43 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown
43 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown
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title = "Ezekiel 22:17–31"
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date = "2023-04-28"
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ezekiel22.17-31)
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I have learned from Wikipedia that the smelting of ore is not merely heating up
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an ore rock until the metal melts out of it. There also needs to be a reducing
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agent such as coke or charcoal to extract the oxygen from the mineral and leave
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the base metal behind. Providentially, carbon-heavy agents like that are also
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really good fuel and can get the smelting furnace up to the required
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temperatures at the same time. Ores are generally not very pure, though, so
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even after smelting one will have a mixture of different metals at the bottom
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of the crucible. Unless they have alloyed together, which only happens in
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certain combinations and certain ratios, one has to separate the dross from the
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majority metal.
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The Lord tells Israel that they are no longer silver, but the dross, the
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useless mixture of tin, bronze, lead, and other compounds that have to be
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removed. (For the curious, the analogy is to silver and not gold because most
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of the gold found is already metallic and not bound up in a different chemical
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compound. No smelting needed.) This refining process, wherein the Lord pours
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judgement out on His people to purify them and extract out the righteous
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remnant, has been used several times in Israel's history.
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However, the land is not cleansed yet. The false prophets' visions encourage
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iniquity, violence, and greed. The priests do not do their duty to teach the
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people how the Lord wants them to live because they do not follow His ways
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either. The aristocracy pursue profit through the killing of their fellow
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countrymen while the prophets wink and nod, excusing their behavior with false
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visions. Injustice is rampant among those who have no power.
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Again the image of a man to stand in the breach of the wall against God's wrath
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is invoked, but this time the Lord can not find anyone to fill the gap.
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Therefore His indignation will be brought against the people who have done all
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these things.
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* * *
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All Your deeds are purposeful; You have saved a righteous remnant for Yourself;
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the same fires that burn up the dross also purifies the silver.
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