Since I wrote No Fear at the Table I have been meditating about what is on the table.
First, what is the table?
A banqueting table (Song of Solomon 2:4). A table set in the presence of my enemies (Psalm 23:5)!. A Passover table (Exodus 12). A Communion table (Matthew 26:26-28). The prelude of the table at the celebration feast of the wedding of the Lamb and His Bride, the church (Revelation 19:9).
What does it mean for it to be all these things? I’m not doing a deep theological study. These are my prayerful thoughts and what God is revealing to me as I listen and read His word.
Banqueting Table
A banqueting table is lavish, above and beyond. And it’s not just a banqueting table it’s a king’s, The King’s, banquet table. More than enough. Nicer than it “needs” to be. Everything about it is extraordinary. The quality, presentation – everything.
A Table in the Midst of Enemies
He sets this table for me right in front of my enemies! Why? It shows He’s not scared or intimidated and He doesn’t want me to be either. The enemy is there. God is not denying that or asking me to deny it. He is offering me a fabulous alternative to fear or even battle. God is inviting me to rest and feast at His table – right there in front of my enemies! I’m very much in the process of learning to do this. When I get a glimpse of what He has prepared and how He wants me to live fully free in Him – WOW! I’m enthralled!
Passover and Communion
The Passover table was the table where first God spared Israel in Egypt, then where Jesus showed how it was all about Him making the way for our deliverance. It where Jesus gave us the Communion table. A place to remember what He suffered but more so how that changed history, our history.
Wedding Feast
The wedding feast. I can’t even imagine it yet. I’m still working on what’s on the table in front of me right now.
At the Table
Realizing I sit at the table with my King, my Savior. I can, and often do, turn from the table and try to figure out what enemies are there and what to do about them. Or as He so graciously reminds me – I can turn back to Him, to the table, where He has given me everything I need.
Surrounded by enemies I sit bathed in His light and feasting at His table. What better place to be?
