You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Psalms 23:5
You prepare—
“Prepare” is a primitive root that means placing something in order, arranging, or setting up. The applications can include setting a battle in an array, comparing, or directing.[i] It can also mean to ordain, handle, furnish, esteem, or equal.[ii]
Think of this. God “prepares” this table for you and for me in the presence of our adversary, whomever that might be. It is the picture, by definition, that gives us strategies with which we can face our enemy, knowing we are ordained and equipped for the momentary battle in a war already won.
A table—
By implication, this is a meal.[iii] However, it can also be considered a king’s table or a table for private or sacred uses.[iv] At the root, the word is “to send, send away, let go, or stretch out.”[v]
We sit with Jesus, our King, in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). We are invited to boldly come to Him when we need help (Hebrews 4:16). We find the plans and strategies at the table of the Lord in the secret place, a place our enemy cannot infiltrate. Yet, God does this for us amid the wiles of our enemy.
The root of this word suggests completeness to me. As He “stretches out” this table, I can trust He will stretch it to the exact measure required for my circumstance. Sometimes, it might be a table for two as He ministers to me in the sacred place. Other times, it might stretch beyond my reach as it is arrayed with plans, strategies, and tools with which He will send me out to claim victory over my enemy. It is the table of the Lord, a sacred space, a holy place.
Before me—
Interestingly, this plural word is always used as a singular. It means the face or the part that turns.[vi] The plural singular causes me to think of our triune God, three-in-One set a place before me, body, soul, and spirit—the singular plural—all of me. Whatever He sets before me ministers to and prepares the whole of me.
No place in me is hidden from Him. He knows; He sees every part. He knows the pain of my past and the fears of my present. He also knows how to heal every part of me. He does not heal just enough; He heals to the uttermost, preparing me with strength for whatever lies ahead. I know I can face the day or the circumstance because He prepares me at the table set before me.
In the presence—
The definitions of the word “presence” all boil down to the idea of “in front of,” but I like the phrase “in the sight of” as well as your view or purpose. This is so rich.[vii]
From the primitive root, it is to stand boldly out opposite, specifically to expose, predict, declare, be conspicuous, tell, and make known.
We begin in the secret place, but our strategy need not be in secret, for the battle is already won. Also, I wonder if you hear the prophetic bent in these definitions.
Of my enemies—
Interestingly, the primitive root of this word means “to cramp.” Other words associated are affliction, besiege, bind (up), bring distress, enemy, oppress, pangs, shut up, and vex.[viii]
The enemy likes to cramp my style, so to speak. He is intent on convincing me I am less than I am in Christ. He does this through distractions of worry, pain, resistance, and every other tool available to him. He is a liar from the beginning (John 8:44).
Yet, God sets a table before you and me with plans and strategies to defeat him right in front of him because he is no threat to our matchless God. He reminds him out loud that he is an already defeated foe, and his schemes can only come to nothing. This is why spending time in the sacred secret place is important.
You anoint—
The word used for “anoint” is another primitive root which means “to be fat, to fatten (or regard as fat).” I think of the old slang phrase “fat cat,” a wealthy, influential person, not a physically obese person —a prosperous person. Figuratively, it means “to satisfy.” A related word in action means “to take away the fat as in receiving the sacrifice.[ix] God commanded Israel to burn the fat on the altar. The fat of the sacrifice belonged to God (Exodus 23:18; Leviticus 4:8-9, 19).
Within these definitions is the nuance of accepting one’s sacrifice and, at the same time, making one prosperous. There is a Divine transaction in the anointing. Through the laying down of one’s life, God accepts the offering and responds by applying more than enough—anointing of abundance—creating in us the wealth of spiritual blessings to supply all of our need.
My head—
This speaks of the physical head of a person. The word’s root suggests the “head is the most easily shaken.”[x] Though the word can be translated in many ways, “head” can mean leader, chief, mountain top, total, beginning, best, excellent, forefront, and more.[xi]
Consider, You anoint my forefront with abundance; my beginning is supplied with enough; You cause my excellent effort to prosper; You supply all of my need from my mind to my actions. You are enough.
