Psalm 68:18

Psalm 68:18

When You ascended Lord

The Psalm now describes the arrival in Jerusalem, of the great procession that left Sinai and has now entered the Promised Land. The Lord God goes before His people, and He ascends the Mountain of Zion. I’m sure that, in David’s mind, he was describing the moment when the procession bearing the Ark of the Covenant, made its way up to the Tabernacle / Temple site on the mountain, and the Lord claimed His place of supremacy over Israel. The Temple would become symbolic of the heavenly throne room of God where He reigns over and amongst His people. 

When victorious kings marched triumphantly into their royal cities, they would bring captives with them. The captives were those who had fought against the king but were now submissive and willing to bring gifts and acknowledge his conquest. In the same way, those who rebelled against the Lord and who once were His enemies are now willing subjects and have joined Israel in honouring Him as their Sovereign and King. So, God has ascended up to Zion and now His people acclaim Him for He has chosen to dwell in Jerusalem and in so doing the holy mountain is elevated above all others in importance and status. 

That might be the end of the matter if it were not for Paul’s letter to the Ephesian Christians, (See Ephesians 4:7-13) where he quotes directly from this verse in Psalm 68. Paul teaches us that Yeshua descended into the lower places of the earth. I believe that he is talking about Sheol / Hades where the spirits of the departed were held. Until Christ died for sins, they could not be freed but those who had lived by faith were now brought out of their captivity, in the same way that the Hebrew slaves were rescued from Egypt. Another triumphal procession unfolds as the risen Christ ascends to heaven, taking with Him those who had been captives. At the height of His Ascension the man who was called Yeshua is transformed into the ruler of the whole universe, such is His power and might. You and I are part of the triumphal throng for while we remain here on earth, our spirits are already raised with Him into the heavenlies, to the spiritual Mount Zion. 

The beautiful contrast between Psalm 68 and Ephesians 4 is that in the Psalm, the captives bring gifts to the Lord God. In Ephesians, Yeshua gives gifts to His people! What are these gifts? Well, He knows our frailties and our spiritual needs and so He appoints and anoints certain individuals to serve us and to represent Him amongst us. Their whole purpose is to make His body on earth like that in heaven that all of us might attain “the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” These special servants are: - the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists and the pastors and teachers. Their purpose is to equip His body to know Him and His power and to serve Him whilst on earth. What a responsibility! What a privilege! And all this in anticipation of seeing Him and reigning with Him, in the ages to come. Hallelujah!

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