The psalms were written in a desert context and the pictures in them are rich. Close your eyes and put yourself in a tribal tent on a hot day. Can you hear David's words?
"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." Psalm 23:5
What do you picture with that overflowing cup? What is God saying?
From our cultural perspective, I think there is a picture of abundance, even surplus. My Scotch-Irish roots even get a little pained that there might be some waste as it spills over. In the desert culture that it was written in and to, was there more to the picture?
There are several ideas from the culture that appear in various writings. The picture of abundance is significant, but there is more. In some regions there is a custom that says that the higher you fill the guest’s cup, the more accepted he is. Similarly, another says that if you fill the cup to the brim you are honoring him and, in effect, inviting him to spend the night.
But I have also heard it taught that the overflowing cup was a hospitality term meaning a cup that never goes empty. If you empty your cup to the bottom the host refills it. The only way to stop the ever-refilling cup is to leave a little at the bottom. Otherwise, hospitality dictates it be refilled. After all, you can’t have a guest that is left still wanting for more.
In the spiritual picture that David paints, we see our Host refilling our cup, even as we have taken refuge in His tent. The image is rich. There is an abundance with God and He is generous towards meeting our needs. He offers us acceptance and longs to spend time with us at His bountiful banquet. As we receive His many blessings and drink long, emptying the cup, He is faithful to refill us. As we allow His blessings to pour into us – and then out of us – we are refilled.
Lord, let me pour generously. You are faithful to fill with even greater measure than I can empty.
What are you hanging on to? Is there something you need to pour out so God can refill?
