In Matthew 25:1-13 Jesus teaches us about His return, likening it to a Hebrew marriage. The betrothal had been made, then during the engagement period the bride stayed at home with her parents and prepared her trousseau while the groom went to prepare a home for them. Jewish weddings usually took place at night, beginning at the rising of the evening star; but the wedding in Jesus parable was delayed, and being later than usual the guests or attendants began falling asleep. Midnight was not the time they expected the groom to come, it may have been the least expected time, but that is when the cry was made, “Behold, the bridegroom is coming.” All these virgins had oil, they all had been invited, but upon awaking only half of them had made adequate preparations, while the other half just tried to drift meagerly by and missed the event! 2 Peter 1:10-11 admonishes us to be “diligent to make your call and election sure … so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” The final message in Matthew 25:13 is to watch, which means to keep awake (spiritually) and be constantly prepared. He had just said in Matthew 24:44 “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” This is being wise.
Be Wise
By Rose Hill
The Lord would have His children to be wise,
And do those things that are right in His eyes.
Like the five wise virgins we must have extra oil,
Have our lives pure and our garments free of soil.
And if the Lord seems to tarry so long,
And we wonder when with Him we will be gone.
We should tell our hearts to patiently wait,
For He promised to come and He won’t be late.
We must keep watching and in Him put our trust,
Because He said that someday He is coming for us.
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson Co. used by permission.