1“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.2Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.3The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps,4but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil.5When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6“At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’7“All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps.8Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’9“But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’10“But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked.11Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’12“But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’13“So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.
A wedding is a wonderful thing and at Jesus’ time they were often celebrated for a week. The groom’s arrival was the beginning of this wonderful feast and it was very much anticipated. In contrast the dark of night was scary and thought to be full of evil. That is the setting for this lesson from Jesus. In that light, it is simple and straight-forward.
We are waiting for the great feast of the marriage between Jesus and the church. Or on a personal level, maybe we can see this as waiting to enter into a more intimate relationship with Jesus. Whether you read this as personal in your own life or at the end of time, the lesson is the same. There will be periods when we are waiting on the Lord come into our lives. We will feel like we are in the dark and maybe be a little scared, but we are waiting for a fantastic groom to start a wonderful feast. But are you prepared for the wait? Am I?
During our lives if we spend time in scripture and prayer, we are building up our supply of oil. We are being prepared by God to be in the dark sometimes. We are being prepared for the waiting. We are being prepared for the tough times. If I don’t spend the time with God when things are good, or even average, I won’t have the oil to keep my faith alive when times are tough. We need to be ready.
Lord, help me to stay close to you. Help me make time with You my highest priority and the first thing I do every day. Open my heart and my mind and let me be full of You Lord. Beginner’s Online Bible Study *obbs*
