By Guest Blogger Penny Cave.
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning;
Give me oil in my lamp, I pray.
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning;
Keep me burning till the break of day.
Many of you may remember singing that chorus in church years ago. Maybe it was a Sunday evening fellowship service or weeknight revival. This song was a staple in our chorus booklet in the church where I grew up. I can still hear the joyful refrain –
Sing Hosanna – Sing Hosanna – Sing Hosanna to the King of Kings!
The ladies with the higher voices would hold onto each “Sing” and climb the scale as all others chimed in with the rest of the words. Those were happy times many moons ago. I never really asked what it meant, but I have to admit I didn’t understand the song much. What was this oil and lamp? Why was it so important for me to keep it burning?
As one of the teachers in our church, a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to teach on the Parable of the Ten Virgins. For those who don’t know, this is one of the parables Jesus told to His followers to illustrate how to spiritually prepare for His Second Coming. Found in Matthew 25, the parable tells of an imaginary wedding where ten virgins, or bridesmaids, are awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom. Five are wise, and five are foolish. Their job is to wait for the bridegroom to arrive and then use their lamps to light the way for him as he enters the wedding banquet. No one knows when he will arrive. The wise bring extra oil with them just in case the bridegroom is delayed, which, of course, is what happens. The five foolish are not prepared for his delay and have no extra oil to keep their lamps lit. As a result, they are locked out of the wedding feast.
Such a sad ending to the story for those who weren’t prepared. The moral of the story is to always be prepared because we do not know the day or hour that the Lord will return.
But, again, that story doesn’t answer my question – what is this lamp and oil?
The idea of the lamp and oil goes back to the Old Testament. In the book of Exodus, we are told of the lamp at the Tabernacle and how God instructed the Israelites to make it.
Exodus 25: 31 – 40 “Make a lamp stand of pure gold. Hammer out its base and shaft and make its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms, of one piece with them. Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lamp stand – three on one side and three on the other. Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches extending from the lamp stand. And on the lamp stand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. One bud shall be under the first pair of branches extending from the lamp stand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair – six branches in all. The buds and branches shall all be of one piece with the lamp stand, hammered out of pure gold. Then make its seven lamps and set them up on it so that they light the space in front of it. Its wick trimmers and trays are to be of pure gold. A talent of pure gold is to be used for the lamp stand and all these accessories. See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
This passage gives us detailed instructions for creating the golden lamp stand – the menorah. Think of the beauty of this lamp and the care that God took in describing the intricacies. It was made of pure gold shaped to look like an almond tree – another of God’s creations. And it was filled with pure olive oil. In Leviticus 24: 1 – 4, The Lord said to Moses, “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning continually. Outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps before the Lord from evening till morning, continually. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. The lamps on the pure gold lamp stand before the Lord must be tended continually.”
Why was the light so important? If we jump to the New Testament we learn more about the light.
Jesus was speaking to the people around him in John 8:12 when he said, “I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
He also said in John 12:46, “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”
Jesus is the Light of the World, and His Light continually burns for all to be led to Him. His Light continually burns!
That brings to mind another old hymn:
The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin;
The Light of World is Jesus.
Like sunshine at noonday, His glory shone in;
The Light of the World is Jesus.
Come to the Light, ’tis shining for thee,
Sweetly the Light has dawned upon me.
Once I was blind, but now I can see.
The Light of the World is Jesus.
How blessed we are to have these reminders that He is the Light of the World!
But then in Matthew 5:14 – 16, Jesus turns it around on us and tells us, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.”
Jesus knew that He would return to the Father in Heaven after His death and resurrection. He knew that His followers would have to continue on without Him. For all people, we need to believe that His Light is going to continue to burn.
In I Thessalonians 5:5 Paul tells the Gentiles, “For you are all children of light and children of the day and you are not children of the night, neither children of darkness.”
Not only was the Light being passed on to the Jews but also to the Gentiles. Jews and Gentiles alike are the Light of the world. And if we are to be Light for all others we must keep that Light burning continually.
“This little light of mine – I’m gonna light it shine!”
This question that remains is how? How do we keep it burning – shining?
We have to keep its vessel filled – not with olive oil – but with what the olive oil represents – the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is what keeps our light going – The Holy Spirit keeps our lamp lit.
Remember those ten virgins. Five brought plenty of oil with them so they would be prepared in case the bridegroom was delayed. The other five did not prepare for His delay, and they were left out. What a terrible shame!
Why is the oil so important? For several reasons –
In the Old Testament, we see that the oil was used for anointing. Aaron and his sons were anointed and consecrated so they could serve as priests. We are told in Exodus 30: 30 -32, “This shall be my anointing oil throughout your generations. It shall not be poured on the body of an ordinary person, and you shall make no other like it in composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.”
The oil represented something very special – but what?
In 1 Samuel 16: 13, we see that kings were anointed with the oil. “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.”
Wait a minute – the Spirit of the Lord – was that in the oil?
Again, digging a little deeper, we learn that Prophets were anointed with oil.
2 Kings 2:9 – “When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.’ And Elisha said, ‘Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.’”
A double portion – of the Holy Spirit. How cool would that be!
Where did they get the idea that the oil represented the Holy Spirit?
The name Messiah in Hebrew means – the Anointed One. In Luke 4: 18 Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Whenever the person was anointed, the Holy Spirit came upon that person.
But this was for the Jewish people. What about us, the Gentiles?
The Apostle Paul wrote to the people of Galatia who were primarily Gentiles. In Galatians 3:14 he wrote, “He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”
Those, who are not Jewish, were promised the Holy Spirit as well.
Paul also wrote to the Ephesians. They were also made up of Jewish and Gentiles, but the majority of the people were Gentiles. He said to them in Ephesians 1: 13 – 14, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession — to the praise of His glory.”
God promised to pour out His Spirit on ALL people. And on the day of Pentecost that’s exactly what happened. The power of the Holy Spirit is displayed throughout the Bible and that power comes to ALL who believe in Jesus Christ.
So what’s the connection? With the Holy Spirit, each one receives specials gifts.
1 Corinthians 12: 7-11 says, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”
There is also Fruit of the Spirit.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23).
You see, when we keep our lamps burning, we are keeping them filled with the Holy Spirit. Just like the lamp is the vessel that contains the oil, our body is the vessel that contains the Holy Spirit.
How do we keep our lamp burning?
We keep it filled with the oil of the Holy Spirit. We do the deeds and the work of the Holy Spirit. Walking and living in the Spirit keeps that oil burning, but when we don’t live by the Spirit or walk in His ways the oil stops flowing and the light goes out. When we keep our lamps burning we receive eternal life – we get to enter into the banquet with the bridegroom.
Galatians 6:8, “Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
So, how about you? Is your lamp filled with oil?
No one knows when the Bridegroom will come. If He came today, even right now, would your lamp be burning bright for Him to see? He has given us the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us. Why not fill up your lamp?
Fill-a me up, Come-a Holy Spirit
Fill-a me up to the top-a my soul.
Fill-a me up, Come-a Holy Spirit
Fill-a me up now and take control.