Today we begin Exodus Chapter 38.
For the Complete Jewish Bible, click here.
For the King James version, click here.
“He made the basin of bronze with its base of bronze from the mirrors of the women serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting.”-Exodus 38:8
In chapter 38 of Exodus, the account of the construction of the Tabernacle continues.
Now verse 8 provides us with an interesting piece of information.
We’re told that the Brazen Laver for holding water was made out of “the mirrors of the women serving at the entrance to the tent”.
The dazzling reflection from these mirrors is talked about during the time of Solomon’s Temple.
Some scholars will hypothesize that this one little verse about the use of mirrors was a redaction from a later time.
They reason it was an attempt to promote the virtuousness and generosity of the women of Israel for going out of their way to contribute such items of immense value.
During this day and age, mirrors were very rare and expensive.
And nowhere will we find the Lord commanding that mirrors be donated for the construction of the Tabernacle.
The truth be told, mirrors were prohibitively expensive and only the rich could afford them.
At this time, mirrors were NOT made out of reflective glass.
They were highly polished disks of copper or bronze that were fitted with handles constructed out of ivory and other pricey materials.
So, what the women did here in donating their precious mirrors was an act that was way above and beyond what was requested.
It was a sign of their faith and gratitude and no doubt a reversal of the zeal they originally had when they donated their gold to construct the Golden Calf.
We’re also given an accounting of the tremendous amounts of precious materials that were used as follows:
A ton of gold!!!
About 7000 pounds of silver!!!
About 2 tons of bronze!!!
We’re talking about about a whopping total of nearly 7 tons of heavy metal here folks!!!
Holy triple-double cheeseburgers with turkey bacon added on top!!!
Well, the spiritual takeaway here is obvious.
The Lord wants our very best.
Not because He wants nor needs our money, but because he knows that attaching our hearts to anything but Him is destructive to the soul and idolatry at worst.
Whatever precious thing you are attaching your heart to, whether it’s your bank account, your job, and I would say even your family, your wife or your children, if the source of your self-esteem or your value as a human being is connected to these things, I would have to say you’re worshipping a false god.
And it will lead to tremendous dissatisfaction in the long run.
We are to love the Lord our God with all of heart, our soul, and our mind.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it,
but whoever loses their life for me will save it.“
-Luke 9:24
Yeshua answered,
“If you want to be perfect, go,
sell your possessions
and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.“
-Matthew 19:21
“And everyone who has left houses
or brothers or sisters
or father or mother
or wife or children
or fields for my sake
will receive a hundred times
as much and will inherit eternal life.”
-Matthew 19:29
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