From the bible passage for today, we can see that Jesus Christ is telling us about the Kingdom of heaven and likened it to the story of both the wise and the foolish virgins. The bible said that all of them were virgins.
According to Matthew 25:2-3, we were told that five of them wise and five were foolish. we were also told that five took oil with their lamps and the other five took no oil with them.
By the dictionary definition, the word "wise" is defined as "having the power of discerning and judging properly as to what is true or right; possessing discernment, judgement, or discretion". The word "foolish" is defined as "showing a lack of sense, a silly or stupid person who lacks judgement or sense".
From the story, we can see that the bridegroom delayed his coming and as such the oil in their lamps were spent out. But suddenly the bridegroom came unannounced and the wise that shows discretion of taking with them oil in their vessels with their lamps according to Matthew 25:4 trimmed their lamps. The word" trimmed "means to prepare or adjust (a lamp, fire) for proper burning. According to Matthew 25:7, the bible said both the wise and the foolish virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. It was at this point that the foolish virgins now remembered that they should have taken an extra oil for the lamp.
When we look at the situation, we can see that both set of virgins have their lamp lighted at all times and keep burning, but the light intensity from the lamp was kept low till the arrival of the bridegroom. The main issue in the bible text is the lack of the availability of the oil to trim their lamp and thereby went out in search for oil and thereby missing the marriage according to Matthew 25:10. Meaning they were not ready or ill-prepared for the arrival of the bridegroom.
The presence of oil signifies the presence and manifestation of God's presence through the Holy Spirit. The bible in 1 Samuel 16:13 says that as soon as David was anointed, that the spirit of the Lord came upon him from that day forward. Acts 10:38 says that Jesus Christ was anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power, while the lamp signifies the Word of God according to Psalm 119:105. When we now put the lamp and the oil together, we can see that the five virgins all have the Word of God with them, but lack the Holy Spirit to make the Word work for them. Meaning they all read, hear and study the Word of God in the bible, but did not have the Holy Spirit to make the Word of God work for them.
What can we learn?
1. We should be prepared at all times for the return of the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ.
2. Our preparedness is not transferable nor can we impart the salvation we received to someone else.
3. We must constantly ask the Lord in our prayers for the infilling of the Holy Spirit. In conclusion, when we study or read the Word of God, we should ask for Holy Spirit guidance on the interpretations.
Let us Pray!
In the Name of Jesus, we pray for the Holy Spirit infilling for our life at all times so that our oil will not run dry till your return. Please assist us to do our part in the Kingdom and not to be preoccupied with wordily affairs in Jesus Name. Amen!
