The Parable of the Ten Virgins 4:
There’s No Shortage of Oil

Today we’re going to talk about oil and its meaning and message in the scriptures. Oil is central to the parable of the Ten Virgins (the second of a series of four) which, as we’ve discussed, is more about the wait for the bridegroom than it is about his arrival, which we usually emphasize and focus on. The bridegroom will come when the bridegroom will come, it’s as simple as that. There is nothing we can do about it except wait. We cannot hasten it. We cannot delay it. It happens on a timeline known only to God. It happens when it happens. It is what it is. 

In the meantime, while we wait (as we discussed last week) we keep our lamps trimmed and burning. In doing so we produce maximum light. We let our light shine. In other words, we go about doing good works, dispelling the darkness, and giving God the glory. The energy for these good works is the oil of the Holy Spirit, which John 14:16 says comes as “a gift from the Father.” In Luke 11:13, Jesus says (in reference to the gifts we give to our children): “So if you, despite being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” 

To those who ask for it, the oil of the Holy Spirit is a gift. It is for the asking. It is not (as we’ve seen from the story of Simon in Acts 8, which again we talked about last week) for sale. The Holy Spirit is not a commodity. 

Oil in the scriptures is almost exclusively from crushed olives. It is used for a variety of things and in a variety of ways: It is used for food, it is used for medicinal purposes. It is used for cosmetics. It is used for anointing. And, of course, it is used as an energy source for heat and for light. It is frequently mentioned (and this is a key part of our understanding and discussion today, I think) in association with abundance or with excess—either an excess of the volume of oil itself, or an excess of its symbolic meaning as the Holy Spirit. 

In fact, all through the Scriptures a common theme whenever the use of oil is mentioned is that there is no shortage of it. There s always enough. Try as I might I could not find a single instance in Scripture where it was noted that people ran out of oil and suffered a loss as a result. 

Here is the first instance of an excess of oil: 

 “And you shall command the sons of Israel that they bring you clear oil of beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually. In the tent of meeting, outside the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the Lord; it shall be a permanent statute throughout their generations for the sons of Israel. (Exodus 27:20-21) 

The lampstand is to burn continuously, just as the Holy Spirit continually sustains our spiritual nature. The oil continuously feeds the light. We are called to be light-bearers continually. We are to be in the continual effect of spreading the gifts of the Spirit—love and joy and peace and patient suffering and meekness and kindness… all those listed in Galatians 5. 

It is very interesting that there is no record of where they get enough oil in the wilderness to keep a light continuously burning. Without groves of olives in the nomadic, wandering, desolate wilderness that they find themselves in, they never run out of oil. This is a miracle; like the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. This is an eternal flame. It’s like the miracle of the manna, which is also eternal; and the water that comes from a rock, and the quail that provides food. The oil here represents the Holy Spirit, and it never runs out. There’s always enough. 

We see this theme of endless oil in other places as well, for example here: 

 Now a 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 has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” Then he said, “Go, borrow containers elsewhere for yourself, empty containers from all your neighbors—do not get too few. Then you shall come in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour into all these containers; and you shall set aside what is full.” So she left him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they began bringing the containers to her, and she poured the oil. When the containers were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another container.” But he said to her, “There are no more containers.” Then the oil stopped. So she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest.” (2 Kings 4:1-7)

Note here that when you have nothing left, when you are in a desolate wilderness but you still have the Holy Spirit. You have the Holy Spirit in endless supply and it is impossible to use it all up. We see the same thing here: 

 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide food for you.” So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the entrance of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a cup, so that I may drink.” As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.” But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have no food, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks so that I may go in and prepare it for me and my son, so that we may eat it and die.” However, Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said. Just make me a little bread loaf from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘The bowl of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil become empty, until the day that the Lord provides rain on the face of the earth.’” So she went and did everything in accordance with the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bowl of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil become empty, in accordance with the word of the Lord which He spoke through Elijah. (1 Kings 17:8-16) 

This is the promise of the Holy Spirit. The jar of Holy Spirit oil never runs dry. 

In the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) we see again the use of oil (and wine) as a medicinal tool. We see that the oil is assured, there is an unending supply of medicine vouchsafed by the good Samaritan, who gives his word that he will cover whatever the costs are. Here again we see Jesus giving the Holy Spirit in unlimited quantity. Its healing property is an eternal gift. It comes without measure, and can be refilled an infinite number of times. 

But besides its practical use for food and for light and for medicine, oil has a symbolic property as well. Throughout Scripture, we see it used to anoint priests and prophets and kings. All types of leaders are being anointed for service. The Ten Virgins are in service. While we wait for the bridegroom, we are to be in service to others. 

