Posted on 02/24/2022 10:14:40 PM PST by Pilgrim's Progress
“The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable. Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer” (Proverbs 25:3-4).
Well, God searches them. “The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts” (Proverbs 21:1-2).
“The heaven for height,” that’s pretty high. Nobody's ever seen to the end of the universe or even been to the end of the universe. I mean, just imagine how big the universe is, and to think about all those millions of light years it takes to get from here to stars and galaxies at the speed of light. It's just unbelievable how immense the universe is.
“The heaven for height, and the earth for depth,” this shows you, that while the earth is not the farthest thing away from God, it's moving away from God. In relation to God, the earth is deep; in relation to man the heaven is high.
“. . . and the heart of Kings is unsearchable,” in the sense of men, and of course, in the sense of men the heaven in high and the earth is deep. Nobody has descended into the center of the earth, except spiritual beings, so it's pretty deep for us.
We see this also in 17:3, “The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts” (Proverbs 17:3).
The dross is the scum of molten metal, or the impurity in silver or gold. He said, “Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.” In other words, something that can be made of value, “a vessel for the finer” to be refined, to be finished. He's the one who finishes the job.
A purifying process for Israel and of course, in the passage, God’s gonna teach us that he purifies people, vessels, and we are said to be vessels in Second Corinthians. We have this earthen treasure, we have this treasure, in earthen vessel. God purifiers His people in various ways.
Israel's purification takes place in the Tribulation: “And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and 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” (Zechariah 13:9).
For the Christian, Second Timothy 2:21, “If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.” The Christian purges, or purifies, himself.
For the church: “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us” (I Corinthians 5:7). It is purified by purging out the old leaven.
Israel will be purged, the Christian is purged by confession and forsaking wicked ways, ungodly ways, worldly ways, carnal ways for God's ways. The church is purged, or purified, by disciplining its members. Of course, the individual disciplines himself to attain a Christian character so there's discipline in all of them. God's going to discipline his people, Israel, in the tribulation.
“Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer,” and so you see what God’s doing with you and I. God is purifying us so there will be a vessel for the finer. One of these days, He'll finish us, He will do the job He's wanted to do all along. He will conform us to the image of his son. That’s really what He wants to do. That's what you are predestined for.
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