that the book of Daniel represents a pacifist view that waits for God the warrior to act. In the earlier historical battles of Israel, God won the war, to be sure, at places like Jericho, but that did not mean that Israel did not take action in some way. In other words, the ideology of the book has plenty of room for appreciation of armed resistance to the oppression.”

Daniel 12:10 “Many shall be purified, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked shall continue to act wickedly.”

This verse is part of an obscure prophecy regarding the consummation of the last days. Kaiser concludes “that Daniel knew all but two aspects of the prophecies revealed to him: (1) the temporal aspects (an exclusion we share even today, as noted I Pet 1:10-12) and (2) additional information beyond that revealed to him. No prophet claimed omniscience, only an adequate, God-given knowledge of a limited topic of importance.”

Zechariah 13:8-9 The prophecy in this verse says that 2/3 of Israel will be cut off and the remaining 1/3 refined as silver or gold.

“Zechariah 13:7-9 is...a fitting conclusion to the series of shepherd-flock units, since it moves beyond the judgment envisioned in the earlier units and reveals the purification that results from such severe discipline...The image world for the first half of v. 9 is clearly that of metallurgy, a common image in prophetic literature. The third of the community which survives Yahweh's initial discipline is described as a precious metal like silver and gold. It is not certain whether the impurities which are removed through this process refer to dysfunctional qualities and patterns within the community, or to offending parties within the community.” (Boda)

I Peter 1:7

“The term rendered as genuineness was often used for unalloyed metals; fire tested their genuineness, as it tests that of believers. For believers, the figuratively fiery testing refers to sufferings in the present age; as in 4:12, it probably envisions for Peter's audience especially persecution. The imperishable inheritance of 1:4 is worth far more than perishable gold (1:7)... Gold may endure testing by fire, but faith that is tested by fire proves far more permanent and will be honored once Christ returns. This is because believers were bought not with perishable silver or gold (1:18), valuable merely outwardly (3:3), but with the far more precious blood of Christ (1:19).” (Keener)

Revelation 3:18 The letter to the church of Laodicea says, “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich.”

Mounce explains: “The gold is spiritual wealth that has passed through the refiner's fire and has been found to be totally trustworthy.”

And Morris says, “For this threefold deficiency [given in verses 15-17] the remedy in each case is Christ. From Him they should buy gold tried in the fire (cf. I Pet. I. 7), real wealth.”