How can we quantify and describe God’s refining work in the lives of mankind? Is refinement a simple process that tickles or causes joy and pleasure? “The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests hearts.” Proverbs 17:3 Gold and silver are precious metals that we value to such extents that we dig deep beneath the surface of the earth to obtain them. After such great lengths to secure the gold and silver it is subjected to great heat to refine it. Proverbs 17 speaks of how God acts upon the hearts of men just as the refining pot refines silver or the furnace purifies gold. What does this mean? God is the only force that is capable of refining and purifying the corrupt hearts of men. There is no other source of purification for the lives of the men and women of the world. If this is true what impact should it have upon out lives? Should we care? Continue Reading…
Can we lay a claim on the things that he cannot see: Proverbs 17 and 18
Exile from everything held dear: 2 Kings 25
In 2 Kings 25 the exile for the sons of Israel has come to fulfillment. For generations the people drifted away from worshiping God and the kingdom of Babylon comes to carry off the people of Judah into exile just as Isaiah told Hezekiah in 2 Kings 20:17,18. The city of Jerusalem was rased and all the wealth of the city was carried off into Babylon. Will good come from the Israelites being taken away into exile in Babylon? Can you imagine being taken away from the comfortable life you have known to be placed in a foreign land? How would you view life if everything you knew and held dear were stripped away from you? How does the adversity that we endure change out lives? Continue Reading…
The relentless taskmaster of Exodus 5 and 6
What a harsh master Pharaoh was to the people of Israel. He made them work and toil away when they felt oppressed. They could not make him happy and all he wanted was their commitment as servants. In contrast look at God. He listened to the cries of the people of Israel and intervened to help them. God met them where they were in the midst of their lives and pain to help them. They were eager to accept the fact that God wanted to free them but they didn’t want the extra temporary discomfort that came along with it. It is like a crucible. Continue Reading…
