Focus on Isaiah 1 - What the Bible says about dross?

Isaiah chapter 1 mentions dross twice. Once in verses 22. And once in verse 25. Here is each reference in context.

Isaiah 1:21-23

²¹How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

²²Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:

²³Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

Isaiah 1:24-26

²⁴Therefore saith the LORD, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:

²⁵And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:

²⁶And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.

Notice the pattern in both passages. Each passage has three versus. The first verse mentions the nation Israel or the city of Jerusalem. The second verse makes the dross analogy. The third verse talks about the people's leaders.

The first passage talks about the problem. The "faithful city" that was "full of righteousness and judgement" has become a "harlot". It's condition is compared to silver that has become corrupted with impurities (dross) or wine that is mixed with water. The cause of the problem is corrupt leadership. Princes who are rebellious and friends to thieves and who do will not give justice to the helpless (the widows and orphans), but instead seek bribes.

The second passage talks about the solution. God will avenge himself of His enemies. He will purge the dross from the silver, and remove the baser metals (the tin). He will restore honest and righteous judges. By doing this the city will be know for righteousness once again.

So where are some other places the Bible mentions dross?

Psalm 119:119
Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross: therefore I love thy testimonies.

Proverbs 25:3-5

³The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable.

⁴Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.

⁵Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.

Ezekiel 22:17-19

¹⁷And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

¹⁸Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.

¹⁹Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

In Psalms the dross represents the wicked in the world, similar to the parable of Jesus of separating the wheat from the tares.

There is a very good Bible study refining the Christian character atFridaySunset.net. The author, who worked in the refining industry, had this to say about dross.

Dross is a useless, contaminating waste product that must be removed from metal in the refining process. It has no value and its presence in metal diminishes its value. For metal to have value, its dross must be removed.