Psalms 78
78
Lessons from History
Asaph’s poetic song of instruction
1Beloved ones, listen to this instruction.
Open your heart to the revelation
of this mystery that I share with you.
2A parable and a proverb are hidden in what I say—
an intriguing riddle # 78:2 The Hebrew word for “riddle” (chidoth) comes from the verb meaning “to tie a knot.” It is something that must be untied and unraveled by the Spirit of God. One of these riddles or wordplays is the name of Jesus hidden in plain sight (see v. 22 and footnote). from the past.
3-4We’ve heard true stories from our fathers about our rich heritage.
We will continue to tell our children
and not hide from the rising generation
the great marvels of our God—
his miracles and power that have brought us all this far.
5The story of Israel is a lesson in God’s ways.
He established decrees for Jacob and established the law in Israel,
and he commanded our forefathers to teach them to their children.
6For perpetuity God’s ways will be passed down
from one generation to the next, even to those not yet born.
7In this way, every generation will set its hope in God
and not forget his wonderful works but keep his commandments.
8By following his ways they will break the past bondage
of their fickle fathers, who were a stubborn, rebellious generation
and whose spirits strayed from the eternal God.
They refused to love him with all their hearts.
9Take, for example, the sons of Ephraim.
Though they were all equipped warriors, each with weapons,
when the battle began they retreated and ran away in fear.
10They didn’t really believe the promises of God;
they refused to trust him and move forward in faith.
11They forgot his wonderful works and the miracles of the past,
12even their exodus from Egypt, the epic miracle of his might.
They forgot the glories of his power at the place of passing over. # 78:12 Or “the fields of Zoan.” Zoan means “crossing place” or “place of departure.” (See v. 43.)
13God split the sea wide open, and
the waters stood at attention on either side
as the people passed on through!
14By day the moving glory-cloud led them forward.
And all through the night the fire-cloud stood as a sentry of light.
15-16In the days of desert dryness, he split open the mighty rock,
and the waters flowed like a river before their very eyes.
He gave them all they wanted to drink from his living springs.
17Yet they kept their rebellion alive against God Most High,
and their sins against God continued to be counted.
18In their hearts they tested God just to get what they wanted,
asking for the food their hearts craved.
19-20Like spoiled children they grumbled against God,
demanding he prove his love by saying,
“Can’t God provide for us in this barren wilderness?
Will he give us food, or will he only give us water?
Where’s our meal?”
21Then God heard all their complaining and was furious!
His anger flared up against his people.
22For they turned away from faith and walked away in fear;
they failed to trust in his power to save # 78:22 The word for “save” looks and sounds like Yeshua (Jesus). them when he was near.
23-24Still he spoke on their behalf, and the skies opened up;
the windows of heaven poured out food,
the mercy bread-manna.
The grain of grace fell from the clouds.
25Humans ate angels’ food—the meal of the mighty ones. # 78:25 The word for “angels” is ‘abirim which means “brave,” “noble,” or “strong.” The psalmist was saying that God gave them the best, most delicious food imaginable, a meal eaten by the mighty ones, and yet the people grew tired of it and began to complain and demanded some variety.
His grace gave them more than enough!
26-27The heavenly winds of miracle power blew in their favor,
and food rained down upon them;
succulent quail quieted their hunger as they ate all they wanted.
28Food fell from the skies, thick as clouds;
their provision floated down right in front of their eyes!
29He gave them all they desired, and they ate to their fill.
30-31But before they had even finished,
even with their food still in their mouths,
God’s fiery anger arose against them,
killing the finest of their mighty men.
32Yet in spite of all this, they kept right on sinning.
Even when they saw God’s marvels,
they refused to believe God could care for them.
33So God cut their lives short with sudden disaster,
with nothing to show for their lives but fear and failure.
34When he cared for them they ignored him,
but when he began to kill them, ending their lives in a moment,
they came running back to God, pleading for mercy.
35They remembered that God, the Mighty One,
was their strong protector,
the Hero-God who would come to their rescue.
36-37But their repentance lasted only as long as they were in danger;
they lied through their teeth to the true God of the Covenant.
So quickly they wandered away from his promises,
following God with their words and not their hearts!
Their worship was only flattery.
38But amazingly, God—so full of compassion—still forgave them.
He covered over their sins with his love,
refusing to destroy them all.
Over and over he held back his anger,
restraining wrath to show them mercy.
39He knew that they were made from mere dust—
frail, fragile, and short-lived, here today and gone tomorrow.
40How many times they rebelled in their desert days!
How they grieved him with their grumblings.
41Again and again they limited God, preventing him from blessing them.
