Mirrors, they’re everywhere today. But that would not have been true for most people living in biblical times. Yet, the women we’ll read about today, women with the same desire to be attractive that we experience, gave up their bronze mirrors for the glory of God. What would you and I be willing to give up for God’s glory? And does the focus of our care and attention line up with what we say?
Welcome, to “God’s Word Day by Day” where I blog through the Bible in a Year. I hope you’ll join me every day. If you’re not already signed up, you can do it here. This year I’ve added a couple of new features. First, check out the “Free Resources” tab at the top. You’ll find a downloadable, printable PDF with “Going Deeper Study Questions” for each day’s post. And … this year you’ll find the daily “Bible in a Year” posts on YouTube. The daily emails now have a link to both these Soul Survival posts and the YouTube videos. I hope you’ll sign up. (If you already receive them, no need to sign up again.)
Today’s Readings:
Exodus 37 & Exodus 38
Psalm 22.9-15
Proverbs 8.12-21
Matthew 26.51-75
Will We Give Up Our Mirrors?
Exodus 37 & 38:
Mirror, Mirror
The tabernacle was under construction according to God’s detailed instructions. Bezelel and others to whom God had given the talent and ability continued their work crafting the furniture and implements.
One purpose for all this detail and beauty was to give His people a glimpse of His magnificence and creativity and to point people to the glory of God.
But one little verse jumped out at me as I read this passage:
He made the laver of bronze and its base of bronze, from the bronze mirrors of the serving women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting (v. 38.8).
He made them from the mirrors of the serving women. Matthew Henry in his Complete Commentary on the Bible says this:
These women parted with their mirrors (which were of the finest brass, burnished for that purpose) for the use of the tabernacle. Those women that admire their own beauty, are in love with their own shadow, and make the putting on of apparel their chief adorning by which they value and recommend themselves, can but ill spare their looking-glasses yet these women offered them to God …
Think about it. These were nomadic people living in a desert environment. But they were also women … women who fell in love, got married, experienced jealousy, and had a desire to look attractive to their husbands or potential husbands.
We walk into our homes and there is a mirror in the entryway, a mirror in the bedroom, and a mirror in the bathroom. We go to work or church and … more mirrors. Even in our cars, we flip down the mirror for a last-minute look. But in the desert, if a woman had a brass hand mirror, I imagine that was really something … possibly a luxury … but they gave them up for the glory of God!
Where is My Gaze Fixed?
I have to ask myself, what would I be willing to give up? What is really more important to me, having people see the beauty of Christ or how I look?
And I wonder, on what is my own gaze fixed? Is it more on myself or God and His Word? Am I focused on my life and wants or is my desire to use whatever I have to point others to Christ? How about you? Are you willing to use whatever you have to point others to Christ?
Today’s Other Readings:
Psalm 22.9-15:
Our God from the Womb
But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on my mother’s breasts (v. 9).
This doesn’t mean that David was saved as a baby, but it is a beautiful picture of God’s sovereignty, His complete control, and how He is wooing us and blessing us with His goodness, even from birth.
James said:
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights … (Jas. 1.17).
Proverbs 8.12-21:
Obedience Leads to Wisdom and Growth
As I have said in the last couple of commentaries, God is not withholding His wisdom. It is here in His Word, but we must look for it. It’s not about being smart … or memorizing half the Bible … or sitting in Bible studies week after week and filling our heads with knowledge. It’s about faithfully seeking to know Him better through His Word and time spent with Him. And it’s about having a heart to please Him by choosing to obey what we know to do.
Hebrew 5.14 says:
… solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
It is by knowing and obeying that we grow in wisdom and maturity. On the other hand, James 1.22 says if we are hearers, readers, or sitters in Bible studies without applying it, we deceive ourselves. We may think we’re mature. We may even be able to quote a lot of Scripture, even stand up and teach a Bible study ourselves, but we are spiritual lightweights! So …
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5.25).
Matthew 26.51-75:
No Greater Love … and Obedience
God’s Word is so much more than just commands to obey … so much more than a book filled with principles with which to guide our lives. Its characters are so much more than just examples to avoid or follow. It’s God’s story of love and redemption, beginning from Genesis 1.1 and continuing through the end of Revelation.
Nothing encompasses that picture of love and redemption more than the example we see in Christ and His willingness to lay down His life for us. He was willing to suffer and die that horrible death so that we could be partakers of His grace and forgiveness and so we could become progressively more and more like Him.
His life was His to give. No one could take it from Him (Matt. 26.51-54).
17 For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. 18 No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father (Jn. 10.17-18).
All glory to Him!
Closing thoughts:
So what are you willing to lay down out of love and gratitude to Him? It’s not just about the big things. It’s also the little mundane things like cheerfully giving up that parking place without grumbling and complaining, choosing your husband’s favorite restaurant, or playing with the kids when you’d rather do something else.
And what are you willing to sacrifice so God’s work can be completed on the earth? Are you willing to give up your bronze mirrors to bring glory to God and to focus on serving Him and loving others?
Coming Up:
In the coming days, we’ll talk about how to rate yourself on biblical love, the importance of defending your faith, and the need to get the logs out of your eyes. We’ll also pose the question, “Could you be raising little hypocrites?” and talk about what it means to preach the gospel to yourself and why it’s so important.
I hope you’ll sign up so you don’t miss them.
Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥
Note about this post:
I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer.
A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”
I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.
Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)
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