Exodus 38:8

He made the laver of bronze and its base of bronze, from the bronze mirrors of the serving women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.  – Exodus 38:8

When God was having His people get everything in place to build the Tabernacle, He asked people to give up their possessions.  It says here in this verse that the serving women gave up their mirrors.

I sit here wondering why God would let us in on such a detail.  What is the significance?  These women at the time would not have been far removed from their old positions as slaves.  I imagine that these women would have watched the Egyptian women use their mirrors to make themselves beautiful.  What goes on in a slave woman’s heart when she sees these women?  Does she wish she could be beautiful like that?  Does she wish she had the means to afford all that they have?  Does she begin to hate her own life and wish to live the life of another?

I remember the days when I thought that if I could hit the lottery, if I were just a famous guitar player playing in a famous band, if I just had their talent, if I just had their intelligence, if I just had their lot in life, and this list just goes on and on.  It makes me sad to see today’s kids, teenagers, and even adults covet the same things.  They want to be the next American Idol.  They want to be the next Bill Gates.  They want to look into the mirror and feel what it is like to have “arrived.”

But these women gave up their mirrors.  Maybe it got tiring pretending to be someone else.  Maybe they got tired of wishing all the time.  Then again, maybe they figured out the one thing every person has to figure out in this life . . .

The Presence of God is ten thousand times better than anything this life has to offer!

You see, those mirrors got melted and turned into a laver, a place of washing and cleansing.  Just before the priest went into the Holy of Holies, he must wash in the laver.  The priest must be clean before entering the presence of Almighty God.  These women were more than happy to have a new position in life.  No longer would they serve and wish for the life of the Egyptian women.  They would serve at the door of the tabernacle and wait for the fire of God to fall.

They figured it out.

God is better.

Give Him the mirror and let Him do with your life what He wants.

It is far better than what you could come up with anyway.

Later

Adam