Even in the use of oil for anointing we see again the theme of excess. For example: 

 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to live together in unity!    

It is like the precious oil on the head,

Running down upon the beard,
As on Aaron’s beard,
The oil which ran down upon the edge of his robes.    

It is like the dew of Hermon
Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;

For the Lord commanded the blessing there—life forever. (Psalm 133)

It is poured, not dripped, over the head. It is a river of oil, a bath of oil. The Holy Spirit is given not in small quantities but abundantly and with aromatic precision. The excess in not just in terms of quantity but also in the (excessive) detail of its composition and quality: 

 Moreover, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Take also for yourself the finest of spices: of liquid myrrh five hundred shekels, and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, 250, and of fragrant cane 250, and of cassia 500, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin. You shall make from these a holy anointing oil, a fragrant mixture of ointments, the work of a perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil. And you shall anoint the tent of meeting with it, and the ark of the testimony, and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin and its stand. You shall also consecrate them, so that they may be most holy; whatever touches them shall be holy. And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, so that they may serve as priests to Me. (Exodus 30:22-30)

You get the get the picture of this very precise concoction of anointing oil. 

In the New Testament Jesus reveals himself as our anointed king and priest and Prophet. He is God’s son, the Messiah. In fact, “Messiah” literally means “anointed” in Hebrew and the Greek Word Christos from which we get our word Christ in English means “the anointed one.” You can get the picture: Here is Jesus Christ, the Messiah. He’s the one who’s oiled up. He is the ultimate in excesses. 

At the beginning of his ministry, he gives his personal mission statement: 

 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
 Because He anointed Me to bring good news to the poor.
 He has sent Me to proclaim release to captives,
 And recovery of sight to the blind,
 To set free those who are oppressed,…” (Luke 4:18)

You recall the story of Mary anointing Jesus with an aromatic oil from an alabaster box at the house of Simon. The aroma fills the entire room. Oil and excess, oil and abundance, go together in scriptures. There is no shortage of oil. There is always enough. The supply of the Holy Spirit is unlimited. 

Notice too the power of the Holy Spirit in the Ten Virgins story: The power of the oil, the power of grace, allows the lamps to continue to burn even when the virgins fall asleep. There is no checking of the oil throughout the night, no trimming of the wicks, no work to keep the lamps alight. Just show up at the wedding and wait patiently while helping others. Glorify God. 

So far, we’ve seen two false practices, or false pictures, about God, held by both the wise and the foolish virgins. One is that God checks to see how much oil you have and uses it as a criterion for entry to the wedding, when actually the criterion is simply the invitation. The second misconception about God was that the oil is a commodity that you can find for sale at midnight on the open market, in the darkness. Both the wise and the foolish held this misconception. To those two misconceptions, I’d like to propose two more that come from the study of this story. 

Based on our study of oil, there is an abundance, and the miracle of the Holy Spirit is that it never runs out. I haven’t even mentioned the story of Hanukkah because it’s not in the Bible. But this deeply held tradition of the Jewish people talks about a single day’s-worth of oil that kept a temple candle lit for eight days. 

The third misconception—the notion that one can run out of oil and out of the Holy Spirit—is foolish. The only way to run out is to leave the wedding, turn away from the wedding feast, and head off into the darkness to find oil on your own. This turning of one’s back on the Holy Spirit, on the open door of grace, is an insult to the Holy Spirit and is in fact the unpardonable sin:  

 “Therefore, I tell you that people will be forgiven for every sin and insult to God. But insulting the Holy Spirit won’t be forgiven.” (Matthew 12:31, Common English Bible)

What does insulting the Holy Spirit involve? 

If we give up and turn our backs on all we’ve learned, all we’ve been given, all the truth we now know, we repudiate Christ’s sacrifice and are left on our own to face the Judgment—and a mighty fierce judgment it will be! If the penalty for breaking the law of Moses is physical death, what do you think will happen if you turn on God’s Son, spit on the sacrifice that made you whole, and insult this most gracious Spirit? 

This is no light matter. God has warned us that he’ll hold us to account and make us pay. He was quite explicit: “Vengeance is mine, and I won’t overlook a thing” and “God will judge his people.” Nobody’s getting by with anything, believe me. (Hebrews 10:26-31, The Message Bible)

The fourth misconception held by all ten virgins is that we are each individually responsible for the oil. Focusing on the oil is both foolish and fatal. It leads one into the darkness, it leads one away from the light. It turns one’s back on the open door of grace. The good news—the gospel—is that it’s not about the oil: It’s about the invitation. It’s about the open door. The wait is over. The bridegroom is here. Simply come on in. 

