The Wisdom of Godvalley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil... " ( v.
4). This Psalm is quoted all the time at funerals, but
actually this is referring to Satan's domain here on
earth, and it is referring to spiritual death, not physical
death.
You and I are walking through the valley of the
shadow of death in this life because Satan is the god of
this world. Spiritual death and its effects are on every
side. Sin, sickness, disease, poverty, and everything else
that Satan brings surround us in this life.
But Jesus declared that we are in the world, but not
of the world (John 17:16,18). That correlates with a
valuable truth we find in Psalm 23:5: "Thou preparest a
table before me in the presence of mine enemies...."
Who are our enemies? The devil himself is certainly
our enemy; the Bible calls him our adversary (1 Peter
5:8). Evil spirits, demons, sickness, disease, and poverty
are all our enemies. Anything that would bind or hinder
us is our enemy.
The Table of Provision
In Psalm 23 God is telling us that right in the midst
of Satan's domain where the devil is ruling over those in
darkness as the god of this world and where the effects
of spiritual death are all around us—God prepares a
table for us in the very presence of those enemies!
Yes, demons, devils, and evil spirits are here and we
sometimes feel their presence and their effect. But even
so, God prepares a table for us right in the midst of
them!
Why does God prepare a table for us in the presence
of our enemies? Why don't we just get rid of our
enemies? We can't. As I've said, they have a right to be