Proverbs 17:3 Commentary and Bible Study

Silver and gold are of value to man when they are pure. The dealer in precious metals has therefore taken great care to ensure this by experimenting with the refining process until he has perfected it and been able to extract the impurities found in naturally occurring ores. This work is troublesome, but the end result is worth it. It involves heating the ore to great temperatures and smelting it with other substances until the refined product is separated. The crucible and the smelting pot are the tools of his trade. God too has a refining process for his people, but it is much more sophisticated and individualistic. This is Solomon’s way of describing the process of sanctification, and, beyond that, it is his way of describing God’s testing of all human hearts, saved and unsaved. God refines his people because even after conversion, he has much to do to prepare them for heaven. Although no one reaches perfection in this life and for the believer the sanctification process is not completed until death when the body of sin is removed, yet God builds character in his people by the many varied experiences which he takes them through. These are by no means all pleasant for they amount to chastening and correction, and no chastening for the present seems to be joyful, but painful, grievous. God is teaching us to put to death our sins and to value and look forward to being with him in heaven above any experience we might have on earth. The pain comes from the flesh which still has feeling while the body of sin is alive, and resents being treated so harshly. But in the end this process yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to God’s children. We could also see this as God’s spot check for genuineness, for just as the trader checked the quality of the gold he was about to receive in exchange for his goods, so God is constantly checking the genuineness of his people. Of course the Lord does not check in order to learn for he already knows what we are, but he does this to show us what we are. The unbeliever is warned that he fails God’s test and that judgment awaits him, but the believer comes to the throne of grace and obtains pardon and finds evidence of the work of the Spirit of God in his heart to produce what is genuine and lasting.