Exodus 26-27 / Matthew 25:1-30 / Psalm 31:1-8 / Proverbs 8:1-11
Exodus 27:21b “Aaron and his sons must keep the lamps burning in the Lord’s presence all night.”
Then we have the parable of the ten bridesmaids or the ten virgins. All ten have lamps and all ten have oil in their lamps, but five of the bridesmaids have extra oil.
How can one keep a lamp burning if there is no oil? It’s true that we don’t use lamps with oil any longer as they are a thing of the past, but the parallel is that of making sure we are filled with the Holy Spirit and that we are always prepared for the coming of Christ.
There is one ultimate preparation and that is our salvation; either we are His or we are not. There are some who think they are His, but their lifestyle appears to be one other than someone who is in love with the ways and person of Jesus Christ. In other words, we can’t only look like Christians outwardly, we must be genuine followers of Christ inwardly.
Maybe the five virgins who had oil were nice, religious “church goers” who looked good on the outside. Maybe they did good deeds, living a clean moral lifestyle. And that’s not wrong to do, but good deeds don’t reconcile us to God. Jesus said in John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
And that’s the difference between the two groups of virgins. One may have been attempting Christianity from the perspective of living a good, moral life while the other understood that there is only one way to be reconciled to the Father, and that is through Jesus Christ the Son.
That is why the first five had extra oil; they had the Holy Spirit within them, and they were daily being filled and living in a way that pleased God. And we can’t please God apart from His Spirit helping us.
Which bridesmaid are you? Empty lamp, or full? The time is drawing near for the return of Jesus Christ to take His people home. Make sure you’re ready. We must keep our lamps burning in the Lord’s presence all night!
