Malachi 3:3, commentary and pictures

He will sit as a refiner of silver to purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver, so that they may bring to the Lord an offering in righteousness that is pleasant to Him as in former days. The sons of Levi are those who profess to follow Him, His people on earth, especially those entrusted with ministry as a spiritual priesthood in the church and its institutions. Sitting as a refiner means close and watchful care, watching every test and measuring every trial with grace, allowing lighter temptations first and then greater ones, to separate the dross from character until divine love is reflected. The furnace does not consume and destroy but refines and purifies, using suffering, affliction, reverses and severe trial to bring impurity to the surface and remove what is false and worthless, pride, selfishness and covetousness, until His image is fully and perfectly reflected. This cleansing comes by Christ alone when He is welcomed, through sanctifying truth, the work of the Holy Spirit and the blood of sprinkling, and while the investigative judgment goes forward in heaven there is a special work of purification and putting away of sin among His people on earth to make them spotless and ready for His appearing.

Words and Setting

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and will purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver, so that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness, and then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to the Lord as in former days and former years. This takes place in the last days before the coming of the Son of man, when the Lord shall suddenly come to His temple as a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap to prove every soul professing to be a son or daughter of God. He sees every spot and stain upon the character of those who profess to follow Him, and He will test them with fire like a refiner's fire and fuller's soap. The work is a searching moral refining of character in the present time, reproving everything that cannot enter the city of God, and when submitted to consuming all the dross and tin. Those refined receive the light appropriate for this time and do not exalt themselves or manufacture a human standard or a different standard for poor and rich, for all are tested by the one standard God has given, the law that bids love to God supremely and love to neighbor as self.

The refining works by truth pure, refined, and elevating received into the heart, where controlled by conscience and planted by the Holy Spirit it becomes an active principle working by love to subdue, soften, purify the soul and recreate it after God's image into the spirit and character of Christ, revealed outward in words and spirit and actions toward all, laying up treasure above to win the treasure of heaven, while knowledge of truth that produces no beauty in the soul is of no benefit. The refining test makes the worth of faith apparent, removing what is impure, and God's people are more precious to Him than fine gold. His coming is sudden to His temple as a refiner's fire and fuller's soap, bringing judgment and exposing worldly dealing and making merchandise of sacred things. The chapter is to be read with the whole book of Malachi and with Isaiah 58. The offering in righteousness is bringing tithes and offerings for the gospel, keeping the Sabbath holy for communion with God in creation and redemption, caring for the poor, the widow, the fatherless, the orphans and the oppressed, and dealing justly with the hireling and the stranger.

Forsaking God's ordinances and trampling the Sabbath is robbery of God that brings a curse and separation from God the source of good and robs the sinner of blessing, and returning to God in these duties is how the purified people meet His near judgment against sorcerers, adulterers, false swearers, oppressors of hireling, widow, fatherless and stranger, and those who fear Him not. As the promised purifier He confronted the tumult of unholy traffic of buyers and sellers when He cleansed the courts of the temple at Jerusalem, and that cleansing announced His mission to cleanse the soul from earthly desires, selfish lusts, evil habits, sensual passion, and unholy thoughts that corrupt the soul. The temple at Jerusalem was designed as a continual witness to the high destiny open to every soul to yield itself as a temple for the divine Spirit, and its defiled courts truly represented the defiled temple of the heart. Before His second advent He cleanses His temple in displeasure at commercial activity displacing thought of heaven, forgetfulness of God and disregard for His law, calling to humility and obedience and to devoted piety with not one thread of self-exaltation or self-sufficiency, to close examination, to not let minds be occupied with business so there is no time to seek the Lord, and to walk under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. That temple coming is distinct and separate from His second advent for the execution of judgment.

The sons of Levi are those who profess to follow Him, His people on earth, especially those responsible for ministry, the church and its institutions, formed as a spiritual priesthood. He examines and purifies them, removing the stains from their characters as a refiner purifies precious metal. This cleansing removes evil from the church and its institutions and requires reformation and transformed character, and no offering is acceptable to God as an offering in righteousness until practical right doing is part of daily life. God tests the devotion and principles of those who serve in sacred work, exposing selfishness and grasping for advantage as unfit for His work, and His servants are to show Christ's self-denial and self-sacrifice, with piety, unselfishness, and good works to serve as examples to others. Their faithfulness, including in giving tithe, affects the church and can either encourage or excuse others' unfaithfulness. In this application the church needed a movement to cleanse it because some who had accepted the truth remained unsanctified in heart and life, while strife and rebellion were at work. Those who claim Christ as their righteousness need not shrink into nothingness under this cleansing, but are called to humility and a life hidden with Christ in God.

