Just to let you know, I am so excited about the thought that I am bringing to you tonight. I have read through Exodus more times than I can remember and I have never seen this before. (Probably because it is stuck in the middle of the description of the Israelites building the tabernacle…which looks identical to God’s directions…anyway the passage tends to loose my attention…zzzzzzz)
Anyway, tonight one sentence changed my world…
To give a bit of explanation---the Israelites are in the midst of building a house for God. They are basically building a traveling temple which will literally hold the presence of the living God. God gave specific directions for building this house, and the Isrealites must collect all of the materials and build it as God has commanded.
Pretty Straight forward.
In the midst of all of the details, this sentence is written…
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 is so COOL! Basically, a group of women chose to literally melt their mirrors and donate the metal to the creation of a house for God. Even more than that…their mirrors are used to make a washing basin for the tabernacle.
What is so incredible about this fact is that no other details are given as to where ingredients for the tabernacle had come from…So it was very important to God that we see this specific detail.
These women who gave up their mirrors in exchange for a basin in the house of God set up an incredible example for us. They show us that cleanliness in the presence of God is SO SO SO much more important than vanity and physical appearance. They made the choice to put God’s presence in front of their own beauty and the affirmation of that beauty. They knew that God was more concerned with creating a house for the presence of God than with the knowledge of their own appearance.
This amazes me…these women couldn’t just drive to Wal-Mart and buy new mirrors. They may have traded away their only chance to see themselves again. WOW!
I want to be like these women. I want the presence of God to be my priority. I want to know that his presence in my life is far more important than what I look like.
My challenge to you (and to myself) is that you melt your mirror before God. Commit to making his presence your priority, and to let go of the idea that the mirror carries any meaning at all.
No comments:
Post a Comment