Friday, January 21, 2011
BIBLE IN A YEAR: Zephaniah 1-3 and Revelation 15-16
lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise.The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however,
took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they
all became drowsy and fell asleep. ”At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom!
Come out to meet him!’ ”Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The
foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ ” ‘No,’
they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell
oil and buy some for yourselves.’”But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the
bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet.
And the door was shut.”Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door
for us!’ ”But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’ ”Therefore keep watch,
because you do not know the day or the hour.”
There are several interpretations of this parable, but for our purposes we look at it thisBIBLE IN A YEAR: Zephaniah 1-3 and Revelation 15-16
SCRIPTURE READING
Matt 25:1-13 ”At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took theirlamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise.The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however,
took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they
all became drowsy and fell asleep. ”At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom!
Come out to meet him!’ ”Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The
foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ ” ‘No,’
they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell
oil and buy some for yourselves.’”But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the
bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet.
And the door was shut.”Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door
for us!’ ”But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’ ”Therefore keep watch,
because you do not know the day or the hour.”
way. In this parable, the virgins represent believers and the lamps and oil represent their
relationship with Christ. The return of the bridegroom represents Jesus second coming.
The foolish ran out of oil, in other words, they started out with a vibrant relationship with
Jesus but they didn’t endure until the end. The wise virgins pursued their relationship with
Jesus until the very end, it was their first priority and they sought a personal relationship
with God their entire lives.
Notice that they all slept and all trimmed their lamps. Sleeping in this parable is not bad.
This speaks of living in context to the natural processes of life. We must sustain our
relationship with Jesus in the midst of the rigors and routines of everyday life. Notice that
the wise could not give their oil to the foolish, this represents that each one of us must have
an ongoing personal relationship with Jesus.
We fuel our personal relationship with Jesus by regularly feeding on God’s Word and by
spending time in prayer and devotions. The Lord values our journey to grow in love for
Him. We must not give up in our relationship with God.
PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Ask God to help you endure in your relationship with Him. Ask Him to help give youstrength to sustain this relationship all the days of your life.
2. Ask God to reveal to you if there is anything in your life that would keep you from
enduring in your relationship with Him. Ask Him how to remove that barrier and live
victorious in that area.