Sitting as a refiner means close, watchful care: Jesus watches each test and knows what is needed to separate the dross from Christian character, so that divine love may be reflected. God looks upon the afflictions of His people and measures them out with grace and discrimination, watching every moment as a refiner of silver watches until purification is complete. He allows lighter temptations to come first, then larger temptations through worldly influences, so that people are prepared to endure them. This purification comes through suffering, affliction, temptation, and testing, and trials remove what is false and worthless from Christian character until His image is reflected in them. The furnace does not consume and destroy but refines and purifies. Every church member passes through this process so that the impurities in character are burned away, and the Refiner's purpose is not to destroy them but to purify them from all dross.

God does not leave a person in the furnace to be consumed or make the ordeal last longer than purification requires. His watchful care remains over them throughout severe trials, separating and burning away what is sinful as a refiner removes dross, so they are purified but not consumed. The testing fire that comes upon men who are tempted and tried does not come to consume them but to refine and purify them, and applied to those connected with the publishing work in Nashville, if they stand at their post of duty and go straight ahead in union with one another, the Lord will greatly bless them through the trial. Those who put their trust in Him will sing of mercies in the midst of judgments. The purging comes before offerings become acceptable, for the purging of the sons of Levi precedes offerings from Judah and Jerusalem becoming acceptable to the Lord. It belongs to judgment work in which character is weighed and words and actions from first to last are faithfully recorded in heaven, and actions in the work at Battle Creek are recorded from first to last.

In this setting the passage points to the judgment, where Christ examines each person's record in heaven and judges every unchristlike word and deed, so all must be ready for His coming. Because life is about to pass in review before God for the solemn decision of the judgment, so that what is offered to the Lord becomes an offering in righteousness, those who work for God must have God and His fear before them and steadily and perseveringly overcome the propensities of an unsubdued nature, refusing to trifle with God's gracious invitations of mercy or to squander time dallying with sin. Purifying is the preparation all must make who expect to receive anything of the Lord and who must not give up in discouragement when answers to prayer are delayed. It means searching the heart carefully with humility, confessing the misuse of the talent of speech to hurt and discourage and bruise souls, putting things right by removing the poisonous sting, and bringing soul, tongue, and words to the altar of God to be used to glorify Him, approaching Him with reverence and not with human superiority. The proud self-praise and contempt for sinners shown by the Pharisee is the opposite of this preparation, and prayer offered in that spirit the Lord will not hear, while the humbled, cleansed offering He accepts.

Refining Through Trial

The work of the refiner is a picture of the tests permitted to come upon every soul and upon every member of the church. Those trials remove defilement and what is false and worthless, taking away dross and tin. They humble those tested and bring them into submission to the divine will, drawing them nearer and leading them to obedience so that an offering in righteousness can be made. The worth of faith is revealed in this proving, and each person's trials are suited to the work purposed for that life.

Purification comes through suffering and affliction, through reverses and severe trials, through temptation and trying ordeal, through disappointment and through poverty and hardship. The heat of the furnace consumes what is wrongly valued while the gold is brightened, and those who pass through it come forth like gold purified seven times, reflecting the divine image. Even when the fainting ones remain at a distance, the furnace still consumes the dross and brightens what is precious.

These tests develop enduring strength and purity and nobility of soul and character. They call for patience and complete trust in the crucified Saviour, for patient submission without murmuring, and for hopeful waiting for the Saviour to redeem His tried and faithful ones. The purifying is deemed needful, and the trial is to be endured patiently until it is seen fit to end it, when His image is reflected in the one purified like gold. This refining is an act of love that makes those tested purer and nobler and more fit for service, and the right response is to yield to that way of working with no complaint.

Hindrances and corrections that stop wrong paths are not evil, nor are trials and afflictions evidences of displeasure or signs of being cast off. They are mercy by which wanderers are drawn away from evil to good, as by a shepherd's crook stopping them from turning into strange paths, so that they may render service in righteousness. Suffering does not mean abandonment, for those tried are counted dear and are being made fit for the King's presence. Strength in this refining comes not from self but from being strong in divine strength, keeping the soul low in meekness and looking continually to Jesus.

