The Iron Furnace
Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 11:4
I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace…
Jeremiah’s love and familiarity with the book of Deuteronomy is evident in his writing. He references and quotes from it many times. This verse is a direct quotation from Deuteronomy 4:20. Egypt is metaphorically called an iron furnace.
This does not mean a furnace made from iron, but a furnace used for smelting iron. Fire is used to burn away impurities and shape and harden metals. The Hebrew people were left in the furnace for many years. The laborious task of making bricks as they were enslaved to their Egyptian overlords was an iron furnace.
The whole of their life experience in Egypt was a process of purifying, shaping, and hardening.
I can’t help but hear the words of Joseph when he said, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good,” when I hear the Lord describe Egypt as an “iron furnace.”
In the New Testament, Peter would later write to Christians who were facing persecution, and he would call it a fiery trial. He likened their lives to gold that is being tested by fire.
Only a strange masochist would enjoy, or desire being put through a fire. We are not asked to want tribulation. Nevertheless, tribulation is often a part of our Christian experience. If we can see through it with the eyes of faith, we will know that God is using it for good. Despite what our enemies might intend by it, God is using it to purify, shape, and harden our spines.
And as it was with the Hebrew people, the iron furnace is not a permanent home. God will bring us out. He will set us free.
