Good Morning Yamon Ki Yesepar and Nevim Arith Hayomim:

Isaiah 48:10: “Behold I have refined you, but not in silver.  I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.”

I used to teach a course in speed reading.  Woody Allen described his attempts at speed reading.  He said it was really great, you view a book as a picture and learn to see words as a group forming one thought rather than looking at each word.  He said he read through War and Peace in a half hour.  It’s about Russia.

There are some inherent dangers in speed reading and there are certain books you do not want to speed read.  The Bible is one such book.  A speed reader will catch the word refine, silver, furnace and affliction.  He will then put together the thought that God refines us in the fires of affliction. The speed reader, as many slow readers, will overlook one word – “Lo” or “not.”  He will refine us but not in silver.  That preposition “beth” causes all sorts of problems because if means in or on.

Contrary to popular belief, circulated by the many sermons we hear on the refiner’s fire, silver is not refined using fire or a furnace.  It is refined by using acid and sodium.  The word “refine”  is “seraph” meaning to purify.   God has purified us, but not on silver.

In ancient times when a merchant wanted to examine a precious stone or jewel he would set it on a highly polished silver platter.   The highly reflective silver would expose all the flaws of the gem.  The silver platter was symbolic with doing a close examination.  Perhaps that is why Herod’s wife wanted John the Baptist’s head on a silver platter, she wanted everyone to think that he was just a flawed individual making up a bunch of prophecies.

So God did not say he would purify us by putting us on a silver platter to expose our flaws.  Rather he has “chosen” us from the furnace of affliction.  The word “chosen” is “bekar” which means to examine.  He has examined us while we were in the furnace of affliction.

Brother  Yun describes in his book “The Heavenly Man” that in China a house church could have 50 people attending.  But when persecution started their numbers dropped to about 5.

With all the good things Job had, it was easy for him to say: “The Lord gives and he takes away.”  But when the tables got all turned around and Job’s world came crashing down, his faith in God still caused him to say: I will trust in him anyways.

I won’t comment on the old argument as to whether God sends the bad things in life.  But I know one thing for sure.  God is an opportunist.  Like President Obama’s chief advisor said; “We can’t let a good crisis go to waste”  God will use our times of despair to closely examine us to see what our true motives are in our relationship with Him.

So the next time you go through the fires, think about the fact that this is an opportune time to prove to the world, yourself and God that you will trust in Him anyways.

But soft, there is one other thing about the fact that he examines us while we are in that furnace of affliction. If He is closely examining us, then that means that he is also closely watching over us to make sure we do not get overly cooked in the fires.

Is that what he means when he says: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”