The oil then is the oil of service, the distribution of the gifts of the Spirit. To whom much is given, much is required. But how much oil you have is of no significance to God: 

But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
 what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
 be compassionate and loyal in your love,
 And don’t take yourself too seriously—
 take God seriously. (Micah 6:6-7)The Message)

He has told you, mortal one, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8, NASB) 

How can I stand up before God
 and show proper respect to the high God?
 Should I bring an armload of offerings
 topped off with yearling calves?
 Would God be impressed with thousands of rams,
 with buckets and barrels of olive oil?
 Would he be moved if I sacrificed my firstborn child,
 my precious baby, to cancel my sin? 

“What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8, The Message Bible)

The fact is that how much you all you have is of no significance to God. No amount of oil, not even rivers and buckets of oil, is good enough. Putting your all, everything you have, on the altar of sacrifice is never enough. Recall the story of Abraham, who put his own son, his heritage, and everything about his future on the altar. It’s never enough. You need God’s grace. 

If you need God’s grace, if you’re down to your very last drop of oil, if you’re low in Holy Spirit, ask! There is a miraculous response waiting. Don’t take things into your own hands. That’s an insult to the Holy Spirit. The Covenant has already been paid for in blood. Oil is abundant. The Holy Spirit is unlimited. Grace is plentiful, copious, ample, profuse, rich, lavish, liberal, generous, and (did I mention?) it’s free. 

So I’d like your thoughts today about oil, about the Holy Spirit, about the abundance of oil, and about oil never running out in the Scriptures, what compels people to turn their back on the open door and to head out on their own into the darkness? And what about why religion seems to emphasize the oil rather than the invitation? About oil and service? About oil and salvation? What are your thoughts today about this subject of oil. 

Robin: I would just like to say that if I had to leave the class right now I feel like the Holy Spirit has filled you with this message this morning.

Anonymous: Amen. Amen. Amen. All I can say, Thank You, Lord. There’s nothing else can be said. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Lord. This is amazing. His Holy Spirit—free! His grace, His love, His provision. He’s a jealous God! He doesn’t want us to go anywhere else. Just be mine. That’s all he wants from us. Oh, my God. Thank you Dr. Weaver.

C-J: I agree with what was just said, and it’s very humbling when anybody who walks with God realizes what that really means. It’s just an incredible sense of grace. In the last couple of weeks, I have  been reading the book of Daniel and all that he went through. Yet he always chose to be the model, the witness of his relationship with God, even if it meant going into a furnace, a lions den, certain death. He still stood in that. It was more than a conviction. It was the relationship. He trusted it. 

In the last couple of weeks, it’s been a trial, but I’ve had this incredible peace. As I was going through it, and seeing how God moves the waters afterwards, and being an instrument, just a tool, that I could easily take the term “holy spirit” and exchange it for the word “grace.” They are interchangeable, interwoven, and the Holy Spirit is the personage, but grace is the action. I don’t know if that’s accurate. All I knew was that when things could have gone very, very badly for me, I stood there with such peace. People said, “Well, that was pretty courageous.” And I’m like, “No.” I had absolute peace. I felt like God was standing right next to me. 

Before I really came into right relationship (and I and I still work at that—it’s never done!) I am just constantly amazed that if we see through the lens that God has given us by the Holy Spirit, God is everywhere, in everything, no matter what we look at. And we go, “This just can’t happen. This is not good.” But God is in control. 

It is just amazing to me. Thank you again. I agree. I agree. Thank you so much, Dr. Weaver, for what you allow us to experience here and everybody who participates. Thank you.

Donald: Certainly there’s testimony, and I certainly also appreciate the weekly opportunity to be with you all. The time Don must put into sharing these thoughtful, careful studies of spirituality. 

I took maybe a little bit more simplistic approach to the conversation this morning. I just was thinking that God actually speaks in the metaphors of the elements of this earth. Oil is not an element, but fire is, and water is, and air is. With air you have breath, and we can relate that to our spirituality. Fire certainly is Holy Spirit, I believe. And water is used to baptize and to cleanse. I think that’s fascinating. 

Oil can be a source for fire. When you go down to the shop and buy some oil for your lamp, what kind of oil are you actually buying? Are you buying oil based out of the earth, or seed oil? Where’s the source of this oil in the Middle East? We know there’s plenty of fossil oil. But I presume that these lanterns have been filled with oil from seeds—from olives primarily. Can you burn olive oil? Yes, but the temperature has to be much more intense. 

