"Many shall be purified, made white, and refined" (Daniel 12:10)
The name Zarephath means "refinement, fuse metal, smelting-place, crucible." While certainly that definition referred to the actual historical activity associated with the town, it also reflects a new phase of Elijah’s life. Elijah still has much to learn in God’s school. He will face greater trials and be forced to trust God in new ways. He will see miracles but only after facing the impossible.
Having passed his first examination at Cherith, he will now graduate to another level at Zarephath.
God’s work in Elijah’s life is a mirror to show us how God will operate in ours. The Apostle Peter described the process in the New Testament--"that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 1:7).
The refining fires of God spare no Christian. God compares Himself to a master gold worker. He heats the metal. He hammers it. He molds it. He scrapes off all of the impurities. He has a purpose in mind. He will make a beautiful article of the gold, ultimately of us. Historically, the ancient Eastern goldsmith was said to have fired the ore until he could see his own face reflected in the liquid. Even so, God keeps us in the furnace until He can see the face of His Son Jesus Christ shining in us.
This He does not once but many times. Even when we hope it will stop, He applies the heat again. Despite the pain we feel, He knows what particular trial will shape us into His image.
Using a more modern illustration, Warren Wiersbe said, "When God permits His children to go through the furnace, He keeps His eye on the clock and His hand on the thermostat. If we rebel He may have to reset the clock; but if we submit, He will not permit us to suffer one minute too long. The important thing is that we learn the lesson He wants to teach us and that we bring glory to Him alone."1
Elijah was purified by God’s testing. Will we also surrender to that process?
1. Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary, Vol. 2. Wheaton: Victor, 1989, p. 393.
