Claiming the Spoils God Has for Us

How should believers understand spiritual spoils?

When Scripture speaks of “spoils” or “plunder,” it often points beyond mere coin. It points to resources, favor, and gifts diverted by injustice that God returns to those He redeems. Think of the Exodus: the people left slavery with possessions they had not been allowed to keep. The text says plainly that they “spoiled the Egyptians.” The image is shocking, but it teaches a pattern.

"A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just." — Proverbs 13:22

Proverbs is a theological lamp: God's righteousness guarantees an inheritance that outlasts seasons of injustice. The Israelites’ exit from Egypt provides a vivid picture: God made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward them, and they received what they asked for—so much that the text pictures them as having "picked those Egyptians clean." That fairness is God’s way of saying: what was held by oppressors will be redirected to the people of promise.

The Heart of It: The Lord intends restoration so His people can advance His presence in the world.

Behind the Words: Exodus 12:35–36 describes Israel borrowing and receiving jewels, silver, and raiment from the Egyptians when they left. In its original setting it describes God’s provision at liberation—material evidence that God vindicated His people as they stepped into freedom.

The Heart of It: Restoration is both vindication and provision for purpose.

Try This: Picture yourself boxing up a small trunk of items that were returned to you—an old instrument, a business idea stolen then reborn, a repaired reputation—and carrying it into your church’s fellowship hall to be used for worship or for feeding the hungry. Let that image shift your definition of blessing from private gain to kingdom investment.

A common misunderstanding: believing spoils means God wants us to hoard restitution for personal luxury. God’s pattern was to dedicate recovered goods to worship and community—not mere consumption.

The New Testament frames Christ’s victory as spoiling the powers. Colossians 2:15 pictures the cross as the place where Christ “spoiled principalities and powers,” publicly disarming them so their hold is broken. The spiritual truth is clear: the cosmic enemy is stripped of his right to hold people captive, and that stripping has real-world consequences for families, finances, and freedom.

This transforms prayer. Instead of passive asking, we move with expectancy: “Lord, restore what was taken and release resources so we can worship and serve.” It’s a posture of faith—believing the spoils belong to you as part of Christ’s victory—that yields both courage and responsibility.

What does Scripture say about tithing and blessing?

Tithing sits in Scripture at the crossroads of victory and worship. The earliest recorded tithe happens after a battlefield rescue: Abraham returns from defeating his enemies and gives a tenth of the plunder to Melchizedek. The narrative is simple but the implication is weighty—victory produced resources; worship received a first portion.

"When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken prisoner, he...chased the captors all the way to Dan...He recovered all the plunder along with nephew Lot and his possessions...Abram gave him a tenth of all the recovered plunder." — Genesis 14:14–16

The detail—318 of his household servants, the night attack, the chase north of Damascus—grounds the story in gritty reality. Abraham led a real rescue and the recovered spoils were tangible. The tithe came from plunder won through risk and leadership, not from easy charity.

The Heart of It: The tithe acknowledges God’s role in victory and dedicates recovered resources to His purposes.

Behind the Words: Genesis 14 describes Abraham returning from battle and offering a tenth to the priest-king Melchizedek. In its ancient context this act connected martial victory to worship, signaling gratitude and the subordination of material gain to God’s purposes.

The Heart of It: Tithing roots blessing in worship and stewardship.

Try This: Picture the moment after a hard season—a job regained, debts reduced, or restitution finally paid—when you carve out the first portion and bring it to your church or to a ministry you trust. Hand that envelope or make that transfer not as obligation, but as the first-fruits of a story God has rewritten.

A common misunderstanding: tithing is a formula for automatic wealth. It is a discipline of trust, not a mechanical guarantee. It aligns our hearts with God and makes us channels of blessing.

Hebrews links Abraham’s tithe to the greater priesthood of Christ, showing the practice points to the One who mediates God’s blessing. Recovered spoils, rightly offered, fund the house of the Lord and care for the community, just as David dedicated spoils to maintain the temple.

When we tithe from the vantage of restoration—giving from what God has returned—we join a cycle: God restores, we worship, the community receives, the mission advances. That cycle matters because God’s blessings are rarely meant for private hoarding.

When the enemy has to give back

Some realities cut to the marrow: often what looks like human failure or injustice has a spiritual author. Naming that is not about shirking responsibility; it’s about recognizing the level at which Christ has already fought and won.

God’s sovereignty isn’t passive. When He called Moses, He said the king would not let Israel go "except under compulsion," and that God would stretch out His hand and strike Egypt with miracles so the people would not leave empty-handed. The promise was concrete: liberation would come with provision.

"I will grant this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, and it shall be that when you go, you will not go out empty-handed." — Exodus 3:21

That promise appears again in stories like Esther’s: what was intended for harm is turned for good. Esther’s story climaxes when King Xerxes gives Haman’s property to Esther, and Mordecai receives Haman’s signet ring—an abrupt reversal that changes a nation’s fate.

"On that same day, King Xerxes gave the property of Haman...to Queen Esther...The king took off his signet ring...and gave it to Mordecai." — Esther 8:1–2

The Heart of It: God turns intended harm into provision for His people.

Behind the Words: Esther 8 unfolds in a royal court where an edict meant to annihilate a people is overturned by providence. In its Persian setting this reversal is political, legal, and public—God’s deliverance often shows up within ordinary power structures.

The Heart of It: Favor is the mechanism through which God’s reversals become visible.

Try This: Imagine a denied promotion suddenly opening because someone recommends you; an inheritance tied up for years is released and used to repair a family home; a creditor unexpectedly forgives debt, freeing you to give. When favor arrives, practice immediate worship and immediate stewardship.

A common misunderstanding: thinking favor means a pain-free life. Favor often arrives after struggle, not instead of it. God’s favor does not remove the need to act; it accompanies faithful steps.

Recognizing "the enemy behind it" can free us from bitterness toward neighbors and spur spiritual remedies—prayer, prophetic courage, and wise action. That does not remove human accountability; it repositions our fight.

Jesus’ victory rewrites the cosmic ledger. Colossians 2:15 pictures the cross as a public stripping of the powers—their authority broken, their claims nullified. Spiritual spoils and favor are not incidental extras; they are fruit of Christ’s triumph.

"Having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it." — Colossians 2:15

When the enemy has to give back, our response matters: we receive, we worship, and we use what returns for mission. We do not indulge greed. We dedicate recovered provision to God’s purposes.

We live between resurrection and consummation—already freed, not yet fully restored. That tension asks for obedience: pursue justice, claim promised restoration in prayer, and be ready to dedicate whatever returns. Bold faith doesn't pretend pain away; it moves into God's promises with expectation and humility.

Where to start: bring a small offering this week that feels like the first-fruit of a recovery story—something you give as a testimony that God fought for you. Pray specifically for restoration—name what was stolen—and ask God how He would have you steward any return. Name the enemy behind injustice, but refuse to stay stuck. God wants the spoils to build His house and feed His people, and we are invited to carry them well.

We go forward together—expecting, stewarding, worshiping—and believing that because Christ has already won, the spoils belong to you.