The Psalms - Psalm 78
God’s Wonders & Israel’s Rebellion
by Rev. Jim Jester
February 9, 2025
SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 78:1-4
“Give ear, O my people, to my law;
Incline 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,
And His strength and wonderful works that He has done.” (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION
This psalm is titled, “A Contemplation of Asaph.” The author Asaph was the great singer and musician of David and Solomon’s era, and he was a prophet in his musical compositions. Psalm 78 is the longest of the historical psalms.
The purpose of the psalm is to teach God’s family lessons from the past; to warn them not to fall into the same mistakes as their forefathers, and to encourage them to commit to faith in God. This history also shows what God is capable of despite our failures. History must not repeat itself.
“Give ear, O my people, to my law:” Psalm 78 was written to instruct God’s people. The theme is the goodness and kindness of God to His stubborn and rebellious people. Asaph began by asking for the attention of God’s people so they could hear the wisdom he was about to speak.
“I will open my mouth in a parable:” The phrase “dark sayings” does not mean hidden or mystical knowledge, but things that can simply be difficult to understand, i.e., riddles that contain good topics for instruction.
“Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD:” Asaph knew what followed in this psalm came from events received from their forefathers. He also knew that what they had received, they must pass on to the next generation; they had a responsibility not to hide these praises from their children.
Asaph wanted to pass on at least three things to the next generation:
• The “praises of the Lord” – teaching them that God was worthy of our adoration and gratitude.
• God’s “strength” – His power and greatness above and beyond all.
• “His wonderful works” – that is, God’s power in active assistance to His people.
The Psalm seems to have been occasioned by the jealousy of the tribe of Ephraim, because of the position the tribe of Judah held under David. For many years the powerful tribe of Ephraim was pre-eminent amongst the tribes. The sanctuary was placed in Shiloh, which is in this tribe. David selected Jerusalem as the home of the sanctuary and the capital of the nation, which is in Judah. Some of the tribes regarded this as a usurpation, but it was in fact a Divine judgment upon the House of Israel for her sin; including the divorce from God. Thus they had to accept the Divine order:
”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.” (Ps. 78:67-68, RSV)
The psalmist cites the moral and spiritual considerations that led to the choice. The great message of the psalm is the inconstancy of the people, which so often revealed itself:
A stubborn and rebellious generation
A generation that did not set its heart aright
Whose spirit was not stedfast with God, v 8
They turned back in battle, v 9
They did not keep the covenant of God,
They refused to walk in his law, v 10
But they sinned even more against Him,
By rebelling against the Most High, v 17
Again and again they tempted God, v 41
Turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers, v 57
It may be that the psalmist implies that these failures were for the most part Ephraim’s, and that therefore Judah was chosen. Surely, however, there was not much to choose between them, for both were unfaithful. Whatever favor was shown to either of them is fully attributed to God’s unchanging mercy for his family.
In a song of praise this psalm reviews the sacred history of Israel, from enslavement in Egypt to the reign of David.
LOSING THE BATTLE (v. 9-11):
“The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows,
Turned back in the day of battle.
10 They did not keep the covenant of God;
They refused to walk in His law,
11 And forgot His works
And His wonders that He had shown them.”
“The children of Ephraim:” The tribe of Ephraim was one of the larger tribes of Israel, and sometimes God called Israel “Ephraim.” In II Chronicles 25:7 God used the phrase children of Ephraim to refer to the people of Israel as a whole. As the largest of the breakaway tribes, their history nearly made them a symbol of backsliding and apostasy.
“Being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle:” Because it is difficult to match this with a known instance in Israel’s history, perhaps the sense here is of a spiritual battle. Spiritually speaking, God equipped Israel for conflict. Yet they often failed in the day of battle, because they did not keep the covenant.
God makes spiritual resources available to His people for the spiritual conflicts they face (Eph. 6:10-18). However, the effectiveness of those resources depends in some regard on their decision to actually make use of them. Ultimately, God’s people are assured of victory in Jesus. From time to time there may be defeats — being “turned back in the day of battle” — because available resources were not used.
“They refused to walk in His law, and forgot His works:” Disobedience and ignorance among God’s people were examples of being turned back. This is a warning to all generations; even the spiritual battle may be lost.
OUT OF EGYPT (v. 12-16):
“Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers,
In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
13 He divided the sea and caused them to pass through;
And He made the waters stand up like a heap.
