Silver Mining and Refining
In ancient times, precious metals like silver were primarily refined from ore using a furnace. Heating the ore allowed metal workers to separate silver, gold or copper from unwanted minerals and other useless components.
Smelting was the only way to purify precious metals for 1000s of years. So lets look at everything fire could do.
Refined by Fire
Ancient miners became skilled in identifying the type of underground veins which contained silver. In its natural state, silver is often found in lead deposits or close to copper veins. Refiners crushed the ore, then heated it to a high temperature to get rid of unwanted components by turning them into gas. Base metals such as copper, zinc and aluminum evaporated. So did organic matter, arsenic and several other unwanted elements. Lead would bind with other waste products and could be skimmed off the surface as dross. Lead also oxidized into gas under certain conditions.
In fact, the furnace is so effective, it’s still used to refine silver and other metals worldwide. But fire doesn’t always work.
What is Rejected Silver?
Sometimes the ancient furnace can’t produce pure silver. There were many reasons for this.
Silver found in lead deposits were easily refined in the furnace. But silver-sulfide ores required more sophisticated techniques then the refiners had at the time, in order to effectively break the sulfur bonds. So the silver stayed locked away.- Small amounts of silver in low-grade ores made smelting a waste of time because of the economic cost. It just wasn’t profitable.
- Refractory ores with large amounts of other metals required several complex steps to separate the silver out. To the ancients, it was time-consuming, and the final result was often not worth it.
In all these cases, the ore was discarded. It became rejected silver; useless and without profit.
God’s Startling Verdict
29 The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire,
but the refining goes on in vain; the wicked are not purged out.30 They are called rejected silver, because the Lord has rejected them.”
(Jeremiah 6:29-30 NIV)
Jeremiah 6 is the only place in the Bible where God mentions rejected silver. Other versions translate the Hebrew as reprobate silver, useless silver and refuse silver.
But what startles me is God is speaking about His people in these verses.
The Message Bible shares God’s stern rebuke in a slightly different way.
Refining fires are cranked up to white heat, but the ore stays a lump, unchanged. It’s useless to keep trying any longer. Nothing can refine evil out of them. Men will give up and call them ‘slag,’ thrown on the slag heap by me, their God.” (Jeremiah 6:29-30? MSG)
According to the Message Bible, the inner corruption is so outwardly visible, even other people see it. When a non-believer can truly say, “I am more righteous than that Christian,” it’s something to grieve over.
My Spiritual Point
Living a life of purity is a choice. It’s also challenging.
But unlike rejected silver, let’s not resist the Lord’s refining process.
These images came from Pixabay.com.
Resources:
If the coins shown are American Silver Eagle Dollars, their sliver composition is 99.9%.