Cleansing is accomplished by Christ alone, and when He is welcomed His presence sanctifies the heart and makes it a holy temple by removing sin with its earthly desires, selfish lusts, and evil habits. This purification takes place through the sanctifying influence of truth received into the heart and life, and through searching and receiving His words, which cleanse thoughts and speech as fire separates precious metal from dross. It is the work of the Holy Spirit, the blood of sprinkling, and the filling of the heart with holiness and perfect love, which act like a refining fire to consume evil and scatter darkness. Those so purified are humbled, recognize their need, bear fruits of righteousness, and do not consider themselves superior or already complete.

The refining exposes hidden defects and motives so that what is wrong can be corrected and the tested ones made fit for service in righteousness. Falseness and pride and selfishness are brought to light, and the coming that tests every work and searches every heart reveals whether character is gold or base metal. Worldly policy and covetousness and treating sacred things or people as merchandise must be rejected, and self mingled with plans and courses of action is detected as dross and worthless metal. Time and circumstances make this manifest so that grace can remove defects and polish what remains, fitting each one for a place in the glorious temple, while those who avoid trials or refuse self-examination show cherished sin that vain confidence cannot hide.

Trial brings impurity to the surface while the fine gold remains and the dross is consumed, each person undergoing this in God's own way as illustrated by Elijah's struggle in which grace and natural impulses contended for supremacy. Affliction as a furnace humbles souls under the divine hand, exposes what is wrongly valued, deepens trust, lessens reliance on one's own judgment, and prepares for faithful service. It is not given to make a person happy and satisfied with self but to renew the soul in knowledge and true holiness. Faithful searching of heart is therefore required to discover imperfections of character and put them away, coming forth with humble spirit as gold purified.

God purifies by removing the spirit of self and the base material wrongly prized as gold. Affliction exposes the need to die to self, to submit to God, and to yield the will to Him. The fire of divine love consumes the dross of coldness and self-sufficiency and harshness, softening the whole person and changing the character. What is produced is Christlike tenderness and patience and kindness and sympathy, fitting the refined ones for faithful service.

Transformed Character and Offering

The refining continues until its subjects are dead to self and humble, their character transformed and reformed beginning in the heart, so that what is good may be gathered and they serve by principle for divine glory rather than by impulse, temptation or unsubdued passion, victorious over self and in harmony with Christ and heaven, with their efforts accepted. The dross is consumed until the divine image is fully and perfectly reflected, through the sanctifying influence of truth received in heart and life, with earthliness removed and unbelief overcome while faith, hope and patience are developed. The furnace does not consume those in it but brings them through as gold tested by fire, and this great work still to be accomplished calls for more self-denial and willingness to endure and suffer for truth's sake, preparing for the day of God. Growth in grace and overcoming of sin go on until they are perfect, holy and prepared for translation and immortality.

No gift counts as an offering in righteousness until practical right doing belongs to daily life, with cleansing that removes evil and reforms character in church and institutions after investigation by the Spirit that reproves the unconcerned and shows the need to cleanse the temple. Such an offering is means justly acquired, through conduct marked by mercy and thoughtfulness that wrongs no neighbor, and when prompted by love it is fragrant before God. Even small offerings are accepted as wholly acceptable, and they are made to go far. This cleansing belongs to the time of investigative judgment.

A righteous offering requires first a soul purified from defilement and a clean heart, with wrongs confessed, peace made, and alienation and bitterness put away so the heart is right. It also requires doing what lies in human power to preserve a healthy body and mind by resisting unhealthy appetite and passion, unto acceptable service, while salvation itself rests on divine mercy.

Cleansing goes on continually for willing hearts, as dross is removed from silver and divided loyalties that prove false are separated, in preparation for righteous service and with a call to examine conduct before the coming. The work proceeds soul by soul, separating the pure from the impure, removing those who bring dissension and strife so the path of true followers is bright and certain. In the time of testing genuine godliness is separated from mere outward appearance, the unclothed are exposed, and the faithful are distinguished from the unfaithful. Rebels are removed as fast as the church can bear it, while the deceived who accept sent light may return to the body, and the faithful purify their souls by obeying truth and unite in faith.

The refining is the work of the Holy Spirit, removing impurity, enlightening and sanctifying those connected with the work, bringing revival and changes that reveal divine glory, so that as the church advances in holiness she advances in strength. It refines and ennobles and heals the wounds sin has made in the heart.

