Focus: A Six-Course Meal

Text: Ps.23:5

"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over."

We are already in the 8th month of the year - the month of August. Amazingly, the word for 'eight' in Hebrew is also the word for 'anointing' or 'oil,' and oil speaks of fatness. The number '8' in Hebrew speaks of that which is in excess, of surplus, and that which is in abundance. It is that which is over and above the normal. 

The number '7' is the normal, complete or perfect number. Anything more than 7 is an excess. It is beyond the perfect. That is why the number '8' is used to refer to 'a new beginning,' because it has passed the number '7.' Also, the word for 'anointing' is 'shemen.' It means 'richness, oil, anointing, fat, or grease.' Of course, oil in food makes us fat. 

Isaiah says, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing" (Isa.10:27). Another possible translation would be that 'the yoke shall be destroyed because of the fatness.' 

When we feed fat on God's word, yokes break off from us. The truth we know in our spirits sets us free. No yoke of the enemy can stay around our necks if we constantly feed fat on divine truths. As we grow fat in the spirit, yokes are destroyed.

The Lord our Shepherd has, in this 8th month of the year, set a table before us. Two main things about the Shepherd is that he feeds and leads the sheep. He provides and protects. He supplies and supervises the sheep. He provides a rich table for the sheep. The Scripture tells us about the children's bread, the father's or Master's table. The shepherd's table is a kind of tableland - a level land where the sheep can graze without difficulty, and where the pests and predators have been dealt with by the shepherd, so that the sheep can comfortably graze in front of their lifeless and de-powered enemies. It is no wonder David boldly and confidently says to God, "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over" (Ps.23:5). 

The Lord our Shepherd feeds us fat in Christ. We lack nothing that God cannot provide. He anoints our heads and causes the cup of our lives to brim with blessings.

Every day He supplies us with different six-course meals and ensures that we are well fed, effectively guided and powerfully guarded.

In this month of August God has set a six-course meal for us:

1. Assured Identity

…we know who we are in Christ. We're not suffering from identity crisis.

2. Unalloyed joy

…with joy we draw water from the wells of salvation. Our joy is eternal and unspeakable.

3. Greater grace

…we rise from one level of grace to another. We grow and glow in grace.

4. Upward vision

…with the eye of the spirit we see things from the vantage point of heaven. We experience transcendental vision.

5. Sure hope

…we have a hope that never disappoints. It's a sure hope. It's the hope of our high calling. It's the blessed hope.

6. True riches

…O yes! We are blessed with spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. In Christ we are truly rich. O the unsearchable riches of Christ!

Enjoy this six-course meal from God's rich kitchen daily for the next thirty days! The Lord your Shepherd is rich and capable. All that you will ever need He has already provided. He has a rich storehouse of everything good for every one of us. If you want to see the yokes of the enemy destroyed in your life, get to feed fat on God's word. Amen!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter