The refiner of silver

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver;
he will purify the Levites and refine them
like gold and silver. Malachi 3:3

There was a group of women in a Bible study
on the book of Malachi.
As they were studying chapter three,
they came across verse three which says:
He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.

This verse puzzled the women and they wondered
what this statement meant about
the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out
about the process of refining silver
and get back to the group at their next Bible study.

That week this woman called up a silver smith
and made an appointment to watch him at work.
She didn't mention anything about the reason
for her interest in silver beyond
her curiosity about the process of refining silver.

As she watched the silver smith,
he held a piece of silver over the fire
and let it heat up.

He explained that in refining silver,
one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire
where the flames were hottest
so as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God
holding us in such a hot spot -
then she thought again about the verse,
that he sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.

She asked the silver smith if it was true
that he had to sit there in front of the fire
the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered that yes,
he not only had to sit there holding the silver,
but he had to keep his eyes on the silver
the entire time it was in the fire.
If the silver was left even a moment
too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment.
Then she asked the silver smith,
how do you know when the silver is fully refined?

He smiled at her and answered,

"Oh, that's easy--when I see my image in it."

Author Unknown