Thus purified and purged for righteous service, the church is made complete for her final conflict, supplied with capabilities and blessings so that divine sufficiency is presented to the world as a continual representation of the eternal world and laws higher than earthly laws. She is a temple built after the divine likeness, every stone measured by a golden measuring rod from heaven, hewed and squared by divine measurement and polished to shine as an emblem of heaven, radiating the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. She is fed with manna from heaven and kept under the sole guardianship of grace, clad in complete armor of light and righteousness, with dross and worthless material consumed, so the influence of truth testifies to the world of its sanctifying, ennobling character and she can offer an offering in righteousness.

Becoming new is receiving a new heart and spirit, putting away the old life and being created in righteousness and holiness. The same fire tests what each person's work is made of and reveals its quality, consuming dross and stamping the divine image, so that harsh, bitter and uncharitable speech is put away and speech becomes humble and Christlike rather than a fiery self-defense of truth.

Prophetic Fulfillments in History

Malachi 3:1-3 was fulfilled when Jesus suddenly came to His temple and cleansed its courts at Jerusalem from the tumult of unholy traffic of buyers and sellers. As the promised purifier He confronted the corruption of the priesthood, knowing that reforming the priesthood would be in vain, yet doing the work to give evidence of His divine mission. That cleansing announced His mission to cleanse the soul from earthly desires, selfish lusts, evil habits, sensual passion and unholy thoughts that corrupt the soul, and from defilement of sin in the heart. The temple at Jerusalem was designed as a continual witness to the high destiny open to every soul to yield itself as a temple for the divine Spirit, and its defiled courts truly represented the defiled temple of the heart. Sitting as a refiner and purifier of silver, He purifies and purges the sons of Levi as gold and silver so they may offer an offering in righteousness.

Before His second advent He again cleanses His temple, purifying His people and His temple in displeasure. That corruption includes commercial activity displacing thought of heaven, forgetfulness of God, and disregard for His law. The cleansing exposes disobedience and calls to humility and obedience.

The second bitter disappointment was the Lord purging His waiting people from dross and refining them like gold in the furnace. That trying ordeal was a purifying process deemed needful, testing believers through trials to remove what is false and refining them like precious metal. It revealed and removed worthless drift drawn into the advent faith and purged away the unfaithful, leaving true believers and earnest workers tried and faithful. Those refined refrain from murmuring, submit patiently without murmuring to the purifying, and wait with patient hope for the Saviour to redeem them.

The verse belongs to promises that will be fulfilled to the letter and outlines the future experience of God's people. The Lord will refine and purify the sons of Levi so they can offer an offering in righteousness, and God's people are to become zealous unselfish channels through which His blessings flow as they carry out His work. The instruction of Malachi 3 is for every church member to study and consider carefully, giving light for those who rejoice in hope of the soon-coming morning. It shows the Lord's desire to send reviving healing beams of His sunshine, with assurance that this passing world will give way to the world to come that endures forever. There the righteous who love God and keep His commandments, who by faith take God at His Word and hold fast their profession, will be rewarded with infinite bliss and boundless joy, with mansions prepared by Christ, a clear and unquestioned title to the immortal inheritance, and possession of the kingdom forever and ever.

Near the close of this earth's history, much nearer than many suppose, the Lord sits to refine and purify His church like precious metal, cleansing the sons of Levi so they may offer an offering in righteousness. This purifying of the church must take place before His judgments fall more signally upon the world. Therefore His sleeping people must be aroused from carnal slumber to seek the Lord earnestly.

In the time of trouble and peril He will not cast off those who have been deceived and tempted and betrayed into sin but have returned to Him with true repentance. Then Satan seeks to destroy them with fierce assaults and terrible delusions, affliction is great, and the flames of the furnace seem about to consume them. Yet the Lord keeps His eye upon His people, listens to their cries, and sends His angels to comfort and protect them. The Refiner brings them forth as gold tried in the fire, their earthliness consumed and removed so the image of Christ is perfectly and fully reflected. God's love for His children in their severest trial is as strong and tender as in their sunniest prosperity and days of prosperity, but they must be placed in the furnace fire for that removal and reflection.

Christ as refiner tests and purifies His people like silver and gold so they can offer the Lord an offering in righteousness and service in righteousness. The verse applies to the proving that comes at Christ's appearing and to preparation for the day of His coming. Only those who have washed their characters and robes and made them white in the Lamb's blood will endure this test and stand when He comes, for only characters so cleansed can stand that test.

