The Words of Job’s Wife – The Finers Work

THE FINER’S WORK

“Take away the dross … and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.” Prov 25:4

The testing or the purifying of our faith is likened in the Bible to that of smelting gold or silver. This is also referred to as fining in the Old Testament and the one who did this work is called a finer, or we would now say a smelter. Precious metals are rarely found in chunks by themselves but are mixed and fused together with other undesirable elements that are worthless to the smelter. Although there have been some gold and silver discoveries in which large veins of these precious metals are found, most of the time gold is found only in terms of grams per ton of the material that is mined. In others terms, in a three foot by three foot cube of earthen material, which weighs about one ton, only a few grams of gold may be encountered. To grasp how minute this amount is, consider these measurements. There are approximately thirty-two grams in an ounce, there are sixteen ounces in a pound and there are two thousand pounds in a ton. To find such a small amount merely by looking for it, would be harder than finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. The ancient process, which is still used today along with other methods, involves smelting. First, the material would be washed, separating the dirt from the heavier metals. Then the process of extracting the precious metal from that which was worthless, was to create an intense heat under a pot that contained the ore that was mined. This mixture of metals, in which were seen glimmers of gold, silver or both, was super heated until all the substance became molten or liquefied. To this mixture there also may be added reducing agents such as charcoal to separate the metals. This mixture containing the precious metal was then stirred and allowed to settle out. The gold and silver, which are heavier than most other materials, would sink to the bottom of the pot. The finer, or the one who did this work, would then skim off the top layers of the molten ore, and this dross, or waste material, would be discarded. This process would then be repeated, stirring and skimming, until only the precious metal was left. To know when the precious metal was pure, the finer would look into the pot, and when he saw his face reflected from the substance, which was now like a mirror, he knew his work was done.

So it is with our faith in Christ and His work of salvation. These are likened in the Bible to that of a few grams of gold and silver which becomes buried in the earthly soil of our human existence. To further understand this metaphorical process, we are creatures of the earth, we are made from the dust of the ground and our bodies will return to it. Gold, in the Bible, is the symbol used to express Deity, and silver expresses God’s work of redemption. The precious faith which we have in our Lord Jesus, who is God in the flesh, at first is like a shining speck of gold that we see and value, but soon becomes buried in the dross of our humanity. The work of redemption, which initially we see so clearly as the gift of God’s grace, also becomes buried in the waste pile of our human endeavors. It is the work of the Heavenly Smelter, our Father in Heaven, to first wash away this filth of the flesh by the water of His Word; and then He burns off the waste material left in our lives by using fiery trials, and removes them. His work of purifying continues until He sees His own image shining in our lives and we are the reflection of the precious Lord Jesus.

Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

1 Cor 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

Heb 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Job 23:10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

1 Pet 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Prov 17:3 The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.

Prov 25:4 Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.

2 Cor 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Dross:

All that is worthless to God in our lives is called the dross. Even though man may derive some benefit from these common materials in building and creating his own works, in the eyes of God these things only obscure and cover up the glory of Christ, and must be removed. One day, all of man’s works will be burned up in the regeneration of the earth. Even the heavens, which have now been polluted by men, will be burned up. As believers, we must take heed to what materials we are employing in our lives, and what works we are doing. Are they “gold, silver, precious stones,” or are they “wood, hay, stubble”?

Psa 119:119 Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross: therefore I love thy testimonies.

Isa 1:25 And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:

Eze 22:18 Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.
19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
20 As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you.
21 Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof.
22 As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you.

2 Pet 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

1 Cor 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Gold:

The Tabernacle represented God’s presence to the Israelites. All of the vessels and furniture that was found in the Holy of Holies was either made or covered with pure gold. Moses was instructed to “make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.” These objects represented God’s deity and the work that only He could do. In the last book of the Bible, when Heaven is opened, we see the spiritual aspects of many of these vessels found in the Tabernacle, and later on in Solomon’s Temple. In the New Testament, these golden vessels represent Jesus—His deity, and the work that He alone can do for us. As believers, we are to desire God’s work in us and through us by the Spirit of Christ that lives within our hearts; so that which is done in our lives may abide the fires of testing, and prove to be that which is of God Himself.

Ex 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
9 According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.
10 And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
11 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.
12 And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it.
13 And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.
14 And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them.
15 The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it.
16 And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.
17 And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
19 And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.
20 And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.
21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
23 Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
24 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about.
25 And thou shalt make unto it a border of an hand breadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about.
26 And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are on the four feet thereof.
27 Over against the border shall the rings be for places of the staves to bear the table.
28 And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them.
29 And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and spoons thereof, and covers thereof, and bowls thereof, to cover withal: of pure gold shalt thou make them.
30 And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway.
31 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same.
32 And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side:
33 Three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the candlestick.
34 And in the candlestick shall be four bowls made like unto almonds, with their knops and their flowers.
35 And there shall be a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, according to the six branches that proceed out of the candlestick.
36 Their knops and their branches shall be of the same: all it shall be one beaten work of pure gold.
37 And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it.
38 And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold.
39 Of a talent of pure gold shall he make it, with all these vessels.
40 And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.

