|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
Spirit of the Word - Covenant Eschatology - Introductory Note - New Stuff
MY PEOPLE-- REFINED AS SILVER
by Ray Prinzing"And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." (Malachi 3:3).
How marvelous! When He has thoroughly purged and purified a people, that which flows out of our heart in worship and adoration to Him, however the expression might be, it is an holy offering to the Lord, that He might be glorified. OFFERED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS, because that is their new state of being. Indeed, God made Him (Jesus Christ) "to be a SIN-OFFERING for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made (Greek, become) the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Cor. 5:21). Only He who "KNEW NO SIN," and therefore was TOTALLY RIGHTEOUS IN HIMSELF, could become an offering-- could pour out His life for us, impart it to us, and transform us into His own SINLESS IMAGE. The ultimate state of being is-- "Your people also shall be all righteous." (Isaiah 60:21). To this end therefore is the refining process.
"And it shall come to pass, in all the land, says the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will REFINE THEM AS SILVER IS REFINED, and I will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on My name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is My people: and they shall say, THE LORD IS MY GOD." (Zech. 13:8-9).
Not only does He control all the process of refining, but He also makes a promise both for Himself and for us, "I will ... and they shall." "I WILL say, It is My people: and THEY SHALL say, The Lord is my God." For God to make a promise for Himself, we understand, for HE IS TRUTH, and when He says He will do a certain thing, HE WILL DO IT. But for God to also make a promise for us on what we shall do-- ah, this is super-wonderful, for it means that HE then is the Guarantee of its fulfillment. It is not resting on our making the promise, and failing to meet it because we are weak, and cannot fulfill the requirements. But HE makes it for us-- therefore HE, IN AND THROUGH US, is the Fulfiller. Thus He will refine us until from every avenue of our being, we can cry out, "THE LORD IS MY GOD." And it will be AN OFFERING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS-- yes, "in spirit and in truth."
Dr. Charles Price once stated, "The greatest mystery of all ages is God in man. And the crowning glory of God's grace is man in God." Methinks that the real depth and glory of grace is yet to be revealed and proclaimed. It is the sovereign handiwork of God, HIS GRACE ALONE, that is responsible for our purification, and ultimate oneness with God. It has nothing to do with the programs and works of the flesh whatsoever. It is not "God and" our help, for all our self-works are useless, but it is GOD ALL THE WAY, and therefore GRACE ALL THE WAY.
In order to bring forth a people who can say with a pure heart, "The Lord is my God," it will necessitate that He purge out all of our allegiance to other gods. It is amazing how many "other gods" we have served in the past, in spite of the commandment, "You shall have no other gods before Me."
Because of their continuous idolatry, as punishment and discipline, Israel was sent into captivity, and then the king of Assyria brought other people in, and placed them in the cities formerly inhabited by Israel. But, the scripture reads, "They feared not the Lord: therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which slew some of them." So they complained to the king of Assyria that all of this evil was befalling them "because they knew not the manner of the God of the land." So the king sent for a priest that had been dispersed, and he returned to teach them "how they should fear the Lord." But the result of this was, "They feared the Lord, and served their own gods." (2 Kings 17:33). Their hearts had not been changed, so they only had an outward form of reverence for Jehovah, while in their heart and daily living they served other gods.
It is a unique thing that every time man gets into extreme pressure or some drastic trouble, he will call on the Lord, give some reverence to God, and yet all the while retain a servitude to all of his own gods. Man's will is often his god! I will to do this! I will to do that! Will you please help me pray that God will cause things to go my way? Lord, you keep the lions away from me, so I can go out and do my own thing.
THANK GOD, HE SITS AS A PURIFIER OF SILVER, that He might refine out of us all allegiance to all other gods! We serve not the religious systems of man. Our devotion is not to a creed, nor a program, nor to "the ministry." "Whatsoever you do, do it heartily, AS TO THE LORD, and not unto men... for you serve the Lord Christ." (Colossians 3:23-24). "The Lord is our God!"
Now, while considering the allegory of SILVER, we would first make note of the negative-- for, while God has His silver, we find that the Canaanites also had their silver. This we note in the record of Achan, as he said, "When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them..." (Joshua 7:21).
