CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Psalms 78
Chapter 78 of 150
Chapter Overview
What happens in Psalms 78
A maskil of Asaph — one of the longest psalms, retelling the history of Israel from Egypt to David. It warns each generation to learn from the failures of the past and to put their hope in God.
Scripture
Psalms 78
Tell the Next Generation
Study note
Asaph opens with a call to teach the next generation about God's mighty deeds so they will not repeat the mistakes of their stubborn ancestors.
1 Everyone, open your ears to what I am about to teach you. Let my words sink in. Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I am going to use word pictures and stories. I will uncover truths hidden since ancient times. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:
3 These are things that were passed down to us, stories our grandparents shared with our parents. Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
4 We refuse to keep these stories secret from the next generation. We will tell our children about the Lord's wonderful power and the incredible things he has done. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.
5 He gave his rules to Jacob and his instructions to Israel. He ordered our ancestors to pass them on to their children, For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:
6 This way, every new generation would learn them. Even kids not yet born would hear them. And those kids would one day teach their own children. That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:
7 That way, they would place their hope in God, never lose sight of what he did, and follow his directions. That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:
8 They would not turn out like the people before them. Those people were stubborn and would not obey. Their hearts wandered from God. Their loyalty could not be counted on. And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God.
Rebellion in the Wilderness
Study note
Despite God's amazing miracles in Egypt and the wilderness — splitting the sea, guiding with a cloud, giving water from rock, and sending manna from heaven — the people continued to rebel and test God.
9 The warriors of Ephraim carried bows and arrows, but when the day of battle came, they ran away. The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.
10 They broke their agreement with God and turned their backs on his teachings. They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law;
11 They let slip from their memory all the things he had done and all the jaw-dropping miracles he had shown them. And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had shewed them.
12 Before their ancestors, he did amazing things in Egypt, in the area around Zoan. Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
13 He tore the sea open and marched them straight through it. The water piled up on each side like two tall walls. He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap.
14 During the day, a cloud showed them where to go. All through the night, a bright fire lit the way. In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.
15 Out in the desert, he cracked open rocks and gave them as much water as an ocean. He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths.
16 He coaxed streams right out of solid stone, and water flowed downhill like a river. He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.
17 But even after all of that, they kept on sinning against him. Out in the dry wasteland, they still defied the Most High. And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most High in the wilderness.
18 They put God to the test on purpose by demanding the exact food they were hungry for. And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust.
19 They challenged God by asking, "Is God truly able to set a dinner table out here in the middle of nowhere?" Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?
20 "Sure, he hit a rock and water came gushing out like a stream. But can he also give us bread? Can he provide meat for all these people?" Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? can he provide flesh for his people?
21 When the Lord heard that, he burned with anger. His fury blazed against Jacob, and his wrath flared against Israel, Therefore the LORD heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel;
22 because they refused to trust God and would not rely on him to save them. Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation:
23 Even so, he gave a command to the skies above and swung open heaven's doors. Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven,
24 He showered manna down on them like rain. He handed them bread straight from heaven. And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven.
25 Human beings ate food fit for angels. He gave them more than enough to fill their stomachs. Man did eat angels' food: he sent them meat to the full.
26 He launched the east wind across the sky. By his strength, he steered the south wind. He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven: and by his power he brought in the south wind.
27 Meat fell on them as thick as dust, and birds piled up like sand on the beach. He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea:
28 He dropped them right in the middle of the camp, landing all around their tents. And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations.
29 They stuffed themselves until they could eat no more. He had given them exactly what they wanted. So they did eat, and were well filled: for he gave them their own desire;
30 But before they had even finished what they craved, while the food was still between their teeth, They were not estranged from their lust. But while their meat was yet in their mouths,
31 God's anger exploded against them. He struck down the healthiest among them and brought low the young men of Israel. The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel.
God's Mercy and the People's Stubbornness
Study note
Even after God's judgment, the people kept sinning. But God was compassionate. He remembered they were only human — like a breath of wind. Yet they repeatedly tested God and grieved the Holy One of Israel.
32 After all of this, they went right on sinning. They still would not trust in his amazing deeds. For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works.
33 So he let their days fade like a puff of air and their years end in sudden disaster. Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble.
34 Whenever he struck some of them down, the rest would suddenly come looking for him. They would turn around and eagerly reach out for God. When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and inquired early after God.
35 They would recall that God was their solid rock and that the Most High God was the one who set them free. And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer.
36 But their words were just flattery. Everything they told him was a lie. Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues.
37 Deep down, their hearts were not truly with him. They had no real loyalty to his agreement. For their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant.
38 Yet he was full of compassion. He pardoned their wrongs instead of wiping them out. Over and over he pulled back his anger and chose not to pour out all his fury. But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.
39 He kept in mind that they were only flesh and blood -- here for a moment, like a gust of wind that blows by and never comes back. For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.