This refining work among His people is carried out throughout the institutions, refining people whose selfishness, covetousness and unrighteous conduct put their souls at risk. There the refining exposes selfishness, covetousness, bribery and lack of integrity, and those who cling to these sins fail the test, while souls must be purified to be ready for the day of His coming. The Lord's fires purify His institutions when their managers persist in condemned ways despite repeated warnings. He begins a work of cleansing like a refiner purifying precious metal at the Battle Creek publishing house, where perverted principles are exposed by warnings and reproofs, and if those addressed heed them, repent and turn back to God, the cleansing of the temple will have its intended purpose.

Judgment and End-Time Readiness

While the investigative judgment goes forward in heaven and the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is a special work of purification and putting away of sin among God's people on earth. Malachi 3:3 presents the Lord as a refiner who purifies His people so they can offer worship in righteousness, and this refining is applied to God's people on earth as Christ's intercession nears its end. They must have spotless robes and characters purified from sin through Christ's blood, and by God's grace and diligent effort conquer evil.

Believers must have spotless robes and characters cleansed from sin by the blood of sprinkling, conquer evil by grace and diligent effort, and put away sin with spotless lives. They follow their High Priest by faith into the heavenly temple, where further light and warning reveal new duties, and when this work is finished they will be ready for Christ's appearing. Their purified lives become an offering in righteousness to the Lord that is pleasant to Him.

Those living when His intercession ceases must stand before a holy God without a mediator, so refining and purging of every imperfection, defect of character, infirmity of temper and disposition, sin and corruption must be done now in probation in God's workshop. There rough stones are elevated and fitted for immortality to see the King in His beauty, preserve bodies and spirits in holiness, sanctification and honor, and unite with angels in glory. God's truth and Spirit accomplish this present work to fit people for holy service and the society of heaven.

This refining applies to Christ's closing High Priestly work in heaven, the finishing of the atonement and the preparation of His people to abide the day of His coming. When Christ appears in the clouds of heaven with holy angels to give the faithful the finishing touch of immortality, He will not then cleanse sin, remove defects of character, or cure tempers. At His coming the holy remain holy and the unsanctified, unjust and filthy remain so forever, with no further character cleansing.

His coming brings judgment, tests every person's work, searches every heart, and exposes falseness, pride and selfishness. All must prepare to stand before Him, hearken to His voice, and follow the self-denying, self-sacrificing path appointed by Christ's example. This calls for devoted piety with not one thread of self-exaltation or self-sufficiency, close examination of conduct, refusing to let minds be so occupied with business that there is no time to seek the Lord, and walking under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to receive every religious and spiritual advantage. An upright person wants to know his standing before God, while those who avoid trials or refuse self-examination show cherished sin that vain confidence cannot endure, and they will fail of heaven.

The Holy Spirit sits as Refiner and Purifier of silver over God's people and institutions, and when He does this work in the printing office, the sanitarium, and every line of work there will be a decided change. He refines, enlightens and sanctifies each receiver, purges away dross, cleanses and reforms every sanitarium and printing establishment, upholds a higher moral standard, and converts the entire church so the glory of God is revealed. This refining reformation should have been received at Washington where the working of the Holy Spirit was not recognized as it should have been, and it must now extend throughout America so the message of warning can go forth as a burning lamp into the highways and byways. Those who see no need of this refining will keep working out their own unconverted principles and will surely reap the results, for God will surely fulfill His word and it is too late to trifle with truth.

The church now is a vast hospital filled with the spiritually sick who must be placed under the influence of the refining furnace until all dross is consumed. Selfishness, especially selfishness in dealing with the Lord's goods, is dross that must be burned away. The refining cures the disease of selfishness, hardheartedness and halfhearted work, restores godliness through divine renovation, and makes members bear fruit and become producers and not only consumers, so future believers will not be contaminated.

Purification reaches every church that has received great opportunities and privileges but failed to heed them. Its refining image applies to the people who must be purified under the last message of mercy to the world, for outward religion alone is not enough because they need the Spirit's deep work within them. The need is not for more evidence, but for pure, sanctified hearts that receive and keep the light God has already given and then walk in it.

