1 Corinthians 10:21

The cup of devils. Representing the heathen feast. The special reference may be either to the drinking - cup, or to that used for pouring libations.

The Lord's table. Representing the Lord's Supper. See ch. 1 Corinthians 11:20 sqq. The Greeks and Romans, on extraordinary occasions, placed images of the gods reclining on couches, with tables and food beside them, as if really partakers of the things offered in sacrifice. 113 Diodorus, describing the temple of Bel at Babylon, mentions a large table of beaten gold, forty feet by fifteen, standing before the colossal statues of three deities. Upon it were two drinking - cups. See, also, the story of "Bel and the Dragon," vers. 10 - 15. 114 The sacredness of the table in heathen worship is apparent from the manner in which it is combined with the altar in solemn formulae; as ara et mensa. Allusions to the table or to food and drink - offerings in honor of heathen deities occur in the Old Testament : Isaiah 65:11; Jeremiah 7:18; Ezekiel 16:18; Ezekiel 16:19; Ezekiel 23:41. In Malachi 1:7, the altar of burnt - offering is called "the table of the Lord." 115