Connect Numbers 31:22 with other biblical teachings on purification and holiness. Gathering around Numbers 31:22 “Only the gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead” (Numbers 31:22). After Israel’s victory over Midian, God named the objects that could “withstand the fire.” These metals had to be passed through flames before anyone could use them. Immediately, two big ideas surface: • Purification matters to God—even for lifeless objects. • Purification is achieved by His chosen means, not ours. Purification Through Fire in Numbers 31 • The spoils of war were not automatically fit for God’s people. • Hardy metals endured fire; softer articles were washed in “the water of purification” (v. 23). • The priest, Eleazar, delivered this statute, underscoring that holiness is priest-mediated. Fire as a Picture of God’s Refining Holiness Throughout Scripture, fire reveals God’s determination to burn away impurity: • Malachi 3:2-3 – “He will be like a refiner’s fire…He will purify the sons of Levi.” • Zechariah 13:9 – “I will bring this third through the fire…They will call on My name.” • 1 Peter 1:7 – Trials come “so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold…tested by fire—may result in praise.” What stands the heat remains; what cannot, perishes. Numbers 31:22 is the Old-Testament snapshot of that principle. Water’s Role in Divine Cleansing Fire is not God’s only purifier: • Numbers 31:23 – articles unable to endure flames “shall pass through the water.” • Leviticus 15 – bodily impurities required washings. • Ephesians 5:26 – Christ sanctifies the church “by the washing of water with the word.” • Titus 3:5 – “the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” Whether by flame or water, the message is identical: God alone defines—and provides—the cleansing that leads to holiness. Set Apart: God’s Call to Holiness • Leviticus 11:44 – “Be holy, for I am holy.” • 2 Corinthians 7:1 – “let us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” • 1 Peter 1:15-16 – “but as the One who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.” The metals of Numbers 31 illustrate a spiritual reality: God’s people must undergo His refining work to remain in fellowship with Him. Christ, the Fulfillment of Every Purification Rite • Hebrews 9:13-14 – If animal blood purified the flesh, “how much more will the blood of Christ…cleanse our consciences from dead works.” • 1 John 1:7 – “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” • Revelation 7:14 – robes washed “in the blood of the Lamb.” The fire and water of Numbers 31 point forward to a better cleansing—Jesus’ saving work—offered once for all who believe. Living in the Refining Process Today • Invite God to search and expose impurities (Psalm 139:23-24). • Welcome Scripture’s corrective heat; it refines motives and actions (Hebrews 4:12). • Respond quickly to conviction, trusting Christ’s finished work rather than self-effort (1 John 1:9). • Value trials as opportunities for refining, not evidence of abandonment (James 1:2-4). Objects that survived the fire in Numbers 31 became useful for Israel’s camp; so believers refined by God become vessels “for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work” (2 Timothy 2:21). |
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