A Babylonish garment-- which bespeaks of a man-wrought righteousness that could be very alluring and beautiful on the outside. Yet all of man's forighteousnesses are as filthy rags." (Isa. 64:6). Religion often proposes some very beautifully crafted works of righteousness, with appearances of godliness, forms that are appealing and enticing. Some will covet to have that look of spirituality, even though it is not by the holy Spirit.
And he saw the gold-- their moral values, their emphasis on God and family, and country. For Babylon has her gold, and things of intrinsic value, but it is NOT the NATURE OF CHRIST, it is a religious thing out of humanism.
And he saw the silver. Silver has long been associated with redemption. Judas sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, fulfilling the scripture, "So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver." (Zechariah 11:12).
Religious Babylon has its special ministries, its silver vessels, and its chosen ones. And they have their doctrines of redemption-- doctrines that mix together man's efforts with God's grace, and limit redemption to those who only believe as they do. Thus they all COME SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD!
"The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melts in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away. REPROBATE SILVER shall men call them, because the Lord has rejected them." (Jer. 6:29-30). Because the dross remains, because they responded not to the purifying work, they are considered "reprobate silver." How sad it is to see people go through their fiery trials, and the wickedness in them is not removed. Rather than melting down into submissiveness before the Lord, they become bitter, not mellow; they seem to be hardened, not pliable; they build up a resentment, "Why me, Lord?" Thus the dross remains-- and they shall be held for that coming day when the fires will be more intense.
"He that overcomes shall not be hurt of the second death." (Rev. 2:11). There is a purifying age to come, when ultimately everything passes through the divine purification process, but may we SURRENDER NOW, and become HIS REDEEMED ONES. If we, in our fiery trials, yield to God now, and the dross is purged out now, then we need never fear whatever lies ahead, when God visits all men, and purges out all their iniquity, until His righteousness fills all the earth.
"You shall not make with Me gods of silver." (Exodus 20:23). There will be no idols of man's making to be alongside of God. Although it is true, God is conforming us into His own image, and we are to be partakers of His divine nature, yet we are NOT TO IDOLIZE ONE ANOTHER. You are to become HIS SILVER, but never to be fashioned into the form of a god for other people. Far too many have allowed themselves, or placed others, upon some pedestal, and then allowed the praises of man to be directed their way. We will not "make gods of silver," and place them alongside of God, for God will not give His glory to other gods. (Though He will share His glory with those who become ONE IN HIMSELF, but that is another matter.)
But now the positive! Job 28:1, "Surely there is a vein for the silver." And God knows exactly where to find us, He knows how to draw us out from among men and earth's corruption, and take us through all the refining processes until we are prepared for His use, as pleases Him.
In the tabernacle much silver was used, "All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver." (Exodus 27:17). And as he prepared for the building of the temple, David gave to Solomon for the candlesticks "silver by weight ... and for the lamps thereof ... and silver for the tables of silver... for every basin of silver..."
(1 Chron. 28:15-17).Whosoever becomes a part of the "house of the Lord," shall know the reality of the redeeming grace of God, and become His chosen ones, vessels unto the Lord. The allegory of silver-- its processing, and its blessing, fit very well for those whom God is choosing to be a part of His corporate temple.
"You have tried us as silver is tried." (Psalm 66:10).
"Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer." (Proverbs 25:4).
"The fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the Lord tries the hearts." (Proverbs 17:3).
"As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise." (Proverbs 27:21).
TRIED-- TAKE AWAY THE DROSS-- THE LORD TRIES THE HEART-- this is something that only God can do, and He has some very unique ways and workings to make practical application. We talk of fiery trials, the furnace of affliction, till it almost becomes a mystical thing; but here we are faced with a very literal experience. "So is a man to his praise." How do we act when praise is directed our way? If we retain it for self to glory in, it will become as dross. But if we immediately, in heart and mind, offer that praise to the Lord-- knowing that it is CHRIST WITHIN US that enables us to live and do, then "no flesh has gloried in His presence," but our hearts remain pure before Him.
