Table

You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me . . . 

 - From the 23rd Psalm

In the Old Testament, you frequently come across references to spreading a table out, to eat.

Dinners were very prominent in the Old Testament. In the Middle East, still today, the idea of sitting down to eat, is a very important cultural element. 

When it was time to celebrate, when families came together, when major work had been completed . . . and when difficult negotiations needed to be made, they would sit down to eat.

Contemporary satire about how horrible dinners notwithstanding, for most people, the happiest and most agreeable of times, are when we gather together to eat.

I used to think this passage in the most famous Psalm, was about gorging ourselves, while our enemies sat outside, probably cold, and maybe at a lower elevation; looking up at us, with envy and guilt for how they mistreated us. But I'm inclined to look at it differently now. 

Not only does God guide us safely through troubled times; He goes with us when we must traverse right down the middle of enemy territory. But He does more than that.

With our enemies nearby, perhaps with the weapons out, God Himself prepares a table for us, and them. He Himself invites them to sit down and fellowship with us. 

You see, God wants reconciliation. He actually wants His children to get along. Doesn't it bring you joy to have your family over for dinner, and to have all of them sitting across the table from you? Isn't it sweeter still, when they had been at odds with one another?

The 23rd Psalm isn't just about peace for the writer, or the reader. It shares a message of peace for everybody. 

Invite your enemy over for dinner.