40 So many times they turned against him out in the wilderness and made his heart ache in the desert! How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!
41 Time after time they pushed God to the limit and stung the Holy One of Israel with their complaints. Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
The Plagues of Egypt Remembered
Study note
Asaph recounts the plagues God sent on Egypt to deliver his people: blood, flies, frogs, locusts, hail, and the death of the firstborn. God then led his people like sheep through the wilderness.
42 They completely forgot how powerful he was -- how he had rescued them from their enemy They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy.
43 when he performed those miraculous signs in Egypt, those stunning wonders near Zoan. How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan:
44 He turned their rivers into blood so nobody could take a drink from their own streams. And had turned their rivers into blood; and their floods, that they could not drink.
45 He released swarms of flies that bit them and waves of frogs that wrecked their land. He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He handed over their crops to swarms of grasshoppers and their harvests to clouds of locusts. He gave also their increase unto the caterpiller, and their labour unto the locust.
47 Hail pounded their grapevines to pieces, and sheets of ice destroyed their fig trees. He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycomore trees with frost.
48 He let hail pound their cattle and lightning bolts strike their flocks. He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.
49 He sent his burning anger against them — fury, rage, and trouble. He sent a whole group of angels bringing ruin. He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them.
50 He opened a highway for his anger. He did not hold back from letting them die but handed them over to the deadly plague. He made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;
51 He struck down every firstborn son in Egypt -- the first child born in every family that came from Ham. And smote all the firstborn in Egypt; the chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham:
52 Then he led his own people out like a flock of sheep and guided them through the desert the way a shepherd leads the way. But made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53 He brought them along safely so they had nothing to fear, while the sea swallowed up the people chasing them. And he led them on safely, so that they feared not: but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 He brought them all the way to his special land, to the hills that his own power had captured. And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to this mountain, which his right hand had purchased.
55 He pushed nations out of the way for them. He split the land among the tribes of Israel so they could settle into their new homes. He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
Continued Rebellion in the Promised Land
Study note
Even in the Promised Land, the people tested God and worshipped idols. God was so angry he abandoned the tabernacle at Shiloh and allowed the Ark to be captured.
56 But they kept testing God Most High and refusing to do what he said. They would not follow his commands. Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, and kept not his testimonies:
57 They proved just as unfaithful and unreliable as the people before them. They twisted away from God like a bow that will not shoot straight. But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
58 They made him angry by setting up shrines to other gods and stirred up his jealousy with carved statues. For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
59 God heard about it, and his fury boiled over. He turned his back on Israel entirely. When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:
60 He walked away from the worship tent at Shiloh, the very place where he had lived among his people. So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men;
61 He let his powerful ark be captured and handed over his treasure to the enemy. And delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy's hand.
62 He gave his own people over to be killed by the sword. He was that angry with his own inheritance. He gave his people over also unto the sword; and was wroth with his inheritance.
63 Fire swallowed up their young men, and no wedding songs were sung for their young women. The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage.
64 Their priests were cut down by the sword, and their widows had no chance to mourn. Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.
God Chooses David and Zion
Study note
Then God awoke as if from sleep. He rejected the tent of Joseph and chose the tribe of Judah and Mount Zion. He chose David his servant, a shepherd boy, to lead his people with integrity and skill.
65 Then the Lord jumped into action as if waking from a deep sleep. He was like a strong warrior shaking off the effects of wine. Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.
66 He drove his enemies backward and left them covered in shame that would never go away. And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts: he put them to a perpetual reproach.
67 He passed over the family of Joseph and did not pick the tribe of Ephraim. Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim:
68 Instead, he chose the tribe of Judah and Mount Zion, the place he dearly loved. But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved.
69 He built his sanctuary to last, towering like the heavens, standing firm like the earth he made to endure forever. And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he hath established for ever.
70 He picked David, his servant, and brought him away from watching over sheep. He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:
71 He took David away from caring for mother sheep and their lambs. He gave David the job of looking after his people Jacob — Israel, his own special people. From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.
72 David led them with an honest heart and guided them with great skill. So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.
Key Themes
Themes in Psalms 78
Telling God's story to the next generationIsrael's repeated rebellion and God's repeated mercyThe danger of forgetting God's deedsGod's choice of David and Zion
Prophetic Connections
How this chapter points to Christ
Psalms Psalm 78:2 Matthew 13:35
The psalmist's declaration 'I will open my mouth in a parable' is quoted by Matthew to explain why Jesus taught in parables, revealing hidden things from the foundation of the world.
Apply This Today
Living Psalms 78
This long psalm is a history lesson with a purpose: each generation must tell the next about God's faithfulness. If you are a parent, grandparent, mentor, or friend, your most important legacy is the stories of what God has done. Do not let the next generation learn about God only from strangers. Tell them yourself.
Go Deeper
Study Psalms in Covenant Path
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