But there is another side to this "so is a man to his praise," and that is when there is no praise directed our way-- that is a refining process also. The lack of a compliment can be as trying as knowing how to receive one, for if we allow self-pity, bitter thoughts, etc. to fill our mind because we were not praised-- that certainly indicates the dross of self within. How we react to praise, or the lack of praise, reveals the character in us, for both ways serve as a refining pot for silver-- i.e. our refinement.
"The tongue of the just is as choice silver." (Prov. 10:20). Well did James write, "If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able to also bridle the whole body." (James 3:2). Much of our discipline and testing is directed toward the purging of our tongue. A challenge indeed! How we desire to be able to say, "The Lord God has given me the tongue of disciples and of those who are taught, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary." (Isaiah 50:4, Amplified). So often it seems we "don't know what to say." But when He has fully purged our tongue it will be as choice silver-- and words of life, hope, victory shall flow out to refresh and bless others. "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." (Proverbs 25:11). A word spoken at the right time in the right way, suitable to the occasion, is surely to be desired, and is as conspicuously beautiful as a silver basket filled with fruit.
Yes, praise God, He shall have His purified vessels of silver! And now we would share a few points concerning silver-- and their application to us. Our information has come from a National Geographic article of some years ago, titled: "Silver: a mineral of excellent nature."
A. Only silver rivals gold's ability to bend and stretch; or, be beaten into a leaf one hundred fifty times thinner than this sheet of paper.
God's vessels must be humble, possessing the capability to abound or be abased. Pliability in the Master's hand. Paul said, "I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound; everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me."
(Philippians 4:11-13).One of the beautiful inworkings of grace is to STRETCH US so as to be able to reach out and encompass all mankind. As the poet, Edwin Markham wrote:
"He drew a circle that shut me out-- heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win: we drew a circle that took him in."Yes, stretched until we shall "be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that we might be filled with all the fulness of God." (Ephesians 3:18-19). That will take some real stretching.
B. Silver will activate oxygen to kill bacteria. Thus surgeons disinfect burns with silver creams, and mend bones using cement containing antibacterial silver salts.
I once visited a young man in the hospital whose chest had been severely burned in an accident, and it was covered with a foam containing silver, to help ward off any infection, and thus aid in the healing process. Now my heart leaps within me at the implication-- that we become GOD'S PURIFIED SILVER and will be able to help overcome, destroy, bring an end to the bacteria of sin and disease. "Be not overcome of evil, but OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD." (Romans 12:21). There shall be a putting away of sin. There shall be a cleansing-- and "Whose soever sins you remit, they are remitted unto them..." (John 20:23).
But, what total refining is needed in the silver-- that there be no dross which would cause added distress, instead of healing. If there be elements of self left within us, and we pour out to others-- they will receive not only the positive, but the negative that is in us. When all that is within us is pure, then only purity can flow out to bless others, never harm them.
Oxygen can be symbolic of the Spirit. As one spirit in Him, we bring Him into a situation and there is a HOLINESS-HEALING process begun. There is a healing for burns-- the fire does burn up all the wood, hay, stubble, and many suffer by reason of the burning-- but there is HEALING for all burns. Yes, and healing for broken bones, and broken homes, broken relationships. "He has sent me to heal the broken- hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised." (Luke 4:18). O, to be God's silver-vessel-of-healing!
C. There is no metal, not even copper, that conducts heat and electricity so efficiently as silver.
How we desire to be able to fully and freely TRANSMIT HIS LIFE. "As though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be reconciled to God." (2 Cor. 5:20). For He has promised that there would be a people, HIS SILVER SEED, and "in you shall all nations be blessed." (Gal. 3:8). To be able to efficiently and effectively impart-- "such as I have give I you." (Acts 3:6). Believe it, my friend, He is preparing us for this!
D. Nothing else reflects light so well and uniformly. Even the thinnest sheet of silver will reflect ninety-five percent of light striking it.
What truth do we see in this? That this is not a selfish receiving and retaining, but a free giving of His light and life to all men. You do not see the silver backing on the mirror, for it reflects all else. People will not see us just for our own self-identity. "Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others." (Phil. 2:4). It is not a self-attraction, self-receiving, self-absorption but a giving out, as Paul said, "I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved." (2 Cor. 12:15).
