You’ll find a mirror in almost every room of my house, my van, my purse, my diaper bag, four in my bathroom alone, not to mention my phone. With such ubiquitous access to my own reflection, you may wonder why my hair usually lives in a frayed top-knot above smudged mascara and faded concealer, but that’s off topic.
The newly-freed women of Israel didn’t have continual access to their full-length glass reflections. Their mirrors likely came from Egypt, treasures plundered from their female slaveholders (Exodus 3:22).
I think there’s something so timeless about a woman and her mirror. Thousands of years ago, these women cared about their physical appearance like we do today. Sinful vanity and idolatry distort this desire, but I believe a woman can celebrate her God-given beauty with a pure heart. She can run a wand through her hair and throw on a little lip gloss to the glory of God. But it’s very difficult to do this without a mirror, which is why these Exodus 38 women were so stunning.
They gave such a precious possession to the glory of God. Earlier in Exodus, God met with Moses on the mountain and laid out very specific instructions for building the tabernacle where his presence would dwell. He would make his people clean. He would forgive their sins. He would give them a new land. And he would be their very-near God.
After God told Moses how to build the tabernacle, he stirred up his people to actually do the work.
The Bronze Washing Basin was part of God dwelling with his people. The priests had to wash carefully before they entered the tent of meeting. You think we’re washing our hands extra carefully now? Imagine washing so you wouldn’t instantly drop dead before the Most High God when you tried to offer a sacrifice. Exodus 30 tells us Aaron and his sons had to wash “so that they may not die” when they came before the Lord. That little bronze basin held mighty spiritual and ceremonial value before the Lord.
Guess what it was made of?
You knew it! The ministering women’s mirrors.
Exodus 38:8 says, “[The tabernacle architect] made the basin of bronze and its stand of bronze, from the mirrors of the ministering women who ministered in the entrance of the tent of meeting.”
The ministering women gave over their mirrors.
It wasn’t all the women. The average Hebrew woman kept her mirror close and went on with her life. But these ministering women who held a front row seat to the presence of Almighty God filling the tent — these women were glad to give over such an earthly trinket. They got something far better in return:
That which once reflected themselves, would now help a nation see their God. That which reflected sin, would now be used to make them clean through their high priest’s mediation.
To the ministering women of today: I believe God is stirring us up to give sacrificially once again to his glory. It’s time for us to give over our mirrors. What is the thing you hold dear, that you need surrender so Christ Jesus can be made known? We are surrounded by a hurting people, growing more desperate by the day. Unlike the women of Exodus, we who are in Christ, have the Almighty dwelling within us. We approach the throne with boldness because we’ve been washed — not with water from a bronze basin — but with the spotless blood of the lamb of God. We reflect much more than a tired mom/friend/worker at the end of the day — we reflect Jesus himself.
Because we have this great confidence, now is the time to give extravagantly to those who have need. It’s time to part with trinkets so others can know him. Maybe you need to give financially to a struggling family. Maybe you need to give up sleep to talk on the phone to a lonely friend. Maybe you need to let go of Netflix and spend every spare moment you have soaking in the word. What can you part with? Call your pastor and ask what your church needs. It’s time to move from the back row worrying, to the frontline fighting. It’s time to smash some mirrors.
To those of you doing this already—I see you. I see you healthcare workers and first responders. I see you new homeschool mom. I see you prayer warriors. I see you foster mamas. I see you enduring so much suffering and still praising Jesus through the tears. Press on. You wonder if your one little mirror is really making that much of a difference, it is!
I cannot wait to hear the stories that come out of this season. This season will pass. A few months from now may it be said that God stirred up his ministering women to surrender extravagantly. We will reflect what we treasure. Let’s treasure Jesus above all things so our father may be glorified and the lost world can find salvation.