Read Psalm 68:7-18. 7O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, 8the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel. 9Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad; you restored your inheritance as it languished; 10your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy. 11The Lord gives the word; the women who announce the news are a great host: 12“The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!” The women at home divide the spoil—13though you men lie among the sheepfolds—the wings of a dove covered with silver, its pinions with shimmering gold. 14When the Almighty scatters kings there, let snow fall on Zalmon. 15O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan; O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan! 16Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain, at the mount that God desired for his abode, yes, where the Lord will dwell forever? 17The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands; the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary. 18You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.
Psalm 68 is a processional psalm, most likely sung as the Ark of the Covenant was moved from place to place. The psalm takes the singer through the history of Israel, from Sinai to the Song of Deborah, to the ark’s resting beyond the mountains of Bashan on Zion – where the Lord will dwell forever.
The Apostle Paul uses verse 18 to describe the victory of Christ over sin and death, his ascension from earth to heaven, and his sharing of the spoils of victory with us in the gifts of the Spirit for the equipping of the saints in him.
Ephesians 4:7-12. 7But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” 9(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
To live is Christ makes us not only the captive set free, but also the sharer in the spiritual spoils of his victory through his body the church. Are you participating in the spoils of the Spirit?
Prayer. Jesus, build me up in you that I may be used to build up others for your glory and the work of the ministry. Amen.
To Live is Christ 