E. Silver is a natural dry lubricant, so in the main engines of NASA'S space shuttle, silver seals reduce friction and prevent sparks.
God's SILVER/saints will serve as a divine lubricant, helping the "brethren to dwell together in unity." (Psalm 133:1). I dare say, it seems like some people are a natural irritant. But when our nature is ALL LOVE, then every irritant of dross is refined out, and there will only be beautiful harmony.
How beautifully this is seen in the example of Judah, as he said to Joseph, who was then a ruler in Egypt, "Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let your servant, I pray, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not your anger burn against your servant..." (Genesis 44:18). What a lubricating word. While Joseph certainly was not angry with his brethren, yet they didn't know that yet, and so Judah sought to reduce any friction that might be there-- for "A soft answer turns away wrath." (Prov. 15:1). This also refers us back again to the SILVER TONGUE which surely speaks soft answers which conciliate-- which prevents the sparks of negative fire.
There are those all around us that might have a "fighting spirit," but we say with the Psalmist, "I am for peace." (Psalm 120:7). What easing of the conflict, so that the friction decreases and there is a smooth flow of love and fellowship again.
F. Silver can be prepared as crystals of silver iodide, seeded into a cool cloud to become the core of raindrops and snowflakes.
What a beautiful ministry-- to become a part of that refreshing water of life. Indeed, "The remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass, that tarries not for man, nor waits for the sons of men." (Micah 5:7). Silver vessels to become instruments of bringing the rain to a dry and thirsty land.
However, again it reveals the necessity of coming into an attitude of total mercy toward all men, for He "sends rain on the just and on the unjust." (Matthew 5:45). And we will not be carnally selective of where the rain is to fall-- favoring those who are nice to us, and ignoring those that are not in step with our doctrines. But with the mercy and grace of God freely flowing through us, we will rejoice that the benefits of the rain can fall everywhere-- until the knowledge of the glory of the Lord covers the earth, as the waters cover the sea.
G. In the area of photography, in film, crystalline silver salts instantly detect light falling on them and permanently record it.
We have used the allegory of silver mostly in reference of ministry to others, but briefly, here we would make the application dual, personal, and then for others. We are being "changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Cor. 3:18) It is an image that will not fade. it is permanent, and the image is HIS. A redemptive victory that is unchangeable.
And then in regards to others, the ministry that flows through GOD'S SILVER will be a lasting, enduring work. Far too long we have touched the lives of others, seen them change for a time, and then seem to grow cold. But as we RECEIVE THE LIGHT AND SHARE IT, it will cause a permanent change, and so "all shall know the Lord, from the least to the greatest."
H. Silver can be melted down and re-shaped, and very little metal is lost at each transformation.
Paul spoke of how he "made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. Unto the Jews I became as a Jew... to them that are under the law, as under the law... to them that are without law, as without law... to the weak became I as weak... I am made all things to all..."
(1 Cor. 9:19-22). How marvelous, to be able to become all things to all men, and never lose our own reality in Christ-- never be diminished. We have been so afraid of losing something if we reached out to others on their level. But we see in only gain, as we freely give the fulness of Christ that there is no loss-- if we freely give ourselves to others, and receive all back again in Him. Melt down the silver and re-shape it from a spoon to a goblet, or whatever form is needed for the occasion, and there is no diminishing of the silver. May we become such in Christ, that He can use us as a king, or as a lowly servant, and we do not feel the least bit diminished because of any change of use-- for we are what we are in HIM-- it is HIS LIFE expressed through us continually. He can place us in any situation, and we can "sit where they sit," while He imparts of His grace to them, and we simply yield ourselves to Him to do as the occasion serves, ready and willing for His purpose to be fulfilled. It is the message of the ALLEGORY OF SILVER-- that He shall have a people who are refined, vessels "meet for the Master's use." (2 Timothy 2:21). Amen!BACK - Spirit of the Word - Covenant Eschatology - Introductory Note - New Stuff