Giving Up Our Mirrors (W.o.W. Rewind)

They made the bronze basin and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

Exodus 38:8

This isn't a passage of Scripture that you are likely to be very familiar with. It's buried well into a sixteen-chapter section of Exodus that deals almost exclusively with the minutia of the tabernacle including lengthy discussions on the dimensions and details of the tent, its posts, its coverings, and all its furnishings and their utensils. In fact, the only reason you would likely come across this passage is if you were working through a Bible reading plan that requires you to read the entire Bible. Yet, I always find that the Holy Spirit mines treasures out of the depths of Scripture when I really dig into it. And that proves true here. 

In keeping with the Lord's command, the Israelites had taken up a love offering to gather all the materials needed to construct their place of worship. In this section of Scripture, we find out how much gold they collected, how much silver, how much bronze, and how much of all the other necessary materials as well. But no other individual or group is specifically credited for their gift like these women are. Why? What made their gift worthy of special mention?

First, it was costly. A mirror would have been a prized possession for women living in a desert. It's not like there were pools of water around that they could see their reflection in! It is also entirely possible that the only valuables these women owned were their jewelry and these mirrors. Without the ability to work and make money, this was a financially costly gift as well. And assuming that these women didn't own multiple mirrors, this meant that they would be considerably less able to manage and check their appearance. Can you imagine the possibility of living completely without mirrors for the rest of your life? So, it cost them something to give away this comfort and this control. 

Second, it was a wise gift. Many of the pagan religions of the day encouraged their worshipers to engage in sexual acts with temple prostitutes as an expression of worship to their false gods. In that cultural context it isn't difficult to imagine how people could get the wrong idea about these women who were standing at the entrance to the tabernacle, especially if they were beautifully dressed and attractively groomed. By giving their mirrors to the Lord, these women were committing to avoid allowing their presence at the tabernacle to turn into something unholy.

For you and I these women provide an example to follow. When was the last time you gave an offering to the Lord that was costly? When was the last time you gave until it hurt? Consider making a love offering to the Lord. Consider giving something or fasting from something that will help safeguard you from falling into some sin or excess in your life.