High Table

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies   Psalm 23:5

Table – What kind of table does God prepare for those who walk uprightly (take a peek at Psalm 84:11)?  It’s not a trivial question.  And it’s not about the table construction.  Wood, glass, steel – it doesn’t matter.  The word David chooses is not about the kind of table but rather about the rank of the table.

If you visited an Oxford University college, you might be invited to dine at High Table.  High Table is the place in the dining hall where the professors and dignitaries sit.  It is usually higher than the rest of the tables in the hall.  The finest foods and wines are reserved for the guests at high table.  High Table dining is a recognition of privilege and status. 

If you take a cruise on an ocean liner, you might be invited to sit at the Captain’s Table.  The same rules apply.  Captain’s Table is not for everyone.  Only special, invited people sit at the Captain’s Table.

David uses the Hebrew word shulchan.  Of course, the word can mean just an ordinary table.  But that is not what David has in mind.  David has a specific table in view, a table that ranked higher than High Table at Oxford or the Captain’s Table on the ship.  This shulchan is the table of the Lord, the very special place where God’s meal is arranged in the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:23).  David himself once ate from this table.  Now, in the presence of enemies, David sees that God invites us to dine with Him at His special table.  It is not just a table fit for an Oxford professor or a ship’s captain of even a king.  It is a table fit for the Lord of the universe.  And you are invited.

The meal is miraculous.  No good thing is withheld.  But it is not the meal that makes this table so incredibly special.  It’s the company at the table.  You are dining in the company of God.

When Jesus invited his guests to join Him at High Table, he displayed this psalm.  He served the bread and the wine in the presence of the Enemy and the Enemy was held at bay until the most important meal in the world was finished.  Yes, it’s true that the meal was not Beef Wellington and the wine was not Chateaux Margaux.  It was simply the Passover meal.  But that meal, eaten in the presence of the Lamb, was truly the Psalm 23 meal.  God has invited you to the highest table in the universe, to share a meal with the King of kings.  Sit.  Eat.  Enjoy His company.  That is the good life.