You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, even from the rebellious, that the Lord God might dwell there. (Psalm 68:18)
Most of us are familiar with the wording David used here, although most of us are more familiar with Paul’s paraphrase of this verse in his letter to the Ephesians. In discussing the issue of spiritual gifts, Paul wrote, “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Messiah’s gift. Therefore He says: ‘When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men’” (Ephesians 4:7-8). Obviously Paul sees this as a reference to Messiah but, in all likelihood, Paul would have been aware of Judaism’s interpretation of this verse which was, the one who ascended was Moses.
Because the previous verse refers to the Lord’s appearance at Sinai, it is taught that Moses, the one who led Israel out of captivity, ascended the mountain to receive the Law of God. Having received this “gift” from God, he returned to share it with the people. Furthermore, it is believed that the giving of the Torah at Sinai occurred during the time of year that became known as Shavuot, or as we know it, Pentecost. And why is this important? Because, for the early believers, the Day of Pentecost that followed the resurrection of the Messiah was a monumental event (see Acts 2). Messiah told His disciples that He had to ascend into heaven so that the Holy Spirit, the Helper, might be sent to them (John 16:7). After He ascended, they waited in Jerusalem in anticipation of this promise — they were not disappointed.
The symbolism of Moses ascending to Sinai’s summit to receive and then disseminate the gift of God’s Law to the people would not have been lost on Paul and the Jewish believers of his day. I would add that David, speaking prophetically, understood this to refer to someone greater than Moses. And so, just as it was necessary for Moses to ascend to God, make intercession for the people and receive His instructions for them, it was necessary for Messiah to ascend to the Father that He might be our advocate and that He might distribute gifts unto men. And as Paul went on to say, “He gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Messiah, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God” (Ephesians 4:11-13). Amen.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
Recent Comments