Who are the "dealers" of oil in the Parable of the 10 virgins?

[Woman of faith]

I was reading about the 10 virgins in Matthew 25:1-10 and I know that the "oil" symbolizes either the Holy Spirit or walking in the Holy Spirit. But who are the "dealers" that the foolish virgins are to buy their oil from? 

 "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed,they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry,‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to thewise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But thewise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and ⁱthose who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut." Matthew 25:1-10

 

[Dennis1209]

The KJV says "to them". The idea is that if the five wise virgins shared their lamp oil with them, there wouldn't be enough for all of them. And the wise virgins were not going to go without, because they were so foolish, go buy your own oil from a merchant (them, dealer, supplier, etc.)

And like you mentioned, this parable has a special spiritual application to it.

Edited April 12, 2019 by Dennis1209

[Who me]

17 hours ago, Woman of faith said:

I was reading about the 10 virgins in Matthew 25:1-10 and I know that the "oil" symbolizes either the Holy Spirit or walking in the Holy Spirit. But who are the "dealers" that the foolish virgins are to buy their oil from?

  And the foolish said to thewise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But thewise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 

 

If your understanding that the 'oil' represents the 'Holy Spirit'.

Then the 'Holy Spirit' can be bought and sold! Something Paul demonstrated forcible could not be done.

You cannot buy the Holy Spirit nor can you buy the ability to walk in the Holy Spirit.

Who ever taught you this does not know God, as they think God can be paid for.

[R. Hartono]

The moral of the story is The Oil, which means Annointment in daily life, forget about the dealers

 

[Michael37]

21 hours ago, Woman of faith said:

I was reading about the 10 virgins in Matthew 25:1-10 and I know that the "oil" symbolizes either the Holy Spirit or walking in the Holy Spirit. But who are the "dealers" that the foolish virgins are to buy their oil from? 

 "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed,they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry,‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to thewise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But thewise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and ⁱthose who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut." Matthew 25:1-10

Hi Woman of faith. I would like to assist you by clarifying the purpose and intent of this parable. Before we go off in search of types, parallels, and analogies we must be clear on the simple meaning, which is that those who are not ready to meet Christ when He comes will be excluded from His kingdom. Everything else about the parable is secondary to this meaning, and care must be taken not to draw conclusions that are not there.

The parable is about a bridegroom coming for his bride, but the 10 virgins are NOT his bride. The parable is also about waiting for the bridegroom, but again the 10 virgins are not the bride but serve to attend the bride, 5 of them wisely prepared for the groom's arrival, and 5 foolishly unprepared. The parable doesn't lend itself easily to the typology of the Holy Spirit in all its aspects, but analogies can be made about the need for oil if lamps are to provide light and the need for the Holy Spirit if Christians are to illuminate the darkness of the world.

While we can draw a parallel between the saved and unsaved with those who have the oil of the Holy Spirit and those who do not, and rightly count the one to be ready for the return of Christ and the other not, we strain to suppose there is time for the unready to have access to saving grace let alone have any thing they can offer or trade to procure it, The parable is not intended to lead us beyond the natural to the spiritual in that regard, but an astute reader may ponder and meditate on this seeming paradoxical passage in Isaiah with which to encourage all and sundry not to be unprepared and too late for inclusion in the kingdom of heaven    

Isa 55:1-2
(1)  "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price.
(2)  Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
 

[listener24]

22 hours ago, Woman of faith said:

I was reading about the 10 virgins in Matthew 25:1-10 and I know that the "oil" symbolizes either the Holy Spirit or walking in the Holy Spirit. But who are the "dealers" that the foolish virgins are to buy their oil from? 

 "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed,they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry,‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to thewise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But thewise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and ⁱthose who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut." Matthew 25:1-10

 

If the oil is interpreted as the Holy Spirit, or the relationship with God, or similar things, then who are the dealers?

One thing that I have experienced is that walking daily with Christian people makes a huge difference.

Real Christians, obviously, not ones who sugarcoat the Gospel to make it lose all its salt.

So spending time with Christians is fundamental.

We don' t technically buy the oil with money.

But the intentional decision to walk with God, with His Scriptures and His Church, requires us to invest our mind, energy and time.

This is a way in which we can imagine the "currency" by which we buy oil.

"Love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength".

Every day we have 24 hours, our most precious currency.

As @Michael37 pointed out (brilliant answer), at the heart of this Parable there is timing, in particular being prepared in time for the day we will meet the Lord.

Will we invest it in spending time with God? Through reading the Bible, through edifying each other in the Church and to serve the unreached? Or will we spend it in the things of the world?

What will be our answer daily, weekly, and of a lifetime?

Edited April 13, 2019 by listener24

[Woman of faith]

Thank you for all your replies. I think you misunderstood my question. First, I don't think you can "buy" the Holy Spirit, @Who me. The passage is not to be taken literally. Just like all of Jesus' parables, he means to communicate an important principle to those with ears to hear. So, I am just trying to hear what he's saying. My understanding of oil here, and as it is mentioned throughout the Bible, is that it symbolizes the Holy Spirit. I understand that having enough "oil" means being prepared for Christ's return. But, still, in the text, the 5 wise virgins tell the foolish virgins to go to the "dealers" to get more oil. Jesus said it. He wouldn't say something in a parable without a reason. 

[frienduff thaylorde]

11 hours ago, R. Hartono said:

The moral of the story is The Oil, which means Annointment in daily life, forget about the dealers

 

Yep .  the moral lesson of that parable IS to be ready , prepared in Christ ,  for no man knows the hour of his coming nor the hour of their own death .

And the point of that parable is ,  IF one aint ready in Christ ,  ITS TOO LATE .    cause those other five did go and buy and yet when they came back , IT WAS TOO LATE .

The POINT is , BE YE READY for in an hour you think NOT ......................have those lamps are burning and watch and be faithful unto HE who has called us .

 

[Michael37]

9 hours ago, Woman of faith said:

But, still, in the text, the 5 wise virgins tell the foolish virgins to go to the "dealers" to get more oil. Jesus said it. He wouldn't say something in a parable without a reason. 

The picture is of a typical Jewish wedding. After the betrothal the groom goes back to his family estate and prepares rooms for his bride and himself to live in after their wedding, if necessary building on to or up from existing dwellings if not constructing a new one. When all is ready he and his attendants travel to the bride's place, often a great distance, and usually a shofar is blown to announce their arrival and a shout will go up to alert the bride's household and party. The bride and her attendants are expected to be ready for this, having purchased beforehand all that is necessary. The wise virgins cannot share their oil as then none of them will have enough and the celebrations will be adversly affected. Naturally the wise virgins, these ladies in waiting who do not symbolise the ekklesia or the "bride of Christ" but are simply fulfulling their duty to wait on the bride, naturally they will tell the foolish virgins to buy more olive oil from whomever has some to sell. Any Jew with an olive tree and an olive press would most likely have some on hand, and some might actually be in the business of supplying olive oil. 

To suggest a spiritual aspect to the natural business of buying oil when none is intended is foolish.

[Woman of faith]

12 hours ago, Michael37 said:

To suggest a spiritual aspect to the natural business of buying oil when none is intended is foolish.

I sincerely wanted to know the answer to this question. I now understand that there are some things in the Bible we will never completely understand. 

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 1 Cor.13:12 

 

I was hoping to get some insight into this question that I have but I did not get that. Instead, I was lectured about being prepared for Christ's return, which I think I already am, and to stop being foolish.  I know now that this is not the place to ask any questions. 

 

God bless you all. And I sincerely mean that.