Exodus 27:20 – “And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually.”
Matthew 25:1-4 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.”
There’s an old Kid’s Church song that says, “Give me oil in my lamp keep me burning, burning, burning. Give me oil in my lamp I pray…” Today’s Old and New Testament devotionals echo the importance of a child’s Sunday School song. The need for oil in the lampstand for the tabernacle was to keep the lamp burning continually. This required diligent attendance by the priests twice per day. Jesus’ parable of the wise and unwise virgins emphasizes the need to maintain oil in the lamps as a symbol of readiness for the Lord’s imminent return.
The implications for believers everywhere is huge. Oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit in scripture. Believers must be diligent on a daily basis to make sure oil is flowing in their lives. We must maintain proper levels of this precious spiritual moisture that keeps our lights burning in a dark world. Oil not only provides light to a dark world, but it also provides illumination for our paths that we might walk in the right way. It also provides warmth that we might not allow our souls to grow cold when the spiritual temperature around us is dropping. May we be like the five wise virgins who kept oil in their lamps and were ready for the Lord’s visitation.
Jesus said in Luke 12:35 – “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning.” Whatever you do keep the fire burning! May our prayer today come from a child’s song: “Give me oil in my lamp keep me burning, burning, burning.”