On more than one occasion, God has demonstrated that with Him there are simply never any coincidences. For instance, one the one hand, God refers to man as "vessels", and on the other hand, He refers to man as "clay".

     When it comes to vessels, Jesus said in Acts 9:15 that Paul was a chosen "vessel": "But the Lord said unto him, go thy way: for he is a chosen VESSEL unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel."

     On the other hand, Isaiah 64:8 says: “We are the CLAY, you are the potter; we are all THE WORK OF YOUR HAND.” God is referred to as "a potter" and we humans are described as "clay". As a potter, according to His master plan, God created us as vessels. And ALL three of these terms are used together in Romans 9:21 where it says: "Or does not the POTTER have a right over the CLAY, to make from the same lump one VESSEL for honourable use and another for common use?"

     So it is clear that ALL men are vessels. The question, however, that arises, is what is the determinant for whether one lump of clay becomes a vessel for honourable use and another for common use? And the answer lies in whether, as a vessel, we fulfil the purpose for which we were FORMED or MADE. The Bible says in Isaiah 43:7 “Everyone who is called by My NAME, whom I have created for My GLORY; I have FORMED him, yes, I have MADE him." Just as Paul was called to bear the LORD's NAME and was created for His GLORY, as vessels, we were FORMED or MADE to be used by God for His glory and honour.

     A vessel is a container, one that by definition holds a substance. So, if we are all vessels, being vessels that are required to bring God glory and honour, it stands to reason that it is what we CONTAIN or CARRY on the inside that will ultimately bring God honour and glory. And since there are no coincidences with God, it is no coincidence that we are vessels of CLAY. The CLAY is the melting pot which God uses as the CRUCIBLE in the furnace of His refiners fire to refine all that man is on the inside into the gold that is His divine nature and the silver that is the image of His righteousness. "The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts." Proverbs 17:3.

     Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary defines a crucible in this way: (n.) A melting pot for purifying metals; also a hardship that is a test and builder of character, as in a melting pot composed of some very refractory substance, as CLAY, graphite, platinum, and used for melting and calcining substances which require a strong degree of heat, as metals, ores, etc.

     In as much as the LORD as Potter determines what becomes of the clay we are on the outside, which is to be a vessel, He also determines what we carry on the inside of that vessel. A crucible is the "vessel of clay" that is a fireproof MELTING POT that is able to withstand extreme heat (symbolised by Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego). The refiner then places the crucible into the furnace at the precise temperature necessary (our precise environmental circumstances, trials, tests of faith necessary) for removing other metals that would mar the quality of the gold or silver. Just as the furnace is used to purify silver in the crucible, our Refiner uses heat through the refiner's fire to purify our hearts and cleanse our character until we reflect both the purity that is the silver of His righteousness and the gold that is His divine nature.

     Before goldsmiths and silversmiths could get to the gold and silver locked inside, they would have to first break away the outer rocks and all the other elements of ore BEFORE placing the choice bits into the crucible for refining in the furnace. As the master goldsmith, Jesus says: "Is not my word like fire,’ declares the Lord, ‘and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?’” (Jeremiah 23:29). Like the walls of Jericho, being those soul layers that are representative of stubborn ore and the pride of rock, being those man-made barriers that keep man independent from God through hearts made of stone rather than of flesh, it is the fire of the living Word of God that will break down those isolating and barrier walls. "By long patience is a prince persuaded, and a gentle tongue breaks the bone" Proverbs 25:15. And it's the same fire of the burning bush of Moses that will then recover the precious "gold and silver" within, and that will CONSECRATE them both unto the LORD (Joshua 6:19) through the Potter giving to all those vessels stepping forward for honourable use a new heart made of flesh. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36:26.

     “He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons... and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the LORD an offering IN righteousness.” ‭‭Malachi ‭3:3‬. And the key is the preposition "IN". Verse 3 clearly says an offering IN righteousness, not an offering OF righteousness. And prepositions show "RELATIONSHIP". We cannot, of ourselves, outside of relationship offer to the LORD an offer OF righteousness because "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). It is only by being IN relationship that He transforms what is inside into something we may after a period of time offer to the LORD as an offering in righteousness. In our "relationship" with the LORD, we are to offer Him the gift of the "gold and silver" of our LIKENESS, being our nature, being refined as gold seven times, and our IMAGE, being our righteousness, being as pure silver, as well as including offering even the vessel they come in. "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer YOUR BODIES as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is your true and proper worship." Romans 12:1.

     "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold." Job 23:10.

     Proverbs 8:19 says, "My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver."

     "And he brought into the house of the Lord the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, SILVER, and GOLD, and VESSELS." 1 Kings 15:15.