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A Table

           You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies...  (NIV)

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies... (KJV)

Psalm 23: 5

One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” (Job 1:6-7)

The idea that God prepares a table before me in the presence of me enemies has always seemed to me to be strange. Psalm 139 has a similar detour. We were having such a nice time with God and now we’ve got enemies hanging about and we’re slogging our way through valleys of the shadow of death. I want to make the same foolish suggestion that Peter did on the mount of the transfiguration. “Uh, Jesus, how about I make a shelter for You… Let’s just stay here and not deal with valleys and enemies.”

But just as with valleys, this psalm makes it clear that we have enemies and that God doesn’t remove them from our lives. Instead, He seems content to be hospitable just when we think it’s time for lightning bolts to start flying. He asks Satan where he’s been, and what he thinks of Job. He prepares tables for us in the presence of our enemies. He goes so far as to command us to love our enemies. Is the table set for us, or for us and our enemies? If we are protected by the Shepherd’s rod and staff, we don’t have to worry if the Shepherd also feeds some jackals or lions. They’re no danger to Him, and therefore no real danger to us. How graciously could – or would - we behave if we didn’t feel the need to protect ourselves? Could we greet our enemies as if they were at least casual friends, asking (as God asked Satan) about where he’d been and what he’d seen rather than seeking the means to destroy them or pitching a fit that the enemy dared darken our door?

And, of course, not all our enemies are persons (physical or spiritual.) It may be that most of our enemies aren’t living, but they are those things that take steal our thoughts away from God: the bad job, the bank balance, a loved one’s health, our weight, our to do lists – all the things that seem so important but that steal our joy and our time with God. God prepares a table in the presence of all that – but can we set aside our battles for long enough to enjoy it or Him?

With my current job (which I like) this is one of the struggles. I get so distracted by all the things I “need” to do in the short time I have each day to complete all that I think I must. Can I feast at the table God has set before me? Or am I too busy trying to be a Super-Martha (even invading God’s “kitchen” to direct the activities there?)

 No, clearly, this passage is – or can be – more of what has gone before. It’s all about trust. Maybe that’s because trust is an issue for me. But are we going to trust God to sit at the table He’s set before us in the presence of our enemies?

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