It was September 4, 2021.
For some reason, my audible bible was giving me error messages. I went to one of my paper bibles. Exodus 38:8 jumped off the page. Had my audible bible worked, I might have missed the gem before me.
Among all the “their pillars were twenty and their brazen sockets twenty”s and “their pillars three, and their sockets three”s, I saw it.
Exodus 38:8 And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
The verse fascinated me. I grabbed my [electronic] concordance and set to work.
First, I needed background. What is the brass laver? According to Exodus 30:17-21, the laver of brass was placed between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, between the people and the sacrifice. It was filled with water. Aaron and his sons had to wash their hands and feet there, that they die not. Washing was vital before ministry. No one else washed them. They washed themselves.
The laver had “his foot.” The laver didn’t rest on the ground. It was supported by a brass foot. We don’t know how much water this laver held. (One may compare this to the giant “sea” made for the temple, which contained at least 17,000 gallons. You’ll find it in I Kings 7 and II Chronicles 4.) Out of practicality, a stand for the laver makes sense. From an infection control standpoint, the raised basin would be less likely to be contaminated. I venture that spiritually, the source of the priestly washing is elevated. It was placed where it couldn’t be ignored.
The laver, like the other items in the tabernacle, was anointed (mashach) and sanctified (qadash) (Exodus 40:11).
One last thought about the laver. From what I see, this wasn’t a place for the congregation to wash. It was for the priests alone. The washing of the priests’ hands and feet was prerequisite to the service. Those of us who minister do well to spiritually wash our hands and feet.
So that is the laver. Now I shall move on to what caught my attention.
Exodus 38:8 And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
The laver and his foot were made out of mirrors! Imagine the priests seeing their reflection as they prepared themselves for service. In those days, mirrors were made out of polished metal. Gold can be shiny, but it is impractical and too soft for the daily use of a mirror.
The laver wasn’t made out of gold. It wasn’t made out of golden jewelry for beauty. It was made out of mirrors for reflection. Gold was too soft for the duty. Brass offered endurance.
Who provided the brass mirrors? Women. But please don’t miss this. It wasn’t all of the women. It was the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle. These were the women who got as close as possible to the tabernacle. They were looking for God.
I don’t know about you, but even though I don’t look into a mirror nearly as often as I did when I was a teenager, I still glance into any reflection I pass. Is my hair ok? What happened to my collagen? Will I ever stop having acne?
These women, however, offered their mirrors. They offered up their own vision of themselves for something greater. I could give up a few rings to coat the ark of the covenant, but would I give up my own assessment of myself in trust that God would use it for His purpose? Could I give up looking at myself knowing so the ministers of God would not die?
I stepped away from my musings. I felt I was missing a piece. How might I apply a fascinating Old Testament verse to twenty-first century living? I felt my research was done, so all I could do was wait to see what God wanted to show me.
And then it came to me. Braided hair.
Grabbing my trusty concordance, I came to I Peter.
I Peter 3:1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;
2 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.
3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;
4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:
6 Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.
Years ago, I used to pray I Peter 3:4 over myself, that my adorning would be a meek and quiet spirit. Maybe I should start doing it again!
Every once in a while, I come across a word or phrase that is much better in the Greek than our English. Not even the Passion version matches it!
“Of great price” in Greek is poluteles. It is composed of polus and telos. It is used three times in scripture.
I Timothy 2:9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly (poluteles) array;
I Peter 3:4 but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious (poluteles) in God’s sight.
Mark 14:3 And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious (poluteles); and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.
Interestingly, the “pearl of great price” in Matthew 13:46 is a different word, polutimos. It is composed of polus and time.
What does polus mean? Forgive my vernacular. I take it to mean big, honking big. Think of the Spanish mucho. No, not macho. Mucho.
What does telos mean? It is a defined point or goal, something aimed at as a limit. Think “uttermost” or “ultimate” or “utmost.” If my math is correct, it shows up in the new testament 41 times. When we compare this, poluteles is extraordinary, indeed.
