Vanity or Worship? Ex 38-40

 

I know it's a small thing, but look at Ex 38:8:
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.

Mirrors...a symbol of our vanity...for women, it is proof that our identity is still tied to our beauty...

So what does it mean when the women who serve at the entrance to the temple gladly give up their mirrors to create a huge wash-basin? 

It means they are clean and their identity is wrapped up in their God, not their own glory.  It means that generations of children will learn to identify a beautiful woman by the character of her service and worship rather than the color of her eyes or hair.  It means that the hearts of the moms and grandmothers are personally invested in following this God, wherever He goes. 

To God, it means everything.  At the end of Chapter 40, we see God fill the tabernacle with His Glory to the extent that even Moses cannot enter.  We see that the Angel that God is sending to lead them is none other than Himself. 

God dwells with us when we choose real worship over self-worship.  The exchange is worth it.