“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” In Psalm 23:5, David reflects on his experience as a shepherd, preparing the “tablelands” for his sheep.

The “tablelands” are the relatively flat, green plateaus to which the shepherd leads his flock for summer grazing. Think of the “tablelands” as the shepherd’s food pantry from which he feeds his sheep. Shepherds exert much energy, sacrifice, and careful planning in preparing the tablelands.

The Lord’s Supper is the most obvious tableland Jesus prepared before us. As an ordinance of the church, communion symbolizes Jesus’s broken body and shed blood on the cross. The communal meal remembers the sacrifice that our good shepherd made on our behalf to pay the penalty for our sins.

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“Every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.”

Romans 8:28 MSG