Psalms 78

Psalms 78:1

Psalm 78: A Parable From History"God’s ways in grace and Israel’s ways in perverseness"that is how Bellett sums up the message of this Psalm. It is one of the great songs of Israel’s history. Its purpose is to teach us to learn from the past, so that we will not be condemned to relive it. The Psalmist’s Invitation to Learn from History (78:1-4)The psalmist calls for the attention of his people (and of all of us) because he is going to speak in a parable, that is, there is going to be a deeper meaning beneath the surface of what he recounts. As he rehearses various chapters from the history of his nation, there will be hidden lessons which he calls “dark sayings of old.” Just as our parents passed down to us a record of the past, so we are obligated to pass on to the next generation an account of the Lord’s dealings with His people in grace and government. God’s Gracious Intention in Giving the Law (78:5-8)Asaph begins his parabolic teaching with the institution of the law. God gave it to Israel with instructions that it be faithfully transmitted to succeeding generations. God’s desire in all this was fourfold: That His people would set their hope in Him. That they would not forget His glorious works. That they would be obedient. That they would learn from the past and not repeat the rebellions of their forefathers. The People’s Disobedience, Rebellion, and Ingratitude (78:9-11)But what happened? Under the leadership of the tribe of Ephraim, the Israelites failed the Lord. Armed with bows, they turned back in the day of battle. This may refer to their dismal cowardice at Kadesh Barnea when they accepted the pessimistic report of the spies. Or it may allude to their failure in utterly driving out the Canaanites from the land. More probably it is a general description of their characteristic behavior. They repeatedly and willfully broke the law of God. They habitually forgot all the mighty wonders that He had performed for their benefit. The People’s Forgetfulness of Their Deliverance from Egypt (78:12-14)They forgot Egyptand the marvel of their deliverance from the forced slave-labor in the fields of Zoan (Tanis). How could they forget the crossing of the Red Seawhen the waters stood at attention on both sides of them so they could cross on dry land? There was the miracle of the glory cloud that led them in the daytime and the fiery light that went before them at night. The People’s Forgetfulness of God’s Miraculous Supply of Water in the Wilderness (78:15, 16)They quickly forgot how God provided water in abundance by splitting rocks in the wildernessit came gushing out as if there were a huge fountain. Rivers of water in the desertbut their memories were short. The People’s Insolent Demand for Bread and Meat (78:17-22)They began to provoke the Lord about their diet. Dissatisfied and grumbling, they presented new demands to the Most High. They insinuated that God had led them out into the wilderness to die of starvation. They doubted His ability to provide. Grudgingly admitting that He had provided water, they questioned His willingness and ability to provide bread and meat. It really infuriated the LORD that His people did not trust Him. He was understandably furious that they did not trust His saving power. He caused the fire of His anger to blaze forth against Israel. God’s Gracious Supply of Manna (78:23-25)They wanted bread. But there were no supermarkets in the wilderness. Neither were there the ingredients for making bread. So God opened the doors of His heavenly granary and rained down unfailing supplies of manna. The people feasted on something better than bread; it was angels’ food, the bread of heaven. God’s Gracious Supply of Quail (78:26-31)They also wanted meat. But where could they find meat to feed a multitude in the desert? God solved the problem by harnessing the east wind to deliver flocks of quail right into the camp of the Israelites. These birds certainly weren’t native to the wilderness; they had to be brought from some distance. But they were provided abundantly and freely. While the people were still gorging themselves, the wrath of God blazed out against them. He sent a plague that killed off the finest specimens of Israel’s manhood. The People’s Continued Sin and God’s Unfailing Mercy (78:32-39)In spite of all the proofs of His love, their hearts were still unfaithful. Nothing God did pleased them. Despite His miracles, they were compulsive grumblers. So from time to time Jehovah visited the nation with death and destruction. This seemed to speak to the survivors for a while; they turned to the Lord, repented of their wickedness, and became earnest seekers. They realized what a refuge He had been to them, how He had redeemed them from the terrors of Egypt. But soon again they were living a lie, speaking piously and acting perversely. They were fickle and disobedient. The Lord showed tremendous restraint. Because of His super-abounding compassion, He forgave their chronic backsliding and withheld the disaster they deserved. He remembered that they were mere men, here today and gone tomorrow. The People’s Rebellions, Provocations, and Ingratitude (78:40, 41)The psalmist is going to go over the whole sorry history again (vv. 40-58). If we as readers grow weary of the repetition, think of how irritating it was to the Lord!Their repeated rebellions in the desert grieved Him to the heart. Over and over again they put Him to the test and pained the Holy One of Israel by limiting Him. The People’s Forgetfulness of Their Deliverance from Egypt (78:42-53)78:42 They did not remember how He had proved Himself strong on their behalf, how He had rescued them from the enemy. Their deliverance from Egypt was the greatest display of divine power in human history up to that time. But they took it for granted. 78:43 In verses 43-53 Egypt is in retrospect again, this time with emphasis on six of the plagues in the following order: First plaguerivers turned to blood (v.44). Fourth plagueflies (v. 45a). Second plaguefrogs (v. 45b). Eighth plaguelocusts (v. 46). Seventh plaguehail (vv. 47, 48). Tenth plaguedeath of the firstborn (vv. 49-51). 78:44 God turned their rivers into blood, so that the Egyptians could not drink from them. The Nile, which they regarded as sacred, suddenly became polluted. But the water supply of the Israelites remained uncontaminated. 