Isaiah 29:6

She quickly changed her mind. She saw that he wanted to be with her. And she decided to open the door. But it took time for her to put on her dress again. And when, at last, she had opened the door for him, she was too late.

Again, she had made a wrong, foolish decision. She had delayed for much too long. And the result was that she had lost her opportunity to be with him.

It is interesting to compare this story with Jesus’ story in Matthew 25:1-13. Jesus’ message was that people must always be ready for his return.

This woman was not ready for the man’s return, and that caused her many troubles. But there will be much, much worse troubles for those people who are not ready for Jesus’ return. In time, this woman managed to deal with her troubles. But if people are not ready for Jesus’ return, they will never be able to deal with their troubles.

The *Lord’s appearance will be like that in Elijah’s experience (see 1 Kings 19:11-12).