“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” -Psalm 23:5
The Lord is not only David’s protector, but he is also his provider. In verse five, the metaphor shifts from that of shepherd caring for sheep to one of a host welcoming and providing for an honored guest (e.g., you anoint my head with oil).
In the ancient world, the guest/host relationship was so fundamental to the culture that to violate it invited judgment on one’s household (e.g. Homer’s epics and the Biblical narrative in Genesis 13 and Judges 19).
As no man would think he had honored his guest appropriately if he did not anoint him with perfume and provide a table filled with food (i.e. kill the fatted calf), the Psalmist provides us with an image of the typical munificence extended to a king or hero. The Lord prepares a feast and anoints David with oil; and in this case, he does so before the eyes of David’s enemies. That is, the Lord turns their threats into David’s triumph.
In like manner, Christ turns the threats of our enemy into triumphs. Perhaps, there is even an echo of this in the parable of the prodigal son whose father received him with a robe and a fatted calf before the eyes of his self-righteous older brother.