Faithfulness in Tithes and Duties

The chapter sets the tithe apart as the Lord's own for the support of the ministry, and turning it aside to other lines of work hinders ministerial labor, while those other lines are to be sustained by separate provision. Faithfulness in paying the tithe into His treasury encourages His laborers to take up ministerial work, draws more men to give themselves to the ministry instead of holding back for lack of support, and keeps an abundant supply in His treasury rather than leaving it to be used by selfish hearts and hands for other purposes. Churches are therefore to take their stand upon the word of the Lord in the third chapter of Malachi and be faithful in this duty.

He is still testing every soul to see whether they will prove faithful servants, giving warning and instruction in righteousness that call His people to consider His goodness, respond to His mercy, and prove loyalty by bringing all the tithes into His storehouse. The verse is to be carefully studied and obeyed and then taught to others so they may receive the blessing of God, making learners into educators whose calling is to instruct others, so that when all act together in harmony the salvation of God will be seen. Dealing faithfully with God in what the chapter requires brings His promised blessing both financially and spiritually.

Money withheld from the Lord is a curse, and entrusted means are to support the spread of the gospel throughout the world, with honesty required in dealings with the Lord and His work. Forsaking His ordinances is robbery toward God that brings His sure visitation, a curse and separation from God as the source of good, robbing the sinner of blessing. Returning to God in these duties is how the purified meet His nearness for judgment against sorcerers, adulterers, false swearers, oppressors of the hireling, widow, fatherless and stranger, and those who fear Him not.

The offering in righteousness is bringing tithes and offerings for the gospel, keeping the Sabbath holy for communion with God in creation and redemption, caring for the poor, the widow and the fatherless, and dealing justly with the hireling and the stranger. True religion is shown through practical care for the poor and suffering, including taking in orphans and relieving oppression. Caring for the poor, unfortunate, sick and suffering is one means by which He purifies His people and develops character after the divine pattern, removing what is wrong as dross is removed from precious metal.

This refining makes the heart pure and thankful, so that tithes and thank offerings and gifts to the Maker are given as freewill offerings and not by compulsion, and then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem becomes pleasant unto the Lord as in former years. The refiner's work is joined to returning to God and being faithful in His ordinances, including giving tithes and offerings to support those appointed to carry His message.

He will purge His people from the sin of covetousness seen in robbing Him in tithes and offerings, and those who would enter the kingdom must cooperate with Him in this purifying work for their own souls and the souls of others. Until purged, robbers of God cannot come to His house expecting His blessing but will murmur and complain about not being exalted. Those purified serve Him in sincerity, fear Him, think upon His name, speak often to one another, and are written in a book of remembrance before Him.

That purging calls for self-denial, laying out no money unnecessarily, taking up the cross and following Christ, and giving to plant His standard in places that have never heard the truth and to carry the work forward in foreign fields, since He gave His life and no gift can equal His. The call is to do the best now to advance and enlarge His work by giving means, especially to finish the work begun at Washington so unbelievers see it completed, and to supply men and means for foreign fields constantly calling for help. This call moves hearers to give at once for those needs with cheer and encouragement.

Dishonesty and unfair dealing have no place in His institutions, and those serving in His work must act in equity and righteousness as those purified like gold and silver to offer an offering in righteousness. God tests the devotion and principles of those in sacred work, exposing selfishness and grasping for advantage as unfit, while His servants are to show Christ's self-denial and self-sacrifice. His purpose is to form a spiritual priesthood whose piety, unselfishness and good works serve as examples to others, where faithfulness including in giving tithe affects the church and can either encourage or excuse others' unfaithfulness.

Withholding from the Lord the portion He claims as His own leaves undone what He requires and makes a record that none will care to meet, against which the chapter uplifts a danger signal cautioning against every species of self-indulgence and selfishness. Strict obedience in returning to Him His own, with parents teaching children to deny self, to pay tithe and bring offerings however small, and to deny worldly pleasures to advance His work, cuts out the roots of selfishness. So parents and children become workers together with Him, fruitful in good works bearing fruit to His glory unto eternal life.

Call to Repentance and Life

The chapter lays open divine will and purpose, warning that those who profess to belong to God may turn aside into false and forbidden paths, and its decisive words demand solemn personal application. It is to be read together with the whole book of Malachi and with Isaiah 58, and to be studied and practiced through love and fear by carrying out every specification, lest robbery toward God bring sure visitation. That offering in righteousness includes bringing tithes and offerings for the gospel, keeping the Sabbath holy for communion with God in creation and redemption, caring for the poor, the widow and the fatherless, and dealing justly with the hireling and the stranger. Forsaking ordinances and trampling the Sabbath is robbery that brings a curse and separation from God as the source of good, while returning in these duties is how a purified people meet His nearness in judgment against sorcerers, adulterers, false swearers, oppressors of hireling, widow, fatherless and stranger, and those who do not fear Him.