I also pondered the helmet of salvation, which is placed upon the head (Ephesians 6:17). In the presence of our enemies, God anoints our head with fatness. Our salvation is so abundant it stands in the face of enemy advancement with full confidence and assurance that we have everything we need to overcome. Our salvation is sure. He cannot rob us of our eternal position. We are supplied with abundance to smile in the face of our enemy, knowing he is already defeated. Yes, Lord, anoint my head with fatness in the face of my enemy.
With oil—
This oil is oil often perfumed. It again carries the definition of “fat.”[xii] However, what I notice in the definitions of the two uses of “fat” is the first, “anoint,” is the act of fattening while the second, “oil,” speaks to becoming. The primitive root is to “shine.”[xiii]
The Holy Spirit is represented by oil in scripture. Jesus instructed His disciples to stay in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came upon them (Luke 24:49). Jesus said to them after His resurrection, just before His ascension, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). He also said, “These signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:17, 18). This sounds like fatness to me. Once the Holy Spirit was poured out on His disciples, they became the Apostles and witnesses He had ordained them to be.
You anoint my head with becoming the fulfillment of whom You created and called me to be by Your Holy Spirit dwelling in me. Thank you, Jesus. Help me step into the me You created me to be, full of the fatness of heaven.
My cup—
The word for “cup” can mean bag, cup, or purse. It is from an unused root meaning “to hold together.”[xiv] The bag can carry supplies or weights of measure. The cup contains supply and sustenance, both physical and spiritual. Purse holds prosperity. It is encouraging to realize that “holding together” means that no matter how abundantly supplied He makes us, we have the capacity to carry it. Our bag/cup/purse will hold together under the weight and glory made available to us.
Runs over—
The simplest term is to satisfy, but it is not enough. This word means to saturate, bathe, fill, and soak. It quenches all thirst.[xv]
When we take this definition with “cup” above, we find that God supplies us abundantly beyond our expectations to bring us richness in all our physical, spiritual, and financial needs. Rightly did Isaiah say, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me” (Isaiah 54:17).
You prepare (ordain, put to battle in array, direct) a feast at Your sacred and private table (King’s table) before my face in the face of my adversary, distress, affliction. You can lay out the plan before the enemy’s eyes because he is already defeated. It does not matter whether or not he sees the strategy or plan because he is powerless to respond against Your will.
You accept the ashes of my sacrifice and satisfy me with abundance, blessing, and prosperity. This anoints my head (mountain, stars, city, nation, place, family, church) with perfumed olive oil—richness—it is the fruit gained in the valley.
My cup or money bag overflows to satisfy thirst and saturate my every need and desire, physical, spiritual, and financial, as well as emotional. Where my enemy plots my demise, You prosper me in every way right before his eyes. It is the communion of a willing sacrifice and life lived for You.
[i] J. Strong. Strong’s Dictionaries, e-Sword Bible study software. e-sword.net.
[ii] F. D. Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs, The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English
Lexicon, e-Sword Bible study software. e-sword.net
[iii] J. Strong. Strong’s Dictionaries, e-Sword Bible study software. e-sword.net.
[iv] F. D. Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs, The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English
Lexicon, e-Sword Bible study software. e-sword.net
[v] ibid.
[vi] J. Strong. Strong’s Dictionaries, e-Sword Bible study software. e-sword.net.
[vii] F. D. Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs, The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English
Lexicon, e-Sword Bible study software. e-sword.net
[viii] J. Strong. Strong’s Dictionaries, e-Sword Bible study software. e-sword.net.
[ix] ibid.
[x] ibid.
[xi] F. D. Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs, The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English
Lexicon, e-Sword Bible study software. e-sword.net
[xii] ibid.
[xiii] ibid.
[xiv] J. Strong. Strong’s Dictionaries, e-Sword Bible study software. e-sword.net.
[xv] ibid.