Tabernacle Women

I've been studying and pondering a verse that surprised me as I was reading my Bible about 3 weeks ago. I say "surprised me" because even though I'm sure I've read that verse (or read PAST that verse) numerous times, I've never... SEEN it.  The verse actually shocked me.  It's Exodus 38:8, and it's in the middle of a chapter about the details of how to make the altar, washbasin, and courtyard of the Tabernacle of the Israelites (the place where God would live in their midst).  It's one of those chapters, with all it's nit-picky details, that you'd usually read with your finger scanning down the page.  But this time, that finger stopped dead at this verse:


"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."


Huh?  WHAT women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting?  Every Sunday School flannel-graph, every drawing, every painting, every verbal description I've ever seen or heard of the tabernacle contained only men serving.  


Something came alive in me as I read this verse.  "We've got the wrong picture" I realized.  I've been studying, asking questions, looking at the original hebrew... I'm on a hunt for a more correct picture.  I'll keep you posted on my progress...