The verse sets the scene for repentance, where those separated by sin, the unconverted and backsliders, come forward, confess, and return to God. Turning from unrighteousness to meekness, through repentance and faith, makes them vessels of honor fit for service. The surrender called for is thorough and persevering, made now without waiting for a particular feeling, by coming as one is and opening the heart to be entered and refined from the dross of sin.

Preparation is searching the heart carefully in humility and confessing misuse of speech that hurts, discourages and bruises souls. The poisonous sting must be removed and put right, and soul, tongue and words brought to the altar to glorify God, drawing near in reverence rather than human superiority. Proud self-praise joined with contempt for sinners, as in the Pharisee, is the opposite of this readiness, and prayer in that spirit is not heard, while the humbled and cleansed offering is accepted. That same refining consumes dross and stamps the divine image, so that harsh, bitter and uncharitable speech is put away and words are spoken in Christlike humility instead of fiery self-defense of truth.

Its duties require thorough cleansing of the soul and removal of defiling principles and practices. His coming tests every work and searches every heart, exposing falseness, pride and selfishness, which true grace endures. The upright desire to know their standing before God, while avoiding trial or refusing self-examination shows cherished sin and failure for heaven that vain confidence cannot endure.

The present is a time of scourging and purifying, warfare and trial, when truth must possess the soul and abide as a living working agency entering life and character. Self takes too much room and must be crucified, changed and humbled under the Holy Spirit unto true godliness, for of self nothing can be done and all efficiency is in Christ, though earnest heart-longings after God will be heard. Looking daily to Jesus as Redeemer in faith and loving trust gives vantage ground with power and wisdom for the essential work of character building, and continual looking keeps cheap and worthless material out of its structure. Trial is not strange but mercy, like a shepherd's crook stopping a turn into strange paths to draw from evil to good, and strength in refining comes not from self but from being strong in divine strength while keeping the soul low in Christ's meekness and looking to Jesus.

Suffering and trial are used to bring His people near to Him, the furnace consuming dross and brightening gold for their good. Even when life is burdensome and God seems far, He is near to sustain and comfort, drawing them closer to Christ and preparing them to labor for souls. Poverty and hardship keep home from growing so pleasant that they will not leave it, stirring the nest lest they settle at ease, and fitting them for still greater conflicts ahead in their travels. Those who yield to the Spirit's guidance are purified and refined, and that work calls workers to greater fervor in carrying present truth to the perishing. Self must be crucified and the soul surrendered so that victory comes through Jesus.

Purification comes through truths that test faithfulness, and accepting them may cost social ties and financial interests and require enduring trials, yet obedience makes a people ready for the Lord. Workers in the last-days missionary work are to pass through trial purified and refined as gold tried in fire, for advancing the work demands sacrifice at every step. The refining time divides professed followers: they are either wholly converted and sanctified by obedience to truth, proving faith genuine, or left with the world to share its reward.

The right response is to yield to His own way of refining with no complaint and make it the whole desire, for that work finishes one's course and makes ready to rest in peace with rejoicing. Like gold in the furnace under the Refiner's eye, afflictions are to be borne patiently, God trusted calmly, and trials for Christ counted as joy rather than embittered by murmuring. Pruning and purifying fits for heaven, though it costs suffering because the will resists subjection to Christ, until the fires consume dross, cleanse from sin and self-love, and bring reflection of the divine image. Those governed by inclination and appearances misjudge this work with discontent, seeing failure where there is triumph and great loss where there is gain, while all is working together for good and leading to know God and walk with Him as Enoch did.

The refining fire softens and purifies the heart, and missionaries need it so the Spirit shapes them and the saving message lives within them unto a righteous offering. That purification is joined with a plea to purify the church and with spiritual watchfulness and individual responsibility. He comes with fuller's soap as Refiner to humble and lessen those at the head of the work, purging prejudice, wrong preconceived opinions and the claim to be perfect and need no humbling. The testing fire upon tempted and tried men comes not to consume but to refine and purify, so that those at Nashville, if standing at duty in union and going straight ahead, will be greatly blessed through trial.