You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my
cup overflows (Psalm 23:5)
When I was in junior high school, the boy next door
and I seemed to get along with each other very well. We talked and did a
few things together, but then my family moved to another place and he
and I lost touch until high school, that is, and three things had
changed when we met again. Both of us had been about the same size in
junior high, but then I quit growing and he had never stopped
getting wider and taller. He seemed literally twice my size! The second
problem was that our previous friendship was over. It was more than
dislike he actually seemed to hate the very ground I walked on. And
the third problem was that he now had a lot of friends and all of them
seemed to find me annoying just like he did!
One day it all came to a head. I was walking across
the high school yard and suddenly he was in front of me, challenging
me to a fight. Many of his friends were surrounding us in one of those
donut-shaped circles, and they all seemed to be smiling as they yelled
at him to tear me apart. There were problems for me. First, it
didnt look like I had any chance of surviving longer than the next few
moments, and second, I never thought that fighting made any sense.
Whatever the reason for his hatred, I sincerely believed that fighting
settled nothing. It decided who was stronger, but didnt reveal who was
right. It seemed like there was no justice at all in a fist fight. But
there he was, producing a lot of adrenalin and here I was, producing
none. I looked around and saw that I was in the presence of my
enemies.
He screamed something that sounded like, Lets
fight! and I decided that all this was truly stupid. I looked him
in the eyes and said, No! in a loud firm voice, and began to stride toward
the donut-people. They had been cheering him on to
squash me like a bug, but now they just looked surprised and moved aside
as I walked through them. I believe it was the Lord who parted them and
let me walk through and it did indeed feel like the Red Sea was opening
before me. Somehow, even though high school continued for several months
until we graduated, I never saw any of them again. The Lord had prepared
a table for me in the presence of my enemies. I was safe. We are safe
in Him.
We can reasonably expect that when we come to the
Lord, we will be His servant and give ourselves to Him for the rest of
our lives, not to mention our future life in eternity where joyful service
will never end. In the writings of those who were part of the Christian
Church, 2000 years ago, we find that many gave far more than most today
would think about. Clement of Rome wrote, We know many
among ourselves who have given themselves up to slavery in order that
they could ransom others. Many others have surrendered themselves to
slavery, so that with the price that they received for themselves, they
might provide food for others. Amazing, isnt it? In todays
world, it would be unthinkable to sell yourself into a life
of slavery so the needs of others might be met. Yet many
did exactly that.
What we do not expect, is that HE, Almighty God,
is like a servant to us; attentive to our every need. As Jesus said,
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for
I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).
His yoke is easy because He bears it with
us and for us. As todays Scripture reports about the intentions of God
for our lives: You prepare a table before me in
the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my cup
overflows (Psalm 23:5).
To prepare a table is
astonishing because that is what the waiter who serves the food in a
restaurant does. We come to the restaurant and someone leads us to a
clean table set with serving utensils, along with spices and napkins. A
waiter appears, writes down our requests so the cook will know what to
do, and then brings us the food. Are you thirsty? Ask him for water
and he will bring it. Do you need a napkin? Ask him and he will bring
one. But surely there must be a mistake, for how can our Lord be compared to
someone who waits on tables?
And then, even more astonishing is the statement in
our Scripture for today: You have anointed my
head with oil. The substance called oil
was mostly made from the fruit of olives and it was very expensive. It
was a key part of the diet of Mediterranean peoples, it was used for
lamps and was important for medicinal purposes. The body was anointed
with oil after bathing and used before wrestling and other sports in the Olympic
Games. But most important in the minds of those who lived at the
times when Scripture was written, such oil was used to
anoint kings and priests. And before you dismiss the idea that God would
regard you as a "king" or "priest" as utter
nonsense, consider Revelation 1:5-6, where it says, Jesus
Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler
over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our
sins in His own blood, and has made us KINGS and PRIESTS to His God and
Father
David, who wrote Psalm 23:5, saw the enormity
of the words he wrote, and he understood a great deal about the Messiah,
the Christ who was to come. David was a prophet,
(Acts 2:29-30), who said about the One who would be our Savior, They
have pierced My hands and feetthey divide
My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots
(Psalm 22:16-18). King David was the lord of Israel, and yet he began
Psalm 110:1 with the surprising words, The Lord
says to my Lord He understood that his "Lord" had a "Lord." He knew
the Messiah would die for our sins, and he glimpsed something of what we
call the Trinity; that more than One can still be One. You could say
he was ahead of his time, but the reality is that he responded to the
Lord and therefore was given understanding.
And what was Davids response to all this? He said in
our verse for today, My cup overflows.
Because He had faith in the Lord he was given more than he or anyone
else could ever deserve. He experienced the grace, the unmerited favor
of God and he was overjoyed. To some extent it is precisely right that
our relationship with the Lord is one of service, but really it is the Lord who
serves us. There are forces arrayed against us that are greater than we
are and we cannot adequately defend ourselves. David saw that the Lord
is our Shepherd; He leads us, protects, restores and is with us forever. He
prepares a table for us in the presence
of our enemies. We are saved and we are safe because of
our Lord.
How has the Lord done this? The answer is through
service on the cross: He has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows He was wounded for our transgressions; He was
crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought
us peace, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone
astray, we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord has laid
on Him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:4-6).
The ground of our salvation is death and new life in our
Shepherd, Jesus Christ. He helps even those who reject Him, and we note
that His patient love brings many to faith in Him. Its time to
stop running like those sheep (who)
have gone astray, and trust in the Lord.
Dear Lord, forgive us for running away from the
Your love. We love You, and we trust in You now. Thank You. We praise
Your Holy Name. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Ron
Beckham, Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
First Church On The Net
www.FridayStudy.org
Ron@FridayStudy.org "While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us"
(Romans 5:8)
__________________________________________________
Donations to this ministry are greatly appreciated
and may be sent to:
Friday Study Ministries
P.O. Box 92131
Long Beach, CA 90809-2131 USA