All that being said, if you burn oil it provides light. Light is not something you can keep to yourself. Light is shared. You can’t contain it. I think all the metaphors that are within this parable and within the Bible certainly add a dimension to how we come to understand our spiritual matters. 

Don: A miraculous piece of it is that they’re in the middle of the wilderness, nomads wandering the desert. How do they have enough oil to keep the lamp continuously burning? Again it shows that it’s not our ingenuity that keeps things going; it’s a miracle

Donald: Water would be in necessity as well as they move through the wilderness.

Don: And it miraculously comes from the rock!

Reinhard: The parable is about oil needed to give the energy for the lamp. The lamp is needed to light the way through the streets to the wedding venue. Oil does have other purposes—medicinal, and so on—and is used as a metaphor for the Holy Spirit. But the purpose of the oil in this story is to give light. Light shows the source of our goodness—the world surrounding us. We cannot put our light under a bushel: We have to be the light of the world. As the psalmist wrote: 

Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path. (Psalms 119:105)

I think God wants to teach us through the parable that we must keep the light burning in our life, so that the Spirit of God is always manifested in our own life, in our actions, so that we bring light to other people, bring them to God, witness to them the goodness of God. 

When Jesus left the earth he talked about the Holy Spirit being endowed for special occasions, but even in the Old Testament, God gave his spirit to his people to guide them:

 And I will put My Spirit within you and bring it about that you walk in My statutes, and are careful and follow My ordinances. (Ezekiel 36:27) 

The oil represents the Holy Spirit in the parable. The Holy Spirit in us shines light through our actions and our conduct. We will be accountable one day for the proper use of our oil and our faith, and as followers of Christ that means to share the light with those around us.

Don: Why do we so easily fall into the business of tending to the oil rather than worrying about the invitation? 

Anonymous: Does it say in the parable that the ten virgins were invited?

Don: No, but the fact that they were there certainly suggests they were invited. They were bridesmaids. They wouldn’t just show up, I think, without an invitation. 

Anonymous: It’s the custom in the Middle East that everybody is welcome at a wedding—nobody has to be invited. However I think the main invitation is the sacrifice of Jesus. He invited all of us. Even before that—we’re all invited to believe, to be in the body of Christ. That’s the invitation I would say, not in the parable.

Don: We seem to always concentrate on the oil, on not having enough of it. It impressed me as I was thinking and studying scripture that there are multiple references to the abundance of oil—it never runs out. But I could not find any verses where people became disadvantaged because the oil ran out. If you’re down to your last drop, it takes a miracle. 

At the original Hanukkah, the menorah candles burned for eight days on only a single day’s supply of oil. In another story, oil keeps pouring out until there are no more buckets to fill. Yet we’re so worried about the oil!

Donald: There’s something to do with works here. We feel it’s our responsibility to accomplish certain things and to do right, and if we do our best then we will have access to eternal life. It’s our effort. I think we downplay grace. We talk much more about works. We’re comfortable with that—we think we need to earn it.

C-J: I agree. People will make a comment about people who follow the Christian faith, like, “You’re good.” No, they don’t understand that it isn’t me, the person, or even my choice. It’s just that the spirit hopefully is so full in me that when you look at it, you know there’s something different there. My desire is always for someone to say, “Tell me more about this relationship? How does that work? I know that I am unworthy, and there are things I don’t want to give up.” 

“Don’t worry about it. God takes care of that. That’ll be plucked out of you and replaced with something else and you won’t even question it. Yes, you’ll have to make that decision periodically, but it won’t be your effort. The restoration process may be uncomfortable, but what you get back is priceless. After a while it is: ‘I delight to do thy will, oh Lord.’” 

And that’s what bears witness. That’s the grace. They can see through a different lens, they see that light. It’s not that they see the flesh—they see that spirit. That’s what separates people in this faith. It is the Spirit of God that transforms this dimension, all these elemental things, all this temporal world. It is God’s Holy Spirit. Always ready to restore. 

Michael: But it’s important to emphasize (as I think Dr. Weaver and Donald were saying) that religions tend to give us the image that the oil is restricted, that there isn’t enough to go around, and that you can show your oil by working for it. 

A sociologist called Max Weber blamed the rise of capitalism on the Calvinist movement, which held that only a specific number of people could go to heaven. Calvin counted himself among them, but to show that they were going to heaven, his followers tended to work hard, saved throughout their entire lives, did not waste their money, were frugal capitalists. They were trying to say: “We have God’s grace, we have been blessed. This is the evidence, and that’s how we know we are also going to heaven.”

