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THE
NEW LIFE by
John Marshall
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Chapter
18 • BIBLE
STUDY
By the side of the quotation beginning "when ..."
in my Bible is the small letter "o" which the margin
indicates is a quotation from Psa. 68." Further, by the
side of the word "captivity" is a small asterisk,
which indicates, in the margin, that an alternative rendering
for this is "a multitude of captives". The R.S.V.
rendering of this verse is: "Therefore it is said, 'When
he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave
gifts to men'."
How far have we got now? First, Paul has in this verse taken
us back to Psalm 68 which recites God's marvellous love manifested
to the children of Israel by leading them, through Moses,
from the captivity of Egypt. If you read carefully it will
be seen that seven stages of this salvation of Israel in the
Exodus are recited: (1) The bringing out of the prisoners
(verses 1-6); (2) His going before them through the wilderness
(7-10); (3) His "scattering of the kings" m Canaan
(11-14); (4) His ascension on high to the "Holy Place",
with His people (15-18); (5) His role as the God of their
salvation (19-23); (6) His establishment in the sanctuary
that the people might sing His praises (24-27); (7) His praises
sung by "the kingdoms of the earth" (28-35).
Why did Paul refer his readers to this Psalm? So that they
might see that as God led "a multitude of captives"
from the
Egypt of slavery, so Christ has led a multitude of captives
from the Egypt of sin.
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References
Psa 68v18
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Chapter
18 • BIBLE STUDY
Whilst
the margin references have shed light on most of the verse, there
is no reference for the last part "And gave gifts unto men".
Only the Concordance can help here. But what are we to look for?
Gifts that are related to God's people who were captives and were
released. Numbers 18:6 provides the answer: "And I, behold,
I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of
Israel: to you (Aaron) they are given as a gift for the Lord, to
do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation." Thus
some of the captives were chosen as a "gift" for God,
for special services to the rest of the congregation.
Now we can see the relevance of what Paul has written in the last
part of the verse "And gave gifts unto men". Christ has
chosen from the captives he has led, to serve the rest of the congregation
in his tabernacle or ecclesia, those who are to be dedicated to
this work. This is the way Paul denned the gifts of Christ: And
he gave some, apostles (specially sent or chosen ones), some, prophets
(those who publicly expound the Word), some, evangelists (those
who preach good tidings), some, pastors (shepherds to the flock),
and some, teachers (instructors). And all these are chosen as a
gift to the Lord "for the perfecting of the saints, for the
work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ".
All these offices have their counterpart in the ecclesia today.
But how many who are chosen for such service so dedicate themselves
that they may truly be seen as a gift to the Lord as well as to
men?
Much can be learned from this kind of questioning reading of the
daily chapters, and none of us needs to be an intellectual to follow
such a regime of reading. But it does need a little more time than
merely reading the chapters. After all this is our spiritual education;
in this we are being educated for eternal life. Secular education
can prepare us only for this transient life. Which is the more important?
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References
Eph 4v11, Eph 4v12
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