“Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” (Isaiah 48:10)
This is the Lord speaking through Isaiah. In affliction, the Lord has refined them. The word refine means to purify and purge away. But it was not done thoroughly because the Lord says, “...but not with silver...” which was refined in the furnace seven times. (Psalms 12:6) One commentator writes that to refine them with silver would have been perpetual. They never would have been refined. And that is because nothing will cleanse and purify man from their sin like the Blood of the Lamb. Sin is such an offense. And their offense was great. It was treasonous. That was bad enough, but the reason is that God is so pure and holy. It takes the holy, pure and precious Blood of the Lamb of God to purify sin.
There is atonement only through the Blood of Jesus. Atonement involves God’s love for mankind, the sacrifice of Jesus and the complete forgiveness of our sin. It is God bringing man into fellowship with Him. It’s God’s justice in punishing sin and showing mercy toward man. In the Old Testament, the word atonement was used in the sacrifice for sin. To atone means to cover. The sin was not removed but covered. The example used by S. Michael Houdmann CEO and founder of GotQuestions.org is that if you say to someone, “Let me give you $20 to cover the bill,” the debt is not removed, but paid for. It’s the same concept in the atonement for sin in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. The sacrifice of innocent animals had to be made yearly to cover the sin. But it didn’t cover the sins of the past or future, only those of that year. So, a sacrifice had to be made yearly. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” (Leviticus 17:11)
In the New Testament, the Lamb of God, Jesus, made that sacrifice for eternity and for the whole world, past, present and future. He covered the sin. Paid it in full, forever. “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” (Hebrews 9:11-12) And it’s only through the Blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus, that there is forgiveness.
That atonement makes it possible for man to have fellowship with God. It takes away our sin so that we can be reconciled with God, our relationship and our separation that was caused by sin has been repaired. “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:” (1Peter 3:18)
Then God says, “...I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” The word chosen means selected you in the digging I did in your affliction. There is no doubt that God chose the Israelites to be His people, the carriers of the knowledge of the only true God. It started with Abraham’s obedience. God always remembered it and kept His promise to Abraham His friend. “But thou, Israel, art My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham My friend. (Isaiah 41:8; also 2 Chronicles 20:7; James 2:23) We are astounded by the Jews’ disobedience and propensity for sin. But we must not judge because they are the natural man. We were there with them in our sin. They are unregenerated as were we. We have that same propensity in our flesh. We return once and again to our sin. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1John 1:8) But the better than Good News is that we’re forgiven. That sin doesn’t touch our reborn of God spirit.
They have the same opportunity to salvation through Christ. And it will happen. All Israel will be saved. “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:” (Romans 11:26) It’s Jesus. Jesus will come, set foot on earth once again and fulfill God’s promises to Israel. The song, “Oh Happy Day” rings in my ears. How wonderful is our Lord and God Whose mercy and love brought us into His promises.
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