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By Mike Caton

Exodus 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.”

This is an interesting little verse, and one that many folks, myself included, have never really considered. There are three things that stand out in this verse.

One is the bronze basin and its bronze stand that was to be made. In Solomon’s temple this thing was huge, about 15 feet in diameter and 7.5 feet high. It could hold around 12,000 gallons of water. There would be no way the Israelites could have carried something that big around with them in the desert for those 40 years. Obviously, this one was much smaller, but we are not given any dimensions or even instructions for building it. Most of the commentators I looked at suggested it looked like a big urn style flower pot or a bird bath. The priests were to wash their hands and feet in it before they went into the Holy Place. That would take water, but not necessarily a lot. But they had to clean themselves before they went into the Lord’s presence.

Another interesting thing is that this basin was made of mirrors. There is no other thing in the tabernacle where we are told what the original items were before they were used in the tabernacle. (Later, Nadab and Abhiu offered strange fire before the Lord, they were killed and their censors were hammered into plates and fastened to the altar, this was a reminder for the Jews to remain faithful.) Mirrors in those days were not like the glass mirrors we have today, they were metal that was hammered out and then highly polished. As you can imagine they wouldn’t give as good a reflection as modern mirrors. But why were the mirrors to be used for this basin? We really don’t know. Maybe we need to stop looking at ourselves so much and start looking at the Lord more. Maybe we need to be less concerned with our physical appearance and more concerned with our inner beauty. Maybe we need to look more like Jesus and give less concern to our hair, face, and makeup.

And finally, who were these women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting? They are only mentioned twice in the Bible; here and in I Samuel 2, where Eli’s sons were sleeping with the women who served. That is not a flattering account, but since only Eli’s sons are condemned, it doesn’t appear the women were willing participants. But what did these women do? Where did they come from? Suggestions are all over the place: from shrine prostitutes (there is no Biblical evidence for this, just the opposite, but this is what pagans had), to guards for the doors, to them mingling with the people who were waiting and providing them with food, water, and even prayers. We do not see anything about them being chosen by the Lord, like the Levites. There is really nothing else in the Bible said about them.

So, what does this mean for us today? They gave sacrificially, as you can imagine a mirror would be a prized possession in those days. They were willing to serve the Lord, and it appears of their own initiative; they saw a need and they got busy fulfilling it. They didn’t need any recognition or a show made about them. They were simply servants of the Lord. I’d say there is plenty there for us to work on today.

Father, help me simply serve you as well. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Mike Caton is the preacher at Mount Olive Church of Christ in Belhaven. He volunteers at the Ponzer Fire Department and works as a full time AEMT with Hyde County EMS. Follow Mount Olive Church of Christ on Facebook for daily devotions.

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