Jó 23

Jó 23:10-11

Wiersbe comments that Job was not just in any furnace… But it was a furnace of God’s appointment, not because of Job’s sin; and God would use Job’s affliction to purify him and make him a better man. This is not the only answer to the question, “Why do the righteous suffer?” but it is one of the best, and it can bring the sufferer great encouragement. Scripture often uses the image of a furnace to describe God’s purifying ministry through suffering. “See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction” (Isa 48:10NIV). Israel’s suffering in Egypt was like that of iron in a smelting furnace (Dt. 4:20), and her later disciplines were also a “furnace experience.” “For You, O God, tested us; You refined us like silver” (Ps. 66:10NIV) (Spurgeon's note). This image is used by Peter (1Pe 1:6-note; 1Pe 1:7-note 1Pe 4:12-note) of believers going through persecution. When God puts His own people into the furnace, He keeps His eye on the clock and His hand on the thermostat. He knows how long and how much. We may question why He does it to begin with, or why He doesn’t turn down the heat or even turn it off; but our questions are only evidences of unbelief. Job 23:10 is the answer: “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come come forth as gold” (NKJV). Gold does not fear the fire. The furnace can only make the gold purer and brighter. (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary - Old Testament = "Be Patient". Victor) (Bolding added) Nelson's New Illustrated Bible describes dross as … the residue left at the end of the smelting process after metal has been separated from the impurities. Dross was a symbol for the imperfection of sinful Israel. In the smelting process, heat is applied to ore that contains precious metal. This causes the imperfections to separate, leaving only the pure metal. The prophet Isaiah warned the nation of Israel that it had become impure and would require purging in this way (Isaiah 1:22-25). (Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., Harrison, R. K., & Thomas Nelson Publishers. Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary) Unger adds that dross (Hebrew =sig = refuse) represents… The impurities separated from silver, etc., by the process of melting (Prov. 25:4; 26:23); also the base metal itself prior to smelting (Isa. 1:22, 25; Ezek. 22:18-19). Figurative. Dross is used to represent the wicked (Ps. 119:119; Prov. 26:23), sin (Isa. 1:25), and Israel (Ezek. 22:18-29). (Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Chicago: Moody Press) Spurgeon in his comments on Ps 66:10 writes of the tests… Searching and repeated, severe and thorough, has been the test; the same result has followed us as in the case of precious metal, for the dross and tin have been consumed, and the pure ore has been discovered. Since trial is sanctified to so desirable an end, ought we not to submit to it with abounding resignation… (Spurgeon has this additional note) Convinced from the frequent use of this illustration (of the refining of precious metals), that there was something more than usually instructive in the process of assaying and purifying silver, I have collected some few facts upon the subject. The hackneyed story of the refiner seeing his image in the molten silver while in the fire, has so charmed most of us, that we have not looked further; yet, with more careful study, much could be brought out. To assay silver requires great personal care in the operator. "The principle of assaying gold and silver is very simple theoretically, but in practice great experience is necessary to insure accuracy; and there is no branch of business which demands more personal and undivided attention. The result is liable to the influence of so many contingencies, that no assayer who regards his reputation will delegate the principal process to one not equally skilled with himself. Besides the result ascertainable by weight, there are allowances and compensations to be made, which are known only to an experienced assayer, and if these were disregarded, as might be the case with the mere novice, the report would be wide from the truth." (Encyclopaedia Britannica.) Pagnini's version reads: "Thou hast melted us by blowing upon us," and in the monuments of Egypt, artificers are seen with the blowpipe operating with small fire places, with cheeks to confine and reflect the heat; the worker evidently paying personal attention, which is evident also in Malachi 3:3, "He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." To assay silver requires a skillfully constructed furnace. The description of this furnace would only weary the reader, but it is evidently a work of art in itself. Even the trial of our faith is much more precious than that of gold which perisheth (1Pe 1:7-note). He has refined us, but not with silver. He would not trust us there, the furnace of affliction is far more skillfully arranged than that. To assay silver the heat must be nicely regulated. "During the operation, the assayer's attention should be directed to the heat of the furnace, which must be neither too hot nor too cold: if too hot, minute portions of silver will be carried off with the lead, and so vitiate the assay; moreover, the