Rev 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

Rev 5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

Rev 8:3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

Rev 21:18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Phil 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Silver:

In the Tabernacle, the hooks and fillets were the hooks and rings upon which the tabernacle curtains were hung. Inside this courtyard made of curtains is where man was to offer sacrifices to God. These hooks and fillets were made of silver, representing that man’s salvation and fellowship with God hung upon, or depended upon God’s redemptive work for man. Our fellowship with God is in the Lord Jesus Christ, who alone redeemed His people from their sins. All of our hope, our salvation, our righteousness before God, hangs upon Him. It is also interesting to note that the two trumpets made for the calling of the assembly were made of silver. In the final act of redemption, in which our bodies are redeemed and we are given our glorified bodies, the trumpet will sound and we will be changed. Then all the saints will be gathered together “to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

Exo 38:9 And he made the court: on the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, an hundred cubits:
10 Their pillars were twenty, and their brasen sockets twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.
11 And for the north side the hangings were an hundred cubits, their pillars were twenty, and their sockets of brass twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.
12 And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.
13 And for the east side eastward fifty cubits.
14 The hangings of the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.
15 And for the other side of the court gate, on this hand and that hand, were hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.
16 All the hangings of the court round about were of fine twined linen.
17 And the sockets for the pillars were of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver; and the overlaying of their chapiters of silver; and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver.

1 Pet 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

Num 10:2 Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.

Rom 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

Matt 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

1 Cor 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

1 Thess 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Brass:

The last prominent metal used in the Tabernacle was that of brass, and it represented judgment. God’s presence among His people required that they be redeemed from the penalty, power, and eventually the presence of sin. To purchase their salvation, judgment had to be meted out and sin atoned for. God’s righteousness and sense of divine justice could never be satisfied without someone paying the penalty for our sins, and that someone was Jesus Christ. The brazen altar, along with all of its instruments, were made of brass. They were used for the sacrifice and blood offering of innocent animals. These offerings typified the work of propitiation that Jesus would one day fulfill upon the cross. As Jesus hung upon that cross, the sin of every believer was transferred to Him; God in judgment, then poured out His wrath against all that sin, even upon His own Son. It is of great interest, that one of the clearest types of Christ found in the Old Testament was the Brazen Serpent, and it was also fashioned from this metal. Contrariwise, this material is not connected with believers, because only Jesus bore the full weight and judgment of our sins. This metal is also not mentioned as an abiding one, because “we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Also, it is not a part of the Heavenly city and is only mentioned in Revelations as pertaining to the feet of Jesus—because “he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” The only aspect of brass that we as believers experience is when we fall from grace, and then the “heaven that is over thy head shall be brass.” The interpretation of this is—when we try to offer God something other than Christ as our righteousness, we no longer see the smiling face of our Father, but we see judgment.

Ex 38:1 And he made the altar of burnt offering of shittim wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it was foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof.
2 And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of the same: and he overlaid it with brass.
3 And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basons, and the fleshhooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass.
4 And he made for the altar a brasen grate of network under the compass thereof beneath unto the midst of it.
5 And he cast four rings for the four ends of the grate of brass, to be places for the staves.
6 And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with brass.
7 And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, to bear it withal; he made the altar hollow with boards.
8 And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Isa 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Num 21:8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

Heb 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Rev 1:15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

Gal 5:4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

Deuteronomy 28:23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.

Precious Stones:

The last thing we will mention, though not normally considered to be connected to the Finer’s work, are precious stones. These valuable jewels however, do require some of the same kinds of processes to recover them from their earthly tombs; and because they are so closely identified with the divinity of gold and silver, we will attempt to attach some meaning to them as regarding our present subject. If we look at some of the more prominent Scriptures that contain the mention of them, they seem to be related to God’s people—those, whom God in His sovereignty, chooses to make holy, share in His glory, and dwell in His presence for all eternity.

Mal 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.
17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

Rev 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Rev 21:19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

Onyx stones, which the high priests wore upon their bosom as they entered the Holy of Holies, were engraved with the names of the children of Israel; even so Christ bares our names before the Father upon His bosom.

Exo 28:9 And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel:
10 Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth.
11 With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold.
12 And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial.

Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

In the parable of the merchant man who was looking for precious stones, he sacrificed all he had for a one great pearl. Likewise, Christ gave up all the riches of His glory, left Heaven, and came to this earth to seek out and purchase the Pearl of Great Price—His Bride, the Church.

Matt 13:45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

Precious stones may also signify those gifts that God bestows upon His creatures to serve Him. Even Lucifer was garnished with God’s gifts to serve Him therewith; but he now uses those gifts in his rebellion against God. Christ, when He returned to heaven, gave gifts unto His bride to carry on His work. The Heavenly Finer’s work is to purify His children, so that those gifts He has bestowed upon them will be the things they attach the most value to in their lives, and use to serve God therewith.

Prov 17:8 A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth.

Ezek 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

Isa 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

Eph 4:7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

As believers, our trials and suffering will prove whether we are the true children of God. Only believers, like precious jewels, will be able to withstand the intense heat created in God’s furnace, because they abide in Christ. Their works—if they are “gold, silver, precious stones”—will also abide these same fires because they are done in and through Christ.