I don’t think it’s a new type of thinking but has been going on in religion for a very long time, not just in Christianity but in all religions, where we show off to other people that we not only have this oil but that we made it ourselves.

Carolyn: I’m sure they had plenty of olive trees in the Garden of Eden, but when Adam and Eve were expelled, I wonder when the Holy Spirit first started to fill people? The Holy Spirit is so important to us and it goes hand in hand with grace, but when did it start? Were all the people before the New Testament not blessed as we are? Could they not just ask for the Holy Spirit? After all, it comes so readily to us.

David: We often joke about my desire to edit the Bible down to basics. To me, the passages read today represent a perfect target for the editorial red pen, with their voluminous and, it seems to me, irrelevant detail about oil. In the very last passage Don read, Micah summed up my position beautifully: 

Would God be impressed with … buckets and barrels of olive oil? … [H]e’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don’t take yourself too seriously— take God seriously. (Micah 6:6-8, The Message)

And that is exactly what Jesus said! It’s the golden rule: Love God and love your neighbor. That’s all. Barrels of oil have nothing to do with it. 

I was moved by the enthusiasm those verses (the ones I would cut) inspired in Anonymous and Robin and CJ, so my edited-down Bible would not work for them. That the full Bible brings them (and many, many others) spiritual uplift is wonderful and I would not wish to deny anyone that. 

But what seems important to the Christian in me is what Jesus said about loving one’s neighbor. Enough said, it seems to me.

Reinhard: We concentrate on the oil because that’s the core of the story. As we prepare for the end of time, once we have the Holy Spirit, we have what we need. 

God said: “I will put My Spirit within you and bring it about that you walk in My statutes, and are careful and follow My ordinances. (Ezekiel 36:27) The Holy Spirit was in action even in the Old Testament.  Your word is a lamp to my feet  And a light to my path. (Psalms 119:105) We become one with the Light as a result of the oil. That’s what we need for our preparation; it’s really important for us to be invited.

Donald: So the oil itself is really not the product. The product is what it produces—a fruit of the Spirit. 

I’ve never pondered the question Carolyn asked. Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden and were on their own. Did they hate God at that moment? Were they still trying to seek Him? Were they trying to figure out what happened? They knew they had broken a command of God. What was their life like on the outside of the garden of Eden? 

C-J: They were asking a lot of questions, just like children who are growing up and have language and understand experiences. I think that leaving the garden, we put it in the context of they sinned against God by disobeying God, but the process of growing up and having mature relationships is a process of trial and error. We learn about ourselves when we are in relationship with others, and sometimes that’s uncomfortable. It’s painful. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I truly love you. I didn’t understand. Tell me more.”

The relationship in the garden is like a parent. It’s protective. It’s caring. It’s nurturing. But when they went out, their relationship automatically was going to mature; not in terms of us versus God, but that this relationship was going to change. The expectation was: “It’s not done just because you walked away. Your job is going to be enlarged. You’re going to go out.” We already know—the Bible tells us—there were other people living around what we call the garden of Eden, because some went and took a wife, but they weren’t in this fold of relationship, according to the traditions of how we consider the Hebrew faith was developed. 

At least that’s my understanding. So I think if anything, Adam and Eve really had to look at each other, and at their relationship with God and their children and the communities around them. They were no longer protected like in the garden. Their relationship could not mature any more within the garden. God wanted them to know this in the fullness of who God is, in adversity and in peace. Does that make sense?

Michael: I think right now we can say that we’re living the life of Adam and Eve after they were expelled but it’s still a bit hard to understand grace. 

I want to ask a basic question that will sound a little weird. Whenever we say “It’s about others. It’s about loving others and doing good for others” why don’t we ask: “Why isn’t it about me? Why isn’t it about something else? Why is it about others?” I know it’s weird question.

Don: The answer is not easy, but I think we’ll touch on this when we talk about the fourth parable where Jesus says, “If you’ve done it unto the least of these, my brother, you’ve done it unto me.” There’s a sense in which taking care of others has something to do with coming to be known by God.

We still have the final little act in this second parable, when the foolish virgins arrive back at the feast to find the door shut and they are unrecognizable to the householder. What does that mean? How do they become unrecognizable? 

Anonymous: I just thought of Zechariah 4:1-14 talking about the vision of two olive trees and oil going to the two lamps. That’s another picture of the abundance of the Holy Spirit. It’s running straight from the tree to the lamp and there’s no way it can be stopped. 

That’s another example to add to those mentioned earlier. 

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