Psalm 78
It's a longer Psalm so I was thinking maybe we could just
go around and read it if you guys are okay with that
Maybe we could each
read 10 verses or so
and then I'll read the first part
Give ear on my people to my teaching
incline your ears to the words of my mouth
I will open my mouth in a parable
I will utter dark sayings from of old
things that we have heard and known
that our fathers have told us
we will not hide them from their children
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord
and his might and the wonders
that he has done
he established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children
that the next generation might know them
the children yet unborn
and arise and tell them to their children
so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God
but keep his commandments
and that they should not be like their fathers
a stubborn and rebellious generation
a generation whose heart was not steadfast
whose spirit was not faithful to God
the Ephraimites
armed with the bow
turned back on the day of battle
they did not keep God's covenant
but refused to walk according to his law
I'll give it a quick question
He forgot his works
and the wonders that he had shown them
in the sight of their fathers
he performed wonders
in the land of Egypt
and the fears of Zion
he divided the sea
and let them pass through it
and made the water stand like a heap
in the daytime
he led them with a cloud
and all the night
with a fiery light
he split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink abundantly
as from the deep
he made streams come out of the rock
and cause waters to flow down like rivers
yet they sinned still more against him
rebelling against the most high in the desert
they tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they crave
they spoke against God
saying can God spread a table in the wilderness
he struck the rock
so that water gushed out
and streams overflow
can he also give bread
or provide meat for his people
therefore
when the Lord heard
he was full of wrath
the fire was kindled against Jacob
his anger arose against Israel
because they did not believe in God
and did not trust his saving power
yet he commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven
and he ran down on them manna to eat
and gave them the grain of heaven
man ate of the bread of angels
he sent them food in abundance
he caused the east wind to blow in the heavens
and by his power he led out the south wind
he rained meat on them like dust
winged birds like the sand of the seas
he let them fall in the midst of their camp
all around their dwelling
and they ate and were well filled
for he gave them what they craved
but before they had satisfied their craving
while the food was still in their mouths
the anger of God rose against them
and he killed the strongest of them
and laid those the young men of Israel
in spite of all this
they still sinned
despite his wonders
they did not believe
so he made their days vanish like a breath
and their years in tears
when he killed them
they sought him
they repented and sought God earnestly
they remembered that God was their rock
the most high God
their redeemer
but they flattered him with their mouths
they lied to him with their tongues
their heart was not steadfast toward him
they were not faithful to his tongues
yet he being compassionate
atoned for their iniquity
and did not destroy them
he restrained his anger often
and did not stir up all his wrath
he remembered that they were but flesh
a wind that passes and comes not again
how often they rebelled against him
in the wilderness
and grieved him in the desert
again and again they put God to the test
they vexed the Holy One of Israel
they did not remember his power
the day he redeemed them from the oppressor
the day he displayed his miraculous signs in Egypt
his wonders in the region of Zon
he turned their rivers to blood
they could not drink from their streams
he sent swarms of flies that devoured them
and frogs that devastated them
he gave their crops to the grasshopper
their produce to the locust
he destroyed their vines with hail
and their sycamore figs with sleet
he gave over their cattle to the hail
their livestock to bolts of lightning
he unleashed against them his hot anger
his wrath, indignation and hostility
a band of destroying angels
he made a path for his anger
he did not spare them from death
but gave their lives over to the plague
he struck down every firstborn in Egypt
the first fruits of their strength
in the tents of Ham
then he led out his people like sheep
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock
he led them in safety so that they were not afraid
but the sea overwhelmed their enemies
and he brought them to his holy land
to the mountain which his right hand had won
