The Bridegroom is Coming - Lea Sylvester - http://www.omegaletter.com/articles/articles.asp?ArticleID=7960
Are you a Bride or are you a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ? Or are you both? We must daily fill our vessels, we must keep our lamps full with oil, the Living Word, to shine brightly before the King! We should be so intimate with the Lord that not only does one hear His voice without a doubt, but also has His Word written on the heart with the desire to be pure, spotless, without wrinkle or blemish. He too, knows you personally, intimately and intently. Your heart is Jesus' heart. You are one with our precious Messiah! Do not desire to be the least in His Kingdom! Desire to be at His feet, eternally!
"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made. Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." Matthew 25:1-13. (KJV)
The number one sign of immaturity in believers is that they are simply just waiting on the Lord. They are just sitting around waiting when there are thousands of things to do for the Kingdom of God. They are just waiting for Jesus to return. Certainly we are to be watching and ready for Him. But there are things to do in order to prepare oneself for His return.
There is a preparation. Many pastors and preachers teach "oh just get saved and you're in." This will be addressed later in this commentary. First, however; let's look at the "traditional" American wedding customs.
First there's the engagement. The man proposes to the woman. Then the bride begins to prepare for the wedding. There's much to do. She looks for a hall. She appoints her wedding attendants. She searches for her wedding gown. It has to be perfect. The flowers, the food, all have to be perfect for her day - her wedding. This is a big day for a woman; her wedding day. She desires to present herself with no wrinkle nor spot on her gown. She wants her groom to see her with no blemish, only beauty and perfectly presented to him on her wedding day.
Now, let's take a look at the Hebrew wedding customs.
First of all, the bride is chosen and she has to be a virgin. The man chooses her and they are engaged. They are separated for a year after this has been done. They do not see one another for the year. During this time, the bride is preparing herself for the wedding. That is all she is to do. When Jesus talked about the wedding, He referred to this. The soon-to-be bridegroom is busy. He is busy building a home and an income in order to prepare for the Bride. He sends his best man to see if his bride-to-be needs anything. This is prior to the wedding. Perhaps the best man comes back with a list and, if so, this is provided to the bride. The bridegroom is actually providing for his bride before the ceremony even takes place.
The bride is preparing; the bridegroom is preparing for her. This is beautiful. After the year is over or has passed, the father of the bride goes to the husband to be in order to inspect and to see if the man has done all to provide for his daughter, once the father approves he gives the okay. There is no set date for a wedding. This is in contrast to Western weddings. In the Jewish customs there is no date set. In Western or American customs a date is set and the bride knows when she will be married.
Even though the bride has no set date, she knows the time is near because the year is up. She knows her bridegroom will be coming for her but she doesn't know the exact date this will happen. She is waiting to hear the shout. And, it happens in the middle of the night. She waits and is prepared. She is watching and waiting expectantly and excitedly.
Do you see how Jesus related the wedding to the Jewish customs? He did this for their understanding as well as for ours today.
Being a servant and being a bride are different. If one studies the Word of God, this it is evident. There is a misconceived interpretation frequently taught taken from the parable of the five wise and the five foolish virgins. Many say (and teach or preach) that the five foolish are not saved or that they represent the unsaved.
Think about this and about the setting. All ten are together. If the five foolish virgins represent the unsaved, why would they be together with saved virgins; unbelievers, waiting for a bridegroom? They wouldn't be!The five that were wise were overfilled with the Word of God and with the Holy Spirit.
"There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up." Proverbs 21:20.
"For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life." Proverbs 6:23
What are these ten virgins holding? A lamp. There is a light, from where does it come? A wick.
When the bride enters the bridal chamber, which is expressed with the five wise virgins; they were prepared, purified, and their heart was intimate with Jesus. The five wise knew Him but the other five did not have enough oil to have intimacy with the Lord. They had not prepared, they had no intimate knowledge of Him. When Jesus said He didn't know them, it meant they did not seek to know Him with all their heart, soul, mind and body, so the door was shut. They could not enter into the marriage.
Back to the Jewish customs: once the bride and groom enter the wedding chamber, the door is shut for seven days. The bridegroom and the bride are not to be disturbed at all. After, the bridegroom comes out of the chamber and he literally announces that the bride is pure and has perfected herself for him. There is actually a crowd gathered at this time, awaiting the appearance of the bride and the groom. Then a huge celebration takes place; a wedding supper, or a feast.
When Jesus gave the parable, the foolish did not prepare themselves by washing daily. They were at the wedding supper. They were on the other side of the door with the guests. Why? Because they did not seek to have a relationship with Him. They did not take the time to prepare themselves to be the bride.
A servant is only a doer of the word and not a hearer (as in hear, understand, obey). The Word of God tells us we are to be both. God doesn't want only servants; He already has them, they are called angels. The definition of being a servant is to obey, serve others. It is to move into a deeper intimate relationship with the Lord that is also part of this process. Many do not move into this. They just stop there at being a servant. Many mighty say, "Just as long as I make it to heaven, I will be happy." They do not prepare themselves by being intimate with their Lord.
That is not God's intention. How easy would that be to just make it into heaven? He wants us to pour out ourselves all that is not of Him and fill ourselves, our lamps, with all that is of Him. It is continually seeking His face, filling ourselves with His oil (Holy Spirit) and going to the well in order to be replenished as we sit at His feet.
"Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her." Luke 10:38-42.
In the scripture Luke gave us, we can see that Martha was the servant and Mary was the bride. Mary is at the feet of her Lord, desiring that intimate relationship. She knew when to be in the presence of the Lord. She knew there would be time to serve. She wrapped herself around his feet when she had the opportunity.
So, we as believers, must be both servants and also perfect ourselves to be the Bride. We are told that Rebekah visited the well daily. She was so filled with God and with the Spirit, that when the messenger came to her and called for her she was ready because she had been prepared. Keeping in mind the Jewish wedding customs, when her parents heard Issac wanted her right then, they tried to talk her out of it.
But, Rebekah knew God's voice, she had visited that well daily. She obeyed when the messenger came. And look what she became out of her obedience to God!
The account of Rebekah and Issac is a beautiful love story. She is an example to show us how the Bride of Christ is to be.
Here are a few characteristics of The Bride: holy, pure, peculiar, stands out in a crowd, obedient to the Word of God, seeks a pure and divine relationship filled with intimacy with Him so that the the Father's voice is known in order to overcome and to endure.
Do we really want to be the least in the kingdom. Are we of the mindset, "I just want to make it as a servant or the bride?" Is this what we are striving to be? Or, do we want to be right at our King's feet?
Through every trial and tribulation in which we walk, we must never lean unto our own understanding but instead, to God's. He is purifying us to make us ready. Do not turn to the world with your problems, instead raise your hands and your hearts to the Lord who loves you. He wants those who know His voice. Let us all be so worthy to be that Bride!
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