I want to go back to I Peter 3:6. Let’s think about Sara, Abraham’s wife. [As an aside, note Peter chooses “Sara” instead of “Sarah” although he refers to “Abraham,” not “Abram.” God changed Abram’s name to Abraham in Genesis 17:5. He changed Sarai’s name to Sarah in Genesis 17:15. In the new testament, the Greek doesn’t distinguish between “Sarai” and “Sarah.” She is only called “Sara.” But that’s for another study.]
Peter names Sara as one of the holy women of old.
Genesis 12 tells us Sarah was beautiful. In fact, she was so beautiful that the Egyptian princes wanted her. She was about 65 at the time! Years later, she was still so beautiful that King Abimelech took her to be his wife. By then, she was between 80 to 90 years old!
What secret did she have? The bible tells us that her beauty was more than a product of genetics. We don’t hear anything about her collagen. There was something about her that attracted kings! Not only that, her beauty was pleasing to God.
I’m not asking any one of us to surrender our mirrors. As I said, I look in the mirror much less than I used to. Are we ready, however, to look into God’s mirror? Am I ready to offer up my own vision of myself for something greater?
This goes for you men as well.
We can do something other than adorning ourselves with braids and gold and fancy clothes.
I Pe 3:4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
“Hidden” is kruptos. We get words like “cryptic” and “cryptozoology” from it. No one will necessarily see it, but we and God sees it. That portion of us is aphthartos, incorruptible and undecaying. That’s better than any collagen serum, makeup or fancy hairdo.
Let’s put on that meek, praus spirit: let’s be meek, mild, humble, gentle.
Let’s put on that quiet, hesuchios spirit. It literally means “to keep one’s seat.” By implication, heshuchios means to be still, undisturbed, peaceable and quiet.
Before God, that meed and quiet spirit is of great price. It is poluteles.
I Peter 3:5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:
6 Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.
Do we want to look beautiful to God? Elpizo Him. Expect, confide in, hope, trust in Him. Have expectation, faith and concrete confidence in Him.
Do we want to look good to our spouses? Add godly obedience. Hupotasso. This word has a different flavor than the exousia authority we often see in the New Testament. In I Peter 3, to be in subjection to one’s husband means to follow under the one who is appointed, determined and set, to be in an orderly fashion.
When Sara obeyed Abraham, what did she do? She hupakouo-ed him. she listened attentively, hearkened and was obedient to him. When we do this in a loving relationship that is ordered by God, we are Sara’s daughters. We get to partake in her supernatural beauty!
This is off topic, but if you are in a relationship where you aren’t safe, Peter speaks of this. If you aren’t safe and you are afraid, the first thing to do is take care of yourself! Please don’t endanger yourself.
I Timothy 2:8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.
Ladies (and men), we can still be beautiful without pushing the edge. Our last embellishments on the path to godly beauty are to be modest, self controlled and to do good works.
To God, when we do so is to become poluteles.
Okay, you’ve been very patient with me. Let’s finish with something fun.
Back when I was a kid, I used to listen to Dr. Demento. There was a song called “Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb.”
Throughout the song, Connie Stevens asks Edd Byrnes to lend her his comb. She repeatedly tells him he’s the utmost. At the end, “Kookie” finally asks her why she wants to latch onto his comb. She blurts, “I just want you to stop combing your hair and kiss me! You’re the maximum utmost.”
That, friends, is poluteles.
He replies with, “Baby, you’re the ginchiest.”
Would you have ever thought a goofy song from 1959 would tell us how to worship? Let’s go back to Exodus.
Those women at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation answered God’s call. Can you hear Him saying, “I just want you to stop combing your hair and kiss Me! You’re the maximum utmost.”
In turn, we respond in love and admiration and passion, “Baby, you’re the ginchiest.”
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