Anointed

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over. Psalm 23: 5

This verse usually makes me feel confused. I have to re-read it a few times until… I can finally start to marvel on what it says.

I can’t really separate the three lines of the verse. I have to read them together in order to grasp its meaning. Otherwise I would be like, “what?” “Why would I want anyone to put me at a table in front of my enemies…really!?” And, by the way, where did the Good Shepherd go? Is this the Good Shepperd setting the table…a table I don’t want to be at?

Sigh… Like I said…I’m so confused!

I feel as if there is a different imagery going on in here. Somehow, the Shepherd is now clearly The Lord. No metaphor here. God is revealed in the figure of the Shepherd. He is the One who prepares that table in the presence of my enemies. I know…I don’t want to be there. I’m uncomfortable. I’m nervous. I’m afraid. Imagine if I’m still the sheep…well…sheep usually don’t seat at the table…they end up on the table, if you know what I mean? But He has prepared that table. Therefore, it must be good. Although the enemies don’t just disappear, He is with us as we face them.

Not only is He there at the table with us as we sit in the presence of our enemies, but He anoints our head with oil. I mean, really?

This is another cultural practice that I don’t know anything about. All I know about pouring oil in my head is that it will make my hair shiny…and greasy…which might be a good thing so it is not so frizzy.

But anyway, I checked in my Jon Courson’s commentary and it refers us back to the Shepherd. It says that a Shepherd would pour oil on a sheep’s head for 2 reasons:

1. To keep the ticks and bugs out of the ears and eyes of the sheep.

2. To deflect the blows of bigger sheep when they butt heads.

Hmmmm…

I also read somewhere else (https://www.gotquestions.org/anointed.html) that in Bible times, people were anointed with oil to signify God’s blessing or calling. (Exodus 29:7; Exodus 40:9; 2 Kings 9:6; Ecclesiastes 9:8; James 5:14). A person was anointed for a special purpose—to be a king, to be a prophet, to be a builder, etc.

In the New Testament we see another meaning for the word anointed: "chosen one." The Bible says that Jesus Christ was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit to spread the Good News and free those who have been held captive by sin (Luke 4:18-19; Acts 10:38). After Christ left the earth, He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16). Now all Christians are anointed, chosen for a specific purpose in furthering God's Kingdom (1 John 2:20). "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee" (2 Corinthians 1:21-22).

Well…the bottom line is that to be anointed by God Himself is a mighty amazing thing. This is God sending as clear a signal as possible to the enemy sitting in front of us that we are not be messed with. This is God saying we belong to Him. We are set apart. We are of great value, and that whoever bugs us will have to answer directly to Him.

And finally, not only does God plant the equivalent of a big, bright neon sign on our heads that says “step off,” but He fills our cup beyond the brim until it overflows. Wow!

Picture God filling up your cup.

How do we begin to wrap our brains around that image?

The God of the Universe…serving us…serving me…the lowliest of His creatures.

Unfathomable!

I went from feeling confused to feeling overwhelmed with awe.

Praised be the Good Shepherd. Praised be His Holy Name!