pores of the cupel being more open, greater absorption will ensue, and there is liability to loss from that cause. One indication of an excess of heat in the furnace, is the rapid and perpendicular rising of the fumes to the ceiling of the muffle, the mode of checking and controlling which has been pointed out in the description of the improved furnace. When the fumes are observed to fall to the bottom of the muffle, the furnace is then too cold; and if left unaltered, it will be found that the cupellation has been imperfectly performed, and the silver will not have entirely freed itself from the base metals. (Encyclopaedia Britannica.) The assayer repeats his trying process. Usually two or more trials of the same piece are made, so that great accuracy may be secured. Seven times silver is said to be purified, and the saints through varied trials reach the promised rest." C. H. S. GOLD FROM THE REFINER'S FIRE I shall come forth as gold - How could Job have made such an incredible declaration? To be sure Job's assurance on the one hand undoubtedly reflects his certainty that he is innocent of accusations made by his "friends". More important however is the fact he knew His God and He trusted (had faith) in His God, even though he could not see Him at the time he was going through the trial. He had a steadfast trust in Jehovah Who tests hearts, Solomon writing that… The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests (same verb as in Job 23:10 = bachan) hearts. (Job 17:3) In the excerpt from Spurgeon's sermon (which I recommend that you read - Job 23:10 Whither Goest Thou), you will notice the Prince of Preachers asks and answers the question… Hath He not promised that we shall never perish? Shall we not, therefore, come forth as gold? What is Spurgeon's answer? This confidence is grounded on the Lord's knowledge of us. I would be presumptuous to disagree with this master expositor of Holy Writ, but his answer does beg another question -- How is it that Job knows about "the Lord's knowledge of us" to use Spurgeon's words? I would suggest that the secret to Job's endurance lies in Job 23:12 (notes) - Job knew His God because he had treasured His Word and obeyed His Word. Therefore Job was confident that God would not destroy him but bring him forth as gold (cp Paul's confidence in God's "keeping ability" because he knew Whom he had believed - 2Ti 1:12-note). H A Ironside agrees noting that Job declares… "I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food" (Job 23:12), and this at a time when the ways of God with His dear servant seemed quite inexplicable, and he floundered in the vain effort to find Him out. Still "the words of His mouth" he loved to dwell upon, and, relying on them, dared to say, "When He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:10). Adam Clarke If that which is reputed to be gold is exposed to the action of a strong fire, if it be genuine, it will lose nothing of its quality, nor of its weight. If it went into the fire gold, it will come out gold; the strongest fire will neither alter nor destroy it. So Job: he went into this furnace of affliction an innocent, righteous man; he came out the same. His character lost nothing of its value, nothing of its luster. (Job 23 Commentary) H G Bosch compares God's care for us in trials to the pattern of vines clinging to trees writing that… The vines that sometimes grow up the side of oak trees cling to them during the fiercest storms. Although the wind beats upon them, the tendrils hold tightly to the tree's bark. If the vine is on the side opposite the wind, the great oak is its protection; if it's on the exposed side, the wind presses the vine more closely to it. As Christians, we are sometimes sheltered by God, while other times He allows us to be exposed so we will be pressed more closely to Him. After years of faithfulness, some Christians suddenly find themselves greatly tested and in deep distress--seemingly without reason. They are subjected to terrific battles with doubts, fears, and unbelief. Doesn't God care how much they suffer? Of course He does. But He has a special purpose in withholding immediate relief… Our afflictions are designed not to break us but to bend us toward God. (Pressed Close to God ) Dave Guzik (Job 23) notes that Job's attestation that he will come forth as gold… is another bright flash of faith upon a generally black background. Job admitted that he could not get through to God, yet clung to the confidence that God was still over this crisis. With wonderful faith, Job seemed at this fleeting instant to understand what he could and should in his present crisis. He understood that: · God still observed Job carefully and had not forgotten him (He knows the way that I take). · God had a purpose in the crisis, and the purpose was not to punish Job (when He has tested me) · God would one day bring the trial to an end (I shall come forth) · God would bring something good would from it all (I shall come forth as gold) · God still valued Job; only precious metal is put through the fire (as gold) Paul has a similar affirmation of faith in the midst of the furnace writing… Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2Co 4:16-note 2Co 4:17-note 2Co 4:18-note)