In The Presence of My Enemies
"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies..." - Psalm 23:5
When we read this passage in Psalm 23, we think of being under siege or under attack by someone or something that is set out to harm us in some way. This is certainly a valid way of looking at it, I've often used it to encourage myself and to find peace in hard situations.
But today, let's look at it in terms of relationships. Let's look at those that might oppose you, those who condemn your belief, those who think you have done wrong, those who have offended us, or we have in some way offended them.
We see a lot of tables prepared in the story of Jesus. There are so many scenes of Him sitting at a table with what normally should have been enemies. There was the time He first went to Matthew's house, which was soon filled with other tax collectors. These were money-stealing traitors against the nation of Israel, enemies of the people, and Jesus was one of those people, yet he offered fellowship with them.
There was another time with Zacchaeus. We know He sat at table with Judas the betrayer, and Jesus called him friend. Jesus shared a drink with a Samaritan woman. Samaritans and Jews hated each other. He could have shunned her like any self-respecting Jew would do in those days. We know what the Pharisees thought of Jesus, yet He came to dine at the home of Simon the Pharisee. And remember the parable of the Lord preparing a feast, telling his workers to invite everyone. In Luke 14:13, Jesus tells us to invite those who never get an invitation and we will experience a great blessing in this life. I think He must have experienced this blessing many times during His time on earth.
When David mentions the table set before him, he had already spoken of being fulfilled, calmed, strengthened, unafraid, and comforted by God. The Lord had not only prepared the table for David, but He had prepared David for his enemies. Remember how, though King Saul tried relentlessly to kill David, David said, "Is there anyone left from the family of Saul to whom I can show some godly kindness?" (2 Samuel 9:1).
When David found one, he said, "You shall eat bread at my table continually."
Maybe the table set before us in the presence of our enemies isn't just for us to eat while our enemies look on. Maybe we can grow spiritually enough to look up from our table, and tell our enemies to come and dine. Maybe this love and grace we are learning about is making us big enough to be true ministers of reconciliation.
What a beautiful thought, that we can look to any that the Lord loves, and we can say "come and dine with me".