he drove out nations before them
he apportioned them for a possession
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents
yet they tested and rebelled against the most high God
and did not keep his testimonies
but turned away and acted treacherously
like their fathers
they twisted like a deceitful bow
for they provoked him to anger with their high places
they moved him to jealousy with their idols
when God heard he was full of wrath
and he utterly rejected Israel
he forsook his dwelling at Shiloh
in the tent where he dwelt among mankind
and delivered his power to captivity
his glory to the hand of the foe
he gave his people over to the sword
and he bunted his wrath on his heritage
fire devoured their young men
and their young women
had no marriage song
the priests fell by the sword
and their widows made no lamentation
the Lord awoke as from sleep
like a strong man shouting because of one
and he put his adversaries to wrath
he put them to everlasting shame
he rejected the tent of Joseph
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim
but he chose the tribe of Judah
Mount Zion which he loves
he built a sanctuary like the high heavens
like the earth
which he has founded forever
he chose David his servant
and took him from the sheepfold
for following the nursing news
he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people
Israel his inheritance
with upright heart he shepherded them
and guided them with a skillful hand
yeah
you guys have heard the quote
I'm sure it's from the Spanish-American philosopher
George Santayana
he said
those who cannot remember the past
are condemned to repeat it
and the Bible
obviously said
said that long before Santayana did
and that's really the theme of the psalm
because twice
in verses 7 and 11
the word forget is repeated
and then the verb remember
is repeated three times
throughout this psalm
and the idea is
that the first part of it
the verses 1 to 8
really is an exhortation
to the future generation
to remember
the wonders of God
the wondrous works of God
and then the rest of it
really is
a recitation of the past generations
forgetting the wonders of God
so using them as an example
really a negative example
the psalmist exhorting the future generations
to remember the wonders of God
and so
that's really
what you see in verses 1 to 8
God had charged them
after rescuing them
and making a covenant with them
to observe his commandments
and to remember
the covenant that they made
and then to teach it to their children
and that's what the psalmist is trying to do
because the fathers
their fathers
from whom they heard the story
were actually themselves unfaithful
to the covenant
and so they
it says in verse 8
that they should not be like their fathers
a stubborn and rebellious generation
a generation whose heart was not steadfast
whose spirit was not faithful to God
and so
the main point of the psalm really
is that we should remember
the wonders of God
and be steadfast and faithful toward them
and then we get to the second half
which is most of the psalm
verses 9 to 72
which is recounting of the past generations
forgetting the wonders of God
and it begins in verses 9 to 11
by saying
the Ephraimites
armed with the bow
turned back on the day of battle
they did not keep God's covenant
but refused to walk according to his law
they forgot his works
and the wonders that he had shown them
so Ephraim was the leading tribe of Israel
they were the biggest tribe
Ephraim was the younger son of Jacob
or Joseph
that received Jacob's blessing
the greater blessing
and so Ephraim became the leading tribe of Israel
so often the name Ephraim is used
to stand for the entire nation of Israel
so that's what's going on here
which is why the name Israel is used
repeatedly interchangeably throughout the psalm
when it's referring to the tribe of Ephraim
it singles out that it's a tribe of Ephraim
like it does later in verse 67
and Ephraim turning back from battle
it's probably a reference to 1 Samuel 4
where the Israelis are fighting against the Philistines
and Israel is defeated
because they have been idolatrous
and the ark of God is lost in the battle
and it says they fled every man to his home
so that's probably the reference
and I think that's most likely to be the background
of this psalm
because the psalmist mentions that specifically
that instance more in detail
later in verses 59-64
what's remarkable is in verses 12-56
we see repeated rebellion by the Israelites
just persistent sin and rebellion
and they forget the wonders that God performed
it's in verse 12
in the sight of their fathers
he performed wonders in the land of Egypt
in the fields of Zohan
so he's going back a generation further
than the ones that he's currently addressing
the ones that are in the promised land
and then he's saying that their fathers
saw the wonders of God in the land of Egypt
and fields of Zohan is another way to say land of Egypt
Zohan is a city in Egypt
that's the area of Goshen
it's a city inside the region of Goshen
where the Israelites
Joseph and Jacob and his families lived
and their descendants
and then the way
the unfaithfulness of Israelites
and the faithfulness of God is described
is exactly contrasted
so in Hebrew poetry
the poetry is divided into colons
and in verses 12-16
there are exactly 10 colons
that exclaim the wonders of God
and then in verses 17-20
there are exactly 10 colons
of Israel's rebellion
and the kind of pattern repeats
and so it's showing us
that the faithless behavior of Israel
is the exact opposite
of what you would expect
from God's faithfulness
that he had shown them
in Egypt
and he recons
different things he's done
in Egypt
God brought various pests and plagues
upon the Egyptians
and killed their firstborn
to rescue
and deliver Israel
when they were in the wilderness
right
God provided rock
you know water from the rock
he poured down manna
the bread from heaven
and he poured down quail from heaven
meat from heaven
he parted the sea
to take them out
through the Red Sea
and in spite of all of this
we keep hearing the refrain
throughout this psalm
verse 17
yet they sinned
still more against him
rebelling against the most high
and then verse 32
in spite of all this
they still sinned
in verse 40
how often they rebelled against him
and then finally in verse 56
yet they tested
and rebelled against the most high God
the word rebel
and the word test
are repeated in conjunction
with each other
throughout this psalm
three and four times
to describe the Israeli forefathers
so this really is
kind of gets at the heart of sin
right
instead of submitting to God
we rebel against him
and instead of trusting God
we test him
and how many times
have we done this in our lives
right
when we
when God's word is clear
and the demands
the commands of God
are clear
we disobey
we rebel
instead of submitting
and when God calls us
to trust him
in spite of uncertainty
when God calls us
to trust him
and we take things
into our own hands
and by doing that
we test him instead
instead of trusting him
and so really
this psalm
calls us to repentance
that in spite of
the repeated forgiveness
and repeated deliverance
and the constant love of God
that we have been
turning against him
and being unfaithful to him
and then
by verse 56
we return to the second generation
because it's
and
yet they
even though God
had driven out the nations
before them
and given them the inheritance
of the promised land
even they
as it says in 56
they have rebelled against the Lord
and we see the details
of the rebellion
in verses 57 to 58
it says
they turned away
and acted treacherously
like their fathers
they twisted like a deceitful bow
the mention of the bow
is
ties this verse back
to verse 9
which describes
the Ephraimites
as those who are armed
with the bow
and
and so it's
it's
probably referring to
the same incidents
incident
and
like a twisted bow
like a deceitful bow
so I mean
like when your bow is twisted
and you shoot it
it misfires
and it
it basically
treacherous
because you can hit anything
you can even hit your own
people
or
and so that's how
the Israelites
responded
behaved
toward God
they acted like a
treacherous
deceitful bow
turned against him
who was his Lord
and
and the reason why
and
and they do
did that
it says
by following the idols
so they were pursuing
idols
and
God
rejected them
in response to that
and so
I mentioned this earlier
but
the incident that
verse 8 is referring to
is probably from
1st Samuel 4
right
so
they're worshipping
Baal
worshipping the
Asherah
and
at the time
in the tabernacle
was where
God's presence
dwelt
and it was
God's presence
was represented
by the Ark
of the Covenant
and the Ark
of the Covenant
resided in
in Shiloh
that's the
place that's
mentioned here
but then
even though
they were
idolatrous
they thought
that they would
do live service
to God
and make
and
and get
maybe good luck
charm
as they go into
this battle
against Philistines
they brought
the Ark of God
to accompany them
and of course
God would not
be mocked
and so
they lose
the battle
and
Hophni
and Phinehas
who are the
two priests
who priest
sons of
Eli
die in the
battle
and then
the Ark
of the Covenant
is stolen
and then
they
the news
reaches
Eli the
priest
and he's
an overweight
man
and he's
elderly
and he's
so shocked
by the news
he tips over
backward
in his chair
breaks his neck
and dies
and then
when his
daughter-in-law
who is Phinehas
his wife
was pregnant
hears the news
she gives
premature birth
and she dies
after giving birth
and as she
names
as she dies
she names
her son
Ichabod
or Ichabod
and which means
it says
the glory
has departed
from Israel
that's what
verses 59 to 64
is talking about
it says
he forsook
his dwelling
at Shiloh
the tent
where he
dwelt
among mankind
and delivered
his power
to captivity
his glory
to the hand
of the foe
their priests
later says
fell by the sword
and their widows
made no lamentation
so that's
kind of the low
point really
of Israel's
history
before the
monarchy
began
but even
in that case
it turns out
that God
does not
reject his
people forever
so he says
in verses
65 to 66
then the Lord
awoke as
from sleep
like a strong
man shouting
because of wine
and he put
his adversaries
to rout
he put them
to everlasting
shame
and of course
it's not saying
that God
was literally
asleep
but he
woke up
as if
from slumber
as like
a strong
man who
is energized
invigorated
by wine
he came
in power
and routed
his enemies
and restored
them
but then
when that
happens
God's grace
the focal
point
the locus
of God's
really grace
and blessing
shifts
so Ephraim
was the leading
tribe in Israel
but that now
shifts to Judah
the tribe of Judah
and the house
of David
is chosen by God
to be the
ones that will
lead
and so that's
what verses
67 to 70
is talking about
he chose
David his servant
and took him
from the sheepfold
and so it was
under the
established
under the
Davidic monarchy
that Israel
achieved victory
from the
surrounding nations
and the ark
of God
was finally
restored
to its
new dealing
place in
Jerusalem
and that's
kind of
really
what the
psalmist
is celebrating
and so the
psalm really
ends in a
hopeful note
right
because
and most
likely because
that's the
period that the
psalmist lived
in
so he's saying
oh yeah
all this
happened now
we should
remember this
so that this
doesn't happen
to us again
but that we
can stay
with God's
blessing
but as
people who
know the
rest of
scripture
we know
that it
doesn't play
out the way
the psalmist
envisions or
hopes
and they
sin again
they turn to
idolatry again
and then they're
exiled
and they lose
God's favor
and so it
seems that
things are just
hopeless
maybe this
vicious cycle
will continue
indefinitely
but then that's
exactly why
God has to
send a second
David
a better
David
because the
first David
could not
accomplish
once and
for all
what God
intended to
accomplish
and so
Jesus was
the prophesied
offspring of
David
he's described
that way
in 2 Samuel
7 12-16
as the one
the Davidic
offspring who
will reign
forever in
God's stead
as a
representative
and then during
his life he
was given the
messianic title
son of David
Matthew 1-1
other places
and then so
similar to
David who
David was a
champion of
Israelites
he defeated
Goliath on
behalf of the
Israelites
defeated the
Philistines and
cut off the
Goliath's head
in a similar
way Jesus
now as the
champion of
his people
dies on the
cross for our
sins on
Golgotha
rises again
and he
crushes the
head of
Satan
David was
only able to
deliver his
people temporarily
but Christ is
able to deliver
his people
eternally and
permanently
because he
fights not
only the
physical
temporal
enemies but
the spiritual
enemies
the sin
and the
devil and
world and
flesh and
the devil
and even
though we
continue to
sin and
because of
that this
cycle really
should continue
because Christ
bore all the
punishment and
we deserved
and the
justice of
God and
the mercy of
God was
satisfied
it was made
one in
him we
are no
longer under
condemnation
under judgment
and so
that's
really what
this is
talking about
so that in
verse 2
when the
psalmist says
I will open
my mouth
in a parable
I will utter
dark sayings
from the
world
right
dark saying
meaning obscure
saying something
that's perplexing
a riddle
and then
and that
verse is
cited in
Matthew 13
35 to
just describe
Jesus's
teaching
that Jesus
is described
as I open
up my mouth
in parable
and how
is this
a parable
it's a
parable
because
the story
of Israel
their history
is supposed
to function
as a parable
for us
so that it's
supposed to be
a parable
of the gospel
for us
that if we
are faithless
God remains
faithful
2 Timothy
2 13
right
that where
sin increased
grace abounded
all the more
right
Romans 5 20
right
that's
that's the
truth
that's the
parable
of the gospel
the Israel
history
their ups
and downs
their
their constant
their repeated
unfaithfulness
and God's
constant
faithfulness
is the
parable
for us
to learn
the mystery
of Christ
that he's
the one
who saves
us
and is
faithful
with us
in spite
of our
sins
and so
that's
when we
remember
that
that's
when we're
able to be
steadfast
and faithful
toward God
so when we
are plagued
by doubts
or
we remember
how faithful
God has been
toward us
when we
are tempted
to
sin
disobey him
and rebel
against him
instead of
obeying him
that's
when we
remember his
goodness
and kindness
toward us
and that's
what enables
us to be
still