18 “Son of man, the people of Israel have become dross to me; all of them are the copper, tin, iron and lead left inside a furnace. They are but the dross of silver. 19 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you have all become dross, I will gather you into Jerusalem. 20 As silver, copper, iron, lead and tin are gathered into a furnace to be melted with a fiery blast, so will I gather you in my anger and my wrath and put you inside the city and melt you. Ezekiel 22
I read a lot. I typically average around fifty books a year. These are a variety of "modern fluff" as I like to call them, and historical literature. The historical lit, while dense, is something that I'll read in conjunction with an online synopsis. There's many times where I don't get the "jokes" or cultural references because those have been lost over time. Other times, I don't get modern day phrases until I read the historical lit and have my sudden "Ah-ha!" moment. My most recent one was reading the phrase, "Thar she blows!" in Moby Dick.
In this chapter of Ezekiel, a new word popped up that I hadn't seen before, "Dross." Well, I had to go look it up to find out some more meaning behind it. Metalworkers would work on their various mediums, and there would be some waste product. That waste was dross. However, not all dross was complete waste, and some could be used to forge something new. The useless waste was thrown away, but dross that could be used again was thrown back into the furnace.
While the verses initially gave me yet another feeling of dread, after understanding the concept of dross, it wasn't so bad. I actually take this as a metaphor for the fall in the Garden of Eden.
Adam and Eve were good, they were the silver. Then, they ate of the forbidden fruit and were cast out, becoming dross. Why do we want God to be angry with us and melt us?
I've spoken before how God is our Father, our parent. Those of you that are parents will know that you can get angry with your children. It happens, and it's ok! When you're angry, you know your child could do better. You're not hateful or spiteful. It's the same with God. He may be angry, but he's not hateful. When he puts the people of Israel (the dross) into the furnace to melt them again - which means he's trying to make something new with them! He's not doing this to destroy them, he's doing it to rebuild them.
Even though the book of Ezekiel sounds like God is giving up on his people and wants nothing to do with them because of the horrible acts they have committed, he doesn't give up on them. The story doesn't end there. The story continues, years after that book is over, to show that God has mercy and love for us, even when we greatly mess up. He sent his son to die for us, he hasn't given up on us.