The Holiday Season brings with it so many opportunities to eat. Families have the opportunity to get together and sit down to share a meal together. Those meals are usually quite enjoyable. There is always plenty of food and most of the time some of our most favorite foods appear on the table. However, before you sit down to enjoy the meal the table needs to be set. This generally involves the best dishes, the glass glasses, the best silverware, serving bowls, napkins and a nice table cloth. In the past when I have read verse five in the twenty-third Psalm; my mind pictures the Lord preparing a table that far surpasses the Holiday table. For all of us who love food this is a pleasant thought. It seems as though David is abandoning the shepherd imagery here. As I was preparing for this message I discovered that this may not be the case. In fact, David may very much be still thinking as a shepherd. The word that David chooses for table in the Hebrew does not refer to a dinner table. The best translation of this word would be tableland. What in the world is a tableland? It refers to those rich lush pastures in the higher elevations that we discussed in the last message. In fact, the Hebrew word is the equivalent of the Spanish word mesa. With this in mind let’s take a look at this verse through the lenses of a shepherd and gain some new insights from this verse.
I. Understanding the significance of the images David is presenting.
A. David is actually picturing the pastures that are reached by travelling through the dark valleys.
1. The tablelands are the most prized areas for grazing and a good shepherd desires to take their sheep there.
2. These areas a normally barren during the winter but during the summer months they come to life.
3. Although these places were hard to reach, the shepherd would make the effort to get their sheep there because of all the benefits.
4. This may seem like a lot if wasted effort. Couldn’t the shepherd find places for his sheep to graze without going through dangerous valleys and climbing mountains?
5. The shepherd could but it would not be the best pastures for his sheep. In fact, even modern shepherds seek out these mesas for their sheep’s summer quarters.
B. The anointing with oil actually refers to the way shepherds would protect their sheep from flies and parasites.
1. As the weather begins to warm up the pesky flies start to return.
2. Flies are especially hazardous to sheep because they often seek to lay their eggs on the soft moist skin of the sheep’s nose.
a. The larvae when they hatch look like thin white worms.
b. They invade the sheep’s nasal passages and begin to bore into the tissues.
c. This causes a lot of pain and inflammation for the sheep.
3. The sheep will hit their heads against the ground or trees to try to find some relief.
4. In extreme cases sheep will actually try to kill themselves to gain relief.
5. Ancient shepherds would cover the heads of their sheep with a mixture of olive oil, sulfur and spices to protect their sheep from the flies.
6. Modern shepherds still use a similar mixture made of linseed oil and sulfur.
7. The shepherd needed to be diligent in making sure that their sheep were treated with oil on a regular basis because one time would not do the trick.
II. Understanding the Lord’s provision that David is thinking about.
A. Leading the sheep to the tablelands required a tremendous amount of preparation on the shepherd’s part.
1. As the snow begins to melt the shepherd would make the journey to the tableland to survey the area and make the initial plans for leading his sheep there.
2. A second journey would be made just before the sheep would arrive to make plans and accomplish some initial tasks.
a. The shepherd would scout the area for predators and places these predators could hide.
b. The site for the base camp would be determined.
c. Any poisonous plants needed to be located and removed if possible.
d. All the watering areas needed to have all the debris that gathered over the winter removed.
3. Sheep have the habit of trying things that they shouldn’t. Many harmless looking plants could be fatal to sheep.
4. The sheep could follow the shepherd with confidence because the shepherd had already gone ahead of them and made preparations.
5. Undoubtedly, David was reflecting on the parallel between people and sheep.
B. The shepherd at great risk to himself goes ahead of the sheep to scout out and assess any potential dangers.
1. We often have the habit of trying many things that can be quite dangerous.
2. The shepherd needs to go ahead of the sheep and try to constantly stay one step ahead of any potential danger.
3. The only way the shepherd could protect his sheep was through making thorough preparations.
4. David sees this as an example of what the Lord does for all the sheep in His care.
C. The Lord like a good Shepherd is always going before us making the necessary preparations.
1. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:16—NIV 2011)
2. Just as the shepherd prepares the tableland for his sheep, the Lord has gone ahead of us and inspected every detail of our lives and made preparations for the messes we would get ourselves into.
3. God has anticipated every danger and has already worked out the solution before we ever arrive.
4. We can travel through life with confidence that regardless of where we find ourselves the Good Shepherd has already been there ahead of us making preparations.
III. Understanding how we can enjoy living in the Lord’s tableland.
A. The dangers are real but the Shepherd has made preparations for our protection.
1. We have the tendency to take the dangers that are around us too lightly.
2. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8—NIV 2011)
3. All though we can’t see him that doesn’t mean he doesn’t exist. The evidence of his attacks is all around us.
4. There are times when sheep are attacked and so paralyzed by fear that they don’t let out a sound during the attack. Often we feel so hopeless about something that we never even cry out for help.
5. Satan is seeking to bring us down, he wants to do us harm but we have a Savior that is wise to all his tricks.
B. The Shepherd works out all the details to ensure our well being.
1. God knows that we will face big problems in life and that is why He graciously prepares the tablelands for us.
2. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11—NIV 2011)
3. Even though things do not always go the way we want it to and we often do not understand the paths we are being led down. Our Shepherd is way ahead of us and knows the way past the dangers.
4. The Shepherd is always there protecting His sheep from the danger that is ahead.
C. The Shepherd wants to have the total trust of His sheep.
1. Paul expressed this type of trust when he penned these words to the Philippians.
2. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7—NIV 2011)
3. Our Shepherd is concerned about every detail. He wants the time spent on the tablelands to be peaceful and restful. He wants us to be recharged during those times on the mountain.
4. To make this happen we need to spend time daily talking to Him, reading His Word and allowing Him to communicate with us through the Holy Spirit.
5. He always has our best interest in mind as He leads us through this thing called life. He intends for our cup to run over with blessings.
A lady was struggling with guilt about blowing up at a bank teller. The Holy Spirit was convicting her of the need to go make things right but she didn’t want to do it. Apparently when she blew up at a bank teller, she was rude and nasty even though it wasn’t the teller’s fault. This woman didn’t want to apologize even though she knew that she was wrong. She wanted to forget it. Avoid the teller. In fact, just avoid the bank because she was afraid. Finally after two weeks, she mustered up the courage. She went and cut the most beautiful rose that she could find from her garden, put it in a vase, and went to the bank. She walked up to the teller and said, “I don’t know if you remember me but I was in a couple of weeks ago and I treated you poorly. I was rude. I was inconsiderate. The problem that I had wasn’t your fault even though I took out my frustration on you. I am sorry. If you could, perhaps you might find it in your heart to forgive me.”
The teller took the rose, lookeed up, and tears started to gush. “No one has ever said something like that to me.”