78:45 He sent swarms of flies into all the houses of the Egyptians. They had worshiped Beelzebub, the “lord of flies,” and now this god turned on them to devour them. Interestingly enough, the flies did not invade the land of Goshen where the Israelites were living. He sent a plague of frogs into Egypt. Respected as a symbol of fertility, the frogs destroyed the people in the sense that they brought normal life to a standstill. But the plague affected only Egyptians; the Hebrews were protected by the hand of God. 78:46 God sent locusts to cover the land of Egypt. The god Serapis was supposed to protect the people from these destructive insects. But Serapis was powerless. The crops were ruined; the harvest wiped out. During all this the Israelites saw neither caterpillar nor locust. 78:47, 48 The seventh plague involved hail, frost and fiery lightning. It wrought tremendous havoc on man, cattle, flocks, vines, and trees. But it was a discriminating judgment. “. . . In the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail” (Exo_9:26). 78:49 Then there was the culminating stroke of Godthe death of the firstborn. The psalmist speaks of it as a loosing of God’s fierce wrath, indignation, and trouble, the work of a company of angels of destruction. In some Scriptures the Lord Himself is described as passing through the land of Egypt to destroy the firstborn (Exo_11:4; Exo_12:12, Exo_12:23, Exo_12:29), but in Exo_12:23, there is a reference to a destroyer whom He used as His active agent. The psalmist suggests that it was a band of destroying angels. 78:50-53 He made a path for His anger so that it could blaze forth without restraint. In every Egyptian home the firstborn son was struck down by an otherwise unnamed plague or pestilence. The flower of Egypt’s manhood died that night. But the homes of the Israelites were protected by the blood of the passover lamb, and not one Hebrew son was killed. All the plagues were so discriminating that no natural explanation could ever account for them. How could the Jews ever cease to be thankful for the wonderful way God had worked in their behalf? He led them out of Egypt like a flock of sheep, and guided them through a trackless wilderness. “He led them in safety with nothing to fear, while the sea engulfed their foes” (Gelineau). It was a marvelous exhibition of His love and power! The People’s Forgetfulness of God’s Kindness in Bringing Them to the Promised Land (78:54, 55)He brought them to the border of the holy land, to the mountain range which His right hand had acquired for them. Of course, it was inhabited by idolatrous pagans at the time, so He also drove out the nations and divided the land among the tribes of Israel. No shepherd ever cared as tenderly for his sheep as Jehovah did for His! The People’s Treachery and Idolatry in the Land (78:56-58)Were they grateful to Him? No! During the time of the Judges they tested Him to the limit, they rebelled against Him, they disregarded His commandments. Like fatherslike sons, they proved utterly faithless and unreliable, just like a warped bow that the archer cannot depend on. They provoked the Lord by their idolatrous hilltop shrines, and made Him exceedingly jealous with their carved images. God’s Wrath, and His Rejection of Israel (78:59-67)78:59, 60 In poetic language, the psalmist pictures God as hearing of their dark ingratitude and exploding in a storm of wrath. Actually it came as no surprise to Jehovah; it was only the last straw in a long series of rebellions. But this time He lowered the boom on Israel, that is, on the northern tribes who were the ringleaders in the provocations and rebellions. He abandoned Shiloh as the site of the tabernaclethe spot on earth where He had previously chosen to dwell among His people. 78:61-64 At this time God allowed His strength, that is, the ark of the covenant, to be taken into captivity by the Philistines. The gold-covered symbol of His glory passed into enemy hands (1Sa_4:11 a). There was a great slaughter among the people of Israel; 30,000 foot soldiers fell in the battle (1Sa_4:10). With so many young men devoured by war, there were no marriage songs, no wedding bells for their maidens. The priests who fell by the sword were Hophni and Phinehas, the corrupt sons of Eli (1Sa_4:11 b). Their widows did not mourn their passing, probably because of their overriding grief that the ark had been captured by the Philistines. They realized that the glory had departed from Israel (1Sa_4:19-22). 78:65, 66 For a while it seemed that Jehovah was indifferent to His people’s plight. But then He awoke with blazing indignation, shouting like a man who has been aroused with wine. And what a rout it was for the Philistines! He beat them back as they turned to fleea shameful way for them to suffer defeat (1Sa_7:10-11; 1Sa_13:3-4; 1Sa_14:23). 78:67 Yet God stood firm in His decision to reject the tent of Joseph; He would not choose the tribe of Ephraim. Here both Joseph and Ephraim are used to signify the ten northern tribes. After Reuben had forfeited the birthright, Joseph inherited the double portion as far as territory was concerned, through his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. God’s Choice of Judah, Mt. Zion, and David (78:68-72)78:68, 69 But Ephraim was the leader in rebellion; therefore God bypassed him as far as rule was concerned and gave that honor to Judah. It was in Judah’s territory that He chose Mount Zion as the place to build His sanctuary towering like the high heavens and immoveable as the earth. 78:70, 71 And it was from Judah that He also chose David His servant. This shepherd-king served his apprenticeship among the sheepfolds, caring for the ewes that had young and learning spiritual truths from the natural realm. Then Jehovah brought him to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance. And David did this. 78:72 So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.And so the Psalm closes on this peaceful, pastoral note. But before leaving it, we must remind ourselves that Israel’s history is only a mirror of our own. And if anything, we are more culpable than they because our privileges are so much greater. Living in the full blaze of Calvary’s love, why should we ever complain, or rebel, or limit the Lord, or fail to be thankful? Yet we stand condemned. We have provoked the Holy One of Israel times without number. We have grieved Him by a thousand falls. We have murmured and grumbled in spite of countless blessings. God’s patience is not inexhaustible. There comes a time when He allows us to taste the bitterness of our backsliding. If we despise His grace, we will experience His government. If we refuse to serve Him faithfully and loyally, He will find others to do it. We will miss the blessing, and will never find a better master to serve.