Continually they turned back from him
and provoked # 78:41 The Hebrew verb for “provoked” is a hapax legomenon and comes from a root word for “marked.” It is as though Israel’s behavior wounded the heart of God. the Holy One of Israel!
42They forgot his great love, how he took them by his hand,
and with redemption’s kiss he delivered them from their enemies.
43They disregarded all the epic signs and marvels they saw
when they escaped from Egypt’s bondage.
They forgot the judgment of the plagues that set them free.
44God turned their rivers into blood, leaving the people thirsty.
45He sent them vast swarms of filthy flies that sucked their blood.
He sent hordes of frogs, ruining their lives.
46Grasshoppers consumed all their crops.
47Every garden and every orchard
was flattened with blasts of hailstones,
their fruit trees ruined by a killing frost.
48Even their cattle fell prey, pounded by the falling hail;
their livestock were struck with bolts of lightning.
49Finally, he unleashed upon them the fierceness of his anger.
Such fury!
He sent them sorrow and devastating trouble
by his mighty band of destroying angels;
messengers of death were dispatched against them.
50-51He lifted his mercy and let loose his fearful anger
and did not spare their lives.
He released the judgment-plagues to rage through their land.
God struck down in death all the firstborn sons of Egypt—
the pride and joy of each family.
52Then, like a shepherd leading his sheep, God led his people
out of tyranny, guiding them through the wilderness like a flock.
53Safely and carefully God led them out, with nothing to fear.
But their enemies he led into the sea.
He took care of them there once and for all!
54Eventually God brought his people to the Holy Land,
to a land of hills that he had prepared for them. # 78:54 The Aramaic reads “He brought them to the border of his holiness, the mountain possessed by his right hand.”
55He drove out and scattered all the peoples occupying the land,
staking out an inheritance, a portion for each of Israel’s tribes.
56Yet for all of this, they still rebelled and refused to follow his ways,
provoking to anger the God Most High.
57-58Like traitors turning back, they forsook him.
They were even worse than their fathers!
They became treacherous deceivers, crooked and corrupt,
and worshiped false gods in the high places,
bringing low the name of God with every idol they erected.
No wonder he was filled with jealousy and furious with anger!
59Enraged with anger, God turned his wrath on them,
and he rejected his people with disgust.
60God walked away from them and left his dwelling place at Shiloh,
abandoning the place where he had lived among them,
61allowing his emblem of strength, his glory-ark, to be captured.
Enemies stole the very source of Israel’s power.
62God vented his rage, allowing his people to be butchered
when they went out to battle,
for his anger was intense against his very own.
63Their young men fell on the battlefield and never came back.
Their daughters never heard their wedding songs,
since there was no one left to marry!
64Their priests were slaughtered and their widows were killed
before they had time to weep.
65Then all at once the Almighty awakened
as though he had been asleep.
Like a mighty man he arose, roaring into action!
66He blasted into battle, driving back every foe,
defeating them and disgracing them for time and eternity.
67He rejected Joseph’s family, the tribe of Ephraim.
68He chose instead the tribe of Judah # 78:68 The place of God’s dwelling was moved from the land of Ephraim (Shiloh) to the land of Judah (Jerusalem).
and Mount Zion, which he loves.
69There he built his towering temple,
strong and enduring as the earth itself.
70God also chose his beloved one, David.
He promoted him from caring for sheep
and made him his prophetic servant.
71-72God prepared David and took this gentle shepherd-king
and presented him before the people
as the one who would love and care for them
with integrity, a pure heart, and the anointing
to lead Israel, his holy inheritance.
Currently Selected:
Psalms 78: TPT
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Passion Translation® is a registered trademark of Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc.
Copyright © 2020 Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc.
Learn More About The Passion TranslationPsalms 78
78
Psalm 78
Lessons from Israel’s Past
A Maskil of Asaph.#1Ch 16:5,7
1My people, hear my instruction;
listen to the words from my mouth.#Pr 5:7; 7:24; Is 55:3
2I will declare wise sayings;
I will speak mysteries from the past#Ps 49:4; Pr 1:6; Mt 13:35 —
3things we have heard and known
and that our ancestors have passed down to us.#Ps 44:1
4We will not hide them from their children,
but will tell a future generation
the praiseworthy acts of the Lord,
his might, and the wondrous works
he has performed.#Dt 6:7; 11:19; Ps 145:4
5He established a testimony in Jacob
and set up a law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach to their children#Ps 19:7; 81:5; 147:19
6so that a future generation —
children yet to be born — might know.
They were to rise and tell their children#Dt 11:19; Ps 22:31; 102:18
7so that they might put their confidence in God
and not forget God’s works,
but keep his commands.#Dt 6:12; Ps 103:2; Pr 3:1
8