14 In the daytime also He led them with the cloud,
And all the night with a light of fire.
15 He split the rocks in the wilderness,
And gave them drink in abundance like the depths.
16 He also brought streams out of the rock,
And caused waters to run down like rivers.”
“Marvelous things He did:” Asaph remembered how God helped His people as described in the first part of the Book of Exodus. Through a series of miraculous plagues and demonstrations of God’s power, Pharaoh was compelled to let Israel go from slavery, and the people left rewarded with riches from the Egyptians (Ex. 5-13).
“He divided the sea:” As Pharaoh’s armies pursued the children of Israel, God miraculously brought them through the sea on dry ground as God “made the waters stand up like a heap” (Ex. 14).
“In the daytime also He led them with the cloud, and all the night with a light of fire:” When the Israelites came into the wilderness of Sinai, God assured them and guided them with the two demonstrations of His presence — the cloud by day and the fire by night (Ex. 40:36-38).
“He split the rocks in the wilderness:” Often in the wilderness the nation of Israel needed water, and many times God miraculously provided. One occasion was at Meribah where Moses struck the rock and it presumably split, bringing forth water (Num. 20:10-13, Isa. 48:21).“Rocks” is plural because it was done twice; once in Rephidim (Ex. 17:6), and again in Kadesh (Num. 20:1).
REBELLION (v. 17-20):
“But they sinned even more against Him
By rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.
18 And they tested God in their heart
By asking for the food of their fancy.
19 Yes, they spoke against God:
They said, ‘Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 Behold, He struck the rock,
So that the waters gushed out,
And the streams overflowed.
Can He give bread also?
Can He provide meat for His people?’”
“But they sinned even more:” God repeatedly did great and amazing things for Israel in taking the people out of Egypt and preserving them in the wilderness. Yet Israel’s response was to sin even more and to rebel against the Most High.
“They tested God in their heart:”God provided Israel’s needs in the wilderness, but sometimes the people demanded more. He gave them manna, but they soon wanted meat —“the food of their fancy” (see Num. 11:4; 11:18; 11:33).God promises to provide for our needs. He never promised to give us the food of our fancy.
“Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?” With this question they spoke against God and tested Him, expressing their lack of faith in His power and lack of trust in His care. They didn’t believe that God could give them a banquet in the wilderness. But repeatedly, God showed Israel that He could do all this and much more.
GOD’S ANGER (v. 21-25):
“Therefore the LORD heard this and was furious;
So a fire was kindled against Jacob,
And anger also came up against Israel,
22 Because they did not believe in God,
And did not trust in His salvation.
23 Yet He had commanded the clouds above,
And opened the doors of heaven,
24 Had rained down manna on them to eat,
And given them of the bread of heaven.
25 Men ate angels’ food;
He sent them food to the full.”
“Therefore the LORD heard this:” God blessed and provided for Israel in the escape from Egypt and in the wilderness; Israel responded with complaining and unbelief. Keep in mind that the sins Asaph had in mind were the sins of ingratitude, testing God, and doubting his power and care. Thismade God furious.
“So a fire was kindled against Jacob:” Asaph may have had in mind what happened at Taberah, where in judgment “the fire of the Lord burned among Israel” (Num. 11:3).
“Yet He had commanded the clouds above, and opened the doors of heaven:” Their dark sin is set against the bright background of God’s goodness. He gave and kept on giving them the bread of heaven and angels’ food, and they ate to the full.
“And given them of the bread of heaven:” John records in his Gospel these words of Jesus: “Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.” (Jn. 6:32-33)
FOWL FOR MEAT (v. 26-31):
“He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens;
And by His power He brought in the south wind.
27 He also rained meat on them like the dust,
Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas;
28 And He let them fall in the midst of their camp,
All around their dwellings.
29 So they ate and were well filled,
For He gave them their own desire.
30 They were not deprived of their craving;
But while their food was still in their mouths,
31 The wrath of God came against them,
And slew the stoutest of them,
And struck down the choice men of Israel.”
“He also rained meat on them like the dust:” Numbers 11:31-33 describes how God sent quail to Israel when they complained about the manna. He literally let the quail fall near their camp so they could easily gather the meat they craved.
“While their food was still in their mouths, the wrath of God came against them:”Some may think that God punished them for eating meat (which He provided), but a deeper problem existed. It was the people’s chronic failure to trust God which provoked the wrath of the Lord.
MERCIFUL RESPONSE (v. 32-39):
In unison:
“In spite of this they still sinned,
And did not believe in His wondrous works.
33 Therefore their days He consumed in futility,
And their years in fear.
34 When He slew them, then they sought Him;
And they returned and sought earnestly for God.
35 Then they remembered that God was their rock,
And the Most High God their Redeemer.
36 Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth,
And they lied to Him with their tongue;
37 For their heart was not steadfast with Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
38 But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity,
And did not destroy them.
Yes, many a time He turned His anger away,
And did not stir up all His wrath;
39 For He remembered that they were but flesh,
A breath that passes away and does not come again.”
“In spite of this they still sinned:” In some ways this is the most tragic line of this psalm. Despite all the blessings and the strongest of corrections, they still sinned. Will God’s family ever learn, either from His goodness or from His wrath?
“Therefore their days He consumed in futility:” God said that the generation of unbelieving people could not enter the Promised Land; that generation would be consumed in the wilderness (Num. 14:22-24). The futility was expressed in the idea that they came out of Egypt, but never into Canaan. The fear was expressed in their lack of faith to take the land promised to them (Num. 14:1-4).
“When He slew them, then they sought Him:” It took the most extreme correction from God, but eventually a generation of people grew and sought for God; but even their seeking was somewhat insincere. Their seeking of God was short-lived. Soon they “flattered Him with their mouth” (v. 36). Isn’t itstrange that a man would think he could lie to God?
“But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity:” God’s response to their rebellion, to their insincere seeking, to their failure to be faithful in His covenant, was surprising. God showed his compassion;he forgave many times and turned his anger away.
“He remembered that they were but flesh, a breath that passes:” In part, God’s understanding of the weakness and frailty of mankind prompted His compassion and forgiveness. The main reason He was merciful is because they were his children, and that God had established His everlasting covenant with them.
FAILURE TO REMEMBER (v. 40-55):
In unison:
“How often they provoked Him in the wilderness,
And grieved Him in the desert!
41 Yes, again and again they tempted God,
And limited the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not remember His power:
The day when He redeemed them from the enemy,
43 When He worked His signs in Egypt,
And His wonders in the field of Zoan;
44 Turned their rivers into blood,
And their streams, that they could not drink.
45 He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them,
And frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He also gave their crops to the caterpillar,
And their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail,
And their sycamore trees with frost.
48He also gave up their cattle to the hail,
And their flocks to fiery lightning.
49 He cast on them the fierceness of His anger,
Wrath, indignation, and trouble,
By sending angels of destruction among them.
50 He made a path for His anger;
He did not spare their soul from death,
But gave their life over to the plague,
51 And destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt,
The first of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52 But He made His own people go forth like sheep,
And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
53 And He led them on safely, so that they did not fear;
But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 And He brought them to His holy border,
This mountain which His right hand had acquired.
55 He also drove out the nations before them,
Allotted them an inheritance by survey,
And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.”
“How often they provoked Him in the wilderness:” Asaph just explained God’s compassionate response to Israel’s sin. Yet he did not want to ignore Israel’s sin and their ingratitude.“Again and again” (v. 41) Israel’s stubborn disobedience provoked God; yet there was a real sense in which it limited the Holy One of Israel. In one sense it is impossible for the creature to limit the Creator. Yet, when God ties His work to man’s faith and/or obedience, there is a sense in which man can and does limit God.Matthew 13:58 says of the ministry of Jesus in Nazareth, “Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” As long as God chooses to work in concert with his family, and developing our ability, our unbelief can hinder the work of God and his kingdom.
“They did not remember His power, the day when He redeemed them:” Asaph had in mind the great power God showed in setting Israel free from their slavery in Egypt. They were there about 215 years total, of which about one hundred years was in servitude. He recounted how God “worked His signs in Egypt”(v. 43) by sending plagues upon them. These plagues were special because they focused on Egyptian deities:
• When God “turned their rivers into blood,” He showed He was greater than the Egyptian gods Khnum (said to be the guardian of the Nile), Hapi (supposedly the spirit of the Nile), and Osiris, said to have the Nile as his bloodstream (Ex. 7:17-20).
• When God “sent swarms of flies” and lice, He showed that He was greater than the Egyptian god Imhotep (believed to be the god of medicine), and that He was able to stop the worship of Egyptian gods with lice and swarms of insects (Ex. 8:20-32).
• When God “sent frogs,” He showed that He was greater than the Egyptian frog-goddess Heqt, believed to be the goddess of fertility (Ex. 8:1-15).
• When God gave “their labor to the locust,” He showed that He was greater than the Egyptian god Set, thought to be the protector of crops (Ex. 10:1-20).
• When God destroyed their agriculture with “hail and frost and their flocks to fiery lightning,” He showed that He was greater than the Egyptian goddess Nut, the supposed sky goddess (Ex. 9:13-35).
• When God “gave up their cattle to the hail,” He showed that He was greater than the Egyptian goddess Hathor, believed to be a cow-like mother goddess (Ex. 9:1-7).
“By sending angels of destruction among them:” The worst of all the plagues was the last, the death of the firstborn. Pharaoh and Egypt would not release God’s firstborn — Israel (Ex. 4:22-23); so God took the firstborn of Egypt (Ex. 11:1 to 12:30).
“He made His own people go forth like sheep:” After the death of the firstborn, the Egyptians begged the Israelites to leave and sent them away with gifts, happy to be rid of them. Asaph summarized the years to follow.
• “He led them on safely:” God protected them all the way.
• “The sea overwhelmed their enemies:” God destroyed the pursuing Egyptian army when the sea came crashing down upon them.
• “He brought them to His holy border:” The promised land.
• “He also drove out the nations before them:” Many Canaanite populations were cleared away before Israel entered the land.
• He “allotted them an inheritance by survey:” The land was divided among the tribes to whom He had made an eternal promise.
TRAGEDY AT SHILOH (v. 56-64):
In unison:
“Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God,
And did not keep His testimonies,
57 But turned back and acted unfaithfully 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 carved images.
59 When God heard this, He was furious,
And greatly abhorred Israel,
60 So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh,
The tent He had placed among men,
61 And delivered His strength into captivity,
And His glory into the enemy’s hand.
62 He also gave His people over to the sword,
And was furious with His inheritance.
63 The fire consumed their young men,
And their maidens were not given in marriage.
64 Their priests fell by the sword,
And their widows made no lamentation.”
“Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God:” The previous long section of this psalm (verses 40-55) recounted God’s great faithfulness while in Egypt and as they went to Canaan. Yet, once Israel came into the Promised Land, they did not keep His testimonies and were unfaithful. Israel often provoked God “with their high places” that they copied from the Canaanites, setting up altars and worshipping carved images.
“He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh:” Asaph remembered the tragedy at Shiloh, where the Philistines overran the tabernacle, killed the priests, and captured the Ark of the Covenant (I Sam. 4).
“Delivered His strength into captivity:” When the Ark of the Covenant was captured at Shiloh, the daughter-in-law of Eli the high priest also learned that her husband, her brother-in-law, her father-in-law, and 30,000 soldiers were killed.She was pregnant, and the news was so overwhelming that she went into labor and died giving birth. With her last words she said to name the child on such a tragic day, Ichabod, meaning, “the glory has departed” (I Sam. 4:20-22). There certainly was a sense in which the glory had departed, but it wasn’t the glory of the ark. The glory that departed was the glory of God’s blessing upon an obedient Israel.
“Their maidens were not given in marriage:” They had not been honored with nuptial songs according to the customs of those times (see Jer. 7:34). The meaning is, they had not been honorably married, because men were scarce by reason of the wars (Isa. 4:1). Or, they had been married without any celebration, like poor bond-women, or in private.
CONCLUSION
Throughout this entire Psalm no emphasis is placed upon the great achievements of men, for hope does not rest in weak and sinful man but in almighty God. In describing the varying conditions of the people, the psalm ends in peace with the reign of the Lord’s anointed, King David (a type of Jesus). When the Chief Shepherd comes, the desert roaming will be ended and we shall enter into the rest of the peaceful Kingdom of God.
God’s people limit Him by forgetfulness of His benefits (Ps. 78:11), refusing to walk in His commands (Ps. 78:10), and by not believing His promises (Ps. 78:22). Yet He is full of compassion, ever waiting to forgive, cleanse from their iniquity, and spare them from being cut off entirely.
“So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.” (Ps. 78:72)
