9 This third I will bring into the fire;
I will refine them like silver
and test them like gold.
Did you know that the precious metals we wear must be refined and tested before use? The prophet Zechariah referred to the third that God called back to rebuild the temple after the exile. Before the Israelites could be restored they had to be refined. According to Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, refine means:
1: to free (as metal, sugar, or oil) from impurities or unwanted material
2: to free from moral imperfection : elevate
3: to improve or perfect by pruning or polishing <refine a poetic style>
4: to reduce in vigor or intensity
5: to free from what is coarse, vulgar, or uncouth
intransitive verb
1: to become pure or perfected
2: to make improvement by introducing subtleties or distinctions
Just like precious metals, the impurities and imperfections must be burned away with fire before proper use. Like the metals, God burns away our imperfections through trials and tribulations. He then tests us before moving us on to the next level. Do not find it strange if you are not exactly the same person today that you were one or two years ago. Truthfully, none of us should be. The process God has brought each of us through every trial should be burning away little by little the person we used to be and creating someone greater. The refining process is not a pleasant one but it is a worthy one for we have been deemed more precious than metal
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