October | 2021 | Proverbs 31 Wanna-be

The Ten Virgins

I recently listened to a series on the wise and foolish virgins from Matthew 25. Once I was done with the series, the Lord kept bringing this portion of scripture across my path. I knew I better dig deeper into it because the Lord wanted me to learn (and apply) something from this parable. What I learned was insightful, invaluable, and pertinent to things I have been pondering for several weeks. I want to share some of those insights with you, in hopes that it will give you some fresh insights to a well-known parable.

Several months ago, I noticed a phrase I had missed after years of having read through this portion. They all fell asleep. I have to admit, I was disturbed by that, and even more so since I believe we are living in the end times. The last thing I want to do is fall asleep spiritually! When you add that Jesus warned us four times in the previous chapter not to be deceived, I was even more unsettled. This disturbance was an impetus that drove me deeper into prayer and the Word.

Something else I noticed was that once they woke up, only the wise virgins had their lamps plus extra oil. The foolish ones had only their lamps, but no extra supply of oil. This revelation made me realize that I needed to make sure that I was storing extra oil.

I shared in a previous devotion about my struggle with finding the right system for my devotional time after switching jobs earlier this year. The above revelation moved me to ask the Lord for wisdom to help me in keeping that extra supply of oil. One of the things I have started doing is not just reading something in the New Testament once, and moving on. Rather, I read one chapter from the New Testament in the morning. At lunch, I use a bible commentary on that chapter. Since there is a lot of commentary on the chapter, I never make it through the end of said chapter on my lunch break. The next morning, I will reread the same chapter again, then picking up where I left off in the commentary on my lunch break. I continue this pattern until I eventually reach the end of the chapter in the commentary. It is making my study much richer and deeper because of the repetition of reading it several times.

Recently, I started switching it up a bit by looking at the bible verse images I have saved on my bible app. I will find a verse on which to meditate and memorize it while I eat. My daily habit is to walk after lunch, so what I have memorized while eating, I continue to recite over and over while walking, often turning it into a prayer for myself, as well as the remnant church and the persecuted church. Being a habitual multi-tasker, this system fits me very well because I am hiding the Word in my heart so I might not sin against the Lord, I am filling my oil with verses I feel are particularly pertinent to these challenging times, and I am praying for myself, as well as others.

Another thing I never connected with their lamps is that the lamps represent the outer part — like our works, how we appear to others, etc. The oil represents what is really inside. I can have a beautiful lamp in my hand, but if it is empty, it is useless. It is the same when we focus on works without having that deep, intimate relationship with the Lord through prayer and the Word.

We finally come to that section where the foolish virgins ask the wise virgins for some of their oil. The wise ones tell them no. I have read this portion for years, but never understood the deeper meaning behind it. I have a couple of examples to help illustrate this point.

When you give and give and give, never taking time to refresh your own body, soul, and spirit, you quickly run dry. You are exhausted and have no physical or mental energy to keep going. It is the same in a spiritual sense. You can take what you are learning and share it with others. Sadly, there are those who will keep coming to you for oil because they are too lazy to get oil on their own. This is draining. Years ago, I had to cut a friendship because of this very issue.

It reminds me of when Jesus told the disciples about how there are situations where we must shake the dust off our feet and move on. In these times, we often hear the phrase “my truth” or “your truth.” In an effort to show God’s truth to others, we run the risk of using up all of our extra oil, trying to get them to see the Light. Because of this, we must be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. (Matthew 10:16) We are also to redeem the time because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:16) Since we are living in the end times, we must move wisely and quickly, meaning there are times when we also need to shake the dust off our feet and move on.

What changes do you need to make to ensure you have plenty of oil for your lamp?