Psalms78

Psalms 78 recounts the history of Israel's rebellion and God's enduring faithfulness, urging the people to remember divine law and works for future generations. It details Israel's repeated provocations in the wilderness and in the land, despite God's miraculous provisions and deliverances. The psalm culminates in God's rejection of Shiloh and His ultimate choice of Judah and David to shepherd His people.

A Call to Hear God's Law

1
Hear my teaching, my people. Turn your ears to the words of my mouth. ​
2
I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings of old, ​
3
Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
4
We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, his strength, and his wondrous works that he has done.
5
For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a teaching in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children; ​
6
that the generation to come might know, even the children who should be born; who should arise and tell their children,
7
that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments,
8
and might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that didn’t make their hearts loyal, whose spirit was not steadfast with God. ​

The Failure of Ephraim

9
The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. ​
10
They didn’t keep God’s covenant, and refused to walk by his Torah.
11
They forgot his doings, his wondrous works that he had shown them.

God's Marvels in the Wilderness

12
He did marvelous things in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. ​
13
He split the sea, and caused them to pass through. He made the waters stand as a heap.
14
In the daytime he also led them with a cloud, and all night with a light of fire.
15
He split rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink abundantly as out of the depths. ​
16
He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.

Israel’s Rebellion and Temptation

17
Yet they still went on to sin against him, to rebel against the Most High in the desert. ​
18
They tempted God in their heart by asking food according to their desire. ​
19
Yes, they spoke against God. They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20
Behold, he struck the rock, so that waters gushed out, and streams overflowed. Can he give bread also? Will he provide flesh for his people?” ​
21
Therefore the LORD heard, and was angry. A fire was kindled against Jacob, anger also went up against Israel,
22
because they didn’t believe in God, and didn’t trust in his salvation [yeshuat]. ​
23
Yet he commanded the skies above, and opened the doors of heaven.
24
He rained down manna on them to eat, and gave them food from the sky.
25
Man ate the bread of angels. He sent them food to the full. ​
26
He caused the east wind to blow in the sky. By his power he guided the south wind.
27
He rained also flesh on them as the dust; winged birds as the sand of the seas.
28
He let them fall in the midst of their camp, around their habitations.
29
So they ate, and were well filled. He gave them their own desire.
30
They didn’t turn from their cravings. Their food was yet in their mouths,
31
when the anger of God went up against them, killed some of their fattest, and struck down the young men of Israel. ​
32
For all this they still sinned, and didn’t believe in his wondrous works.
33
Therefore he consumed their days in vanity, and their years in terror.

Hypocritical Repentance and Divine Compassion

34
When he killed them, then they inquired after him. They returned and sought God earnestly. ​
35
They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God, their redeemer.
36
But they flattered him with their mouth, and lied to him with their tongue.
37
For their heart was not right with him, neither were they faithful in his covenant. ​
38
But he, being merciful, forgave iniquity, and didn’t destroy them. Yes, many times he turned his anger away, and didn’t stir up all his wrath. ​
39
He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes away, and doesn’t come again. ​

Forgetting the Plagues and Deliverance

40
How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, and grieved him in the desert! ​
41
They turned again and tempted God, and provoked the Holy One of Israel. ​
42
They didn’t remember his hand, nor the day when he redeemed them from the adversary;
43
how he set his signs in Egypt, his wonders in the field of Zoan,
44
he turned their rivers into blood, and their streams, so that they could not drink.
45
He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.
46
He gave also their increase to the caterpillar, and their labor to the locust.
47
He destroyed their vines with hail, their sycamore fig trees with frost.
48
He gave over their livestock also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.
49
He threw on them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, indignation, and trouble, and a band of angels of evil. ​
50
He made a path for his anger. He didn’t spare their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence,
51
and struck all the firstborn in Egypt, the chief of their strength in the tents of Ham. ​

God Guides Israel to the Promised Land

52
But he led out his own people like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. ​
53
He led them safely, so that they weren’t afraid, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54
He brought them to the border of his sanctuary, to this mountain, which his right hand had taken. ​
55
He also drove out the nations before them, allotted them for an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.

Israel's Renewed Apostasy in the Land

56
Yet they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God, and didn’t keep his testimonies; ​
57
but turned back, and dealt treacherously like their fathers. They were turned aside like a deceitful bow. ​
58
For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their engraved images.
59
When God heard this, he was angry, and greatly abhorred Israel;

God Rejects Shiloh and Ephraim

60
So that he abandoned the tent of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men; ​
61
and delivered his strength into captivity, his glory into the adversary’s hand.
62
He also gave his people over to the sword, and was angry with his inheritance.
63
Fire devoured their young men. Their virgins had no wedding song.
64
Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows couldn’t weep.
65
Then the Lord awakened as one out of sleep, like a mighty man who shouts by reason of wine. ​
66
He struck his adversaries backward. He put them to a perpetual reproach.

God Chooses Judah, Zion, and David

67
Moreover he rejected the tent of Joseph, and didn’t choose the tribe of Ephraim, ​
68
But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which he loved.
69
He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he has established forever.
70
He also chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; ​
71
from following the ewes that have their young, he brought him to be the shepherd of Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance.
72
So he was their shepherd according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands. ​

Study Notes for Psalms 78

Verse 1

This psalm is a *Maschil* (a didactic or instructional poem), intended to teach wisdom through historical review, emphasizing the importance of generational faithfulness to the covenant.

Verse 2

The speaker promises to use 'parable' and 'dark sayings' (Heb. *hîdôth*), meaning he will present profound, historical truths in a structured, memorable way that requires careful attention.

Verse 5

The 'testimony' and 'law' established in Israel refers to the covenant obligations given at Sinai, which mandated that divine instruction be passed down through families.

Verse 8

The goal of teaching is to prevent the new generation from repeating the mistakes of their ancestors, whose hearts were unstable and lacked steadfast commitment to God.

Verse 9

Ephraim, the dominant northern tribe, is used here as a representative example of Israel’s faithlessness, demonstrating spiritual failure despite being militarily prepared.

Verse 12

Zoan (Tanis) was a major capital city in the Egyptian delta, specified here to highlight the public and undeniable nature of God’s miraculous acts during the Exodus.

Verse 15

This verse recalls the miraculous provision of water from the rock, a central image of God's care and power in the desolate wilderness (Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:11).

Verse 17

Despite God's spectacular provision, Israel continually sinned by trying God's patience and challenging His authority and capability in the wilderness.

Verse 18

They 'tempted God' not merely by asking for food, but by demanding it out of selfish *lust* and lack of faith, testing whether God could truly satisfy their desires.

Verse 20

The people’s cynical challenge demonstrates profound skepticism, contrasting the provision of water (which they had seen) with the provision of bread and meat (which they doubted).

Verse 22

The root cause of God's anger was not their hunger, but their unbelief; they failed to trust in God’s power to deliver and sustain them completely.

Verse 25

Calling manna 'angels’ food' emphasizes its heavenly origin and supernatural quality, underscoring the extraordinary nature of God's provision for mortal man.

Verse 31

This refers to the judgment at Kibroth-hattaavah (Numbers 11), where God provided quail, but wrath followed immediately because their heart’s desire was rooted in greed and rebellion.

Verse 34

Israel’s seeking of God was often reactive—prompted by punishment—not genuine, heartfelt repentance, creating a cycle of surface-level obedience.

Verse 37

Their repentance was flawed because their hearts were insincere; they offered lip service without the steadfast internal dedication required by the covenant.

Verse 38

This verse serves as the theological hinge, highlighting God's enduring compassionate nature which prevents Him from destroying the people entirely, despite their constant provocation.

Verse 39

God's compassion is rooted in His memory of human frailty; He understands that humanity is temporary, like a passing wind, leading Him to temper His wrath.

Verse 40

The psalm returns to the theme of provocation, emphasizing the frequency and severity of Israel's rebellion against God during the wilderness journey.

Verse 41

To 'limit' God means to restrict His power or willingness to act in their minds, doubting that the Holy One of Israel could or would fulfill their needs.

Verse 49

The phrase 'evil angels' refers to messengers of judgment or agents of calamity, illustrating the supernatural intensity of God’s destructive wrath poured out upon Egypt through the plagues.

Verse 51

The climactic tenth plague, the death of the firstborn, is identified as the decisive act that broke Egypt's power. Ham is used poetically here to refer to Egypt.

Verse 52

This marks the transition from judgment in the wilderness to successful deliverance, using the imagery of a shepherd guiding his flock safely.

Verse 54

The destination is described as 'this mountain,' referring proleptically to Mount Zion, where God eventually established His permanent dwelling place.

Verse 56

The pattern of rebellion continued even after settlement in the Promised Land, marked by idolatry and breaking covenant commitments (the period of the Judges).

Verse 57

A 'deceitful bow' is a metaphor for unreliability; it fails to shoot straight, symbolizing Israel’s inability to remain faithful to the target of God's covenant.

Verse 60

God's rejection of Shiloh (where the Tabernacle was kept, 1 Sam 4) signifies the end of the religious primacy of the northern tribes (Joseph/Ephraim) due to their unfaithfulness.

Verse 65

This anthropomorphic description portrays God suddenly arising from apparent indifference to execute decisive judgment against Israel's oppressors (likely the Philistines).

Verse 67

The historical review culminates in the selection of the southern kingdom, Judah, establishing the permanent location of the sanctuary on Mount Zion.

Verse 70

The choice of David emphasizes God’s sovereign power to elevate the humble shepherd, establishing the Davidic covenant as the climax of Israel's history.

Verse 72

David's rule is characterized by 'integrity' (moral uprightness) and 'skilfulness' (competent leadership), providing the ideal model of a faithful covenant king.

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