6:27 Yahweh informed Jeremiah that He had given the prophet a roll in Judah that was similar to that of an assayer of metals. He would be able and be responsible to test the "mettle"of the Lord's people (cf. 5:1).
6:28 The Judahites were stubborn, rebellious, and deceitful. All of them were also hardened to outside influences, like bronze and iron, and were impure (cf. Mal. 3:3).
". . . the people of Judah are not, so to speak, precious metal marred by some impurities, but base metal from which nothing of worth can be extracted."158
6:29 The Lord had applied the fires of testing to His people, but still they remained impure.
"When lead was placed in a crucible with silver ore and heated, the lead became oxidized and served as a flux to collect impurities."159
6:30 Because the people were impure the Lord would reject them, as a silversmith rejects dross or slag. The implication is that He would toss them aside out of His land.
". . . the imagery is employed not to indicate that judgment would be a refining process but rather to convey its terminal nature; since no purity could be found, no solid silver, the mixture would be cast away as dross."160
Because of the possibility of repentance that Jeremiah referred to in chapters 2-6, most scholars believe that these messages date from the reign of Josiah and possibly the early years of Jehoiakim. This would place their origin between 627 and 609 or a little later. The possibility of repentance disappears later in the book probably indicating that Jeremiah delivered those prophecies later in his ministry.
Other recurring themes in chapters 2-6, which Jeremiah introduced in chapter 1, include the nations, uprooting and tearing down, destroying and razing, building and planting, and Yahweh watching over His word. The coming invader from the north, wickedness, forsaking Yahweh, idolatry, and Judah's leaders and ordinary citizens are also prominent themes.161
