Oil
At this point we can conclusively say that the foolish virgins’ mistake was not having oil.
In the story of Hanukkah we learned of a little jar of oil that was found at the temple and miraculously burned for 8 days. If it really happened, or if it’s just a legend, we don’t know. However, we read in the Bible about a miracle that did take place—a miracle of multiplication of flour and oil, with Elijah and the Zarephath widow:
Elijah met a widow collecting firewood at the gate of Zarephath during the famine (I Kings XVII, 1-10), Marc Chagall, c.1956
“Then the word of the Lord came to [Elijah], saying,
9 ‘Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.’
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, ‘Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.’
11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, ‘Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.’
12 So she said, ‘As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.’
13 And Elijah said to her, ‘Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.
14 For thus says the Lord God of Israel: The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.’
15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days.
16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.” – 1 Kings 17:8-16
One of the rules involved in this miracle is to put others before you.
We read another story in the Bible about a miracle of multiplication of oil, with a widow and the prophet Elisha:
“A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, ‘Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.’
2 So Elisha said to her, ‘What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?’ And she said, ‘Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.’
3 Then he said, ‘Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few.
4 And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.’
5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out.
6 Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, ‘Bring me another vessel.’ And he said to her, ‘There is not another vessel.’ So the oil ceased.” – 2 Kings 4:1-6
There are many lessons to be learned from these stories.
Just like in the parable of the ten virgins we read here of a maidservant with a jar of oil and how the oil kept running for as long as there were empty vessels. It tells us something about God’s nature and the nature of His kingdom – it’s like a spring, unlimited, without end. Yeshua spoke in similar terms to the women at the well:
“…Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” – Yohannan 4:13b-14
What does oil represent in the Bible?
Throughout the Bible we read of oil as: 1. food/for cooking, 2. light and heat, 3. cosmetic, and 4. for anointing:
“You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions.” – Psalm 45:7
Quoted in the Letter to the Hebrews:
“You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions.” – Hebrews 1:9
Oil has been used for anointing, but these verses doesn’t talk about literal oil. Oil here, shemen in Hebrew, represents the Holy Spirit. Oil of gladness means joy of the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 1:9 refers to the Messiah and talks about salvation and victory over sin. We read of the joy of salvation in other places (Psalm 51:12, Isaiah 12:3), of David dancing before the Lord (2 Samuel 6:14), etc.
“To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness…” – Isaiah 61:3a
“Oil of joy” is “Spirit of joy.”
“Garment of praise” as opposed to “spirit of heaviness” is “Spirit of praise.”
So, oil can represent Spirit. One of the traditional interpretations of the parable of the wise and foolish virgins is that the wise had the Holy Sprit while the foolish did not. Of course the Spirit being the seal of salvation.
To be continued…
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