"He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver.” ~Malachi 3:2-3a

“But who can endure the day of His coming? Who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver.” ~Malachi 3:2-3a

When we include verse 1, we see that this is referring to the destruction of the temple that would occur in 70AD. (“…the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple; the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, He is coming, says the LORD of hosts.).

Fast forward almost 500 years - most of what Jesus taught referred to this same still-future-to-them event. Like the ‘Goats and Sheep’ parable. Many take this out of context and stick it in the end times, but it fits with His prophecies and warnings about the coming of Rome to annihilate what the non-believing Jews held most dear - their beloved temple.

Matthew 24:34 concludes a passage devoted to these warnings. “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”

They refused to accept that Jesus was the Messiah; the temple had become the body of believers. The stony heart was replaced with a heart of flesh. WE are the temple, for God lives within us.

Cling to that thought when you are down on yourself or feel like you’re not good enough. Remember that when you are inclined to run from God and squash the Holy Spirit. Flood your mind when tempted to judge another.

God continues to purify and refine us, holding us to the fire so that one day He can see His image in us. Ah, my Lord and my God!