Ezekiel 22:17-22

We are refined in the furnace of affliction until God sees the image of His Son in us. Always keeping in mind that He corrects those He loves He will remove the impurities in our life giving us a new heart. 

In refining the Silver Smith cannot remove His eyes on the silver. If the silver was left even a little too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

These verses are primarily about God’s chastisement of His sinful people through the burning of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. Yet the verses also point to the fiery ordeals and trials that force all of us into a more perfect relationship with our Lord.

dross |drôs, dräs|

noun

something regarded as worthless; rubbish: there are bargains if you have the patience to sift through the dross.

• foreign matter, dregs, or mineral waste, in particular scum formed on the surface of molten metal.

Dross

Dross is a mass of solid impurities

Dross product is not entirely waste material; aluminium dross, for example, can be recycled and is used in secondary steelmaking for slag deoxidation.^[2]

Ezekiel 22:17-22

¹⁷ The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me; they are all bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of a furnace; they have become dross from silver. ¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. ²⁰ As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to melt it; so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you. ²¹ Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst. ²² As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be melted in its midst; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have poured out My fury on you.’ ”

¹⁰ Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. 

Isaiah 48:10

³The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the Lord tests the hearts. 

Proverbs 17:3

²⁵ I will turn My hand against you, And thoroughly purge away your dross, And take away all your alloy. 

Isaiah 1:25

⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will refine them and try them; For how shall I deal with the daughter of My people? 

Jeremiah 9:7