Refined by the Lord

7           Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts:
                        “Behold, I will refine them and test them,
for what else can I do, because of my people?
            8           Their tongue is a deadly arrow;
it speaks deceitfully;
                        with his mouth each speaks peace to his neighbor,
but in his heart he plans an ambush for him.
            9           Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord,
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?
            10          “I will take up weeping and wailing for the mountains,
and a lamentation for the pastures of the wilderness,
                        because they are laid waste so that no one passes through,
and the lowing of cattle is not heard;
                        both the birds of the air and the beasts
have fled and are gone.
            11          I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
a lair of jackals,
                        and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation,
without inhabitant.”
Jeremiah 9:7-11
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Refined by the Lord
The Lord speaks through Jeremiah with the language of a refiner’s fire. Because of Judah’s deceit and unrepentant sin, God declares that He will refine and test His people. This refining is not meaningless destruction but the Lord’s righteous response to sin and His call to repentance. Sin corrodes relationships, people deceive their neighbors and refuse to know the Lord. Such corruption brings judgment and leaves even the land desolate. Yet the Lord’s refining fire ultimately points us to the cross. On our own, we cannot pass the test. Our hearts are just as prone to deceit and wandering. But Christ entered the fire of God’s judgment in our place. At the cross, He bore the punishment our sin deserved so that we might be forgiven. Through Word and Sacrament, the Lord now refines us in mercy, leading us to repentance and faith. In Christ, the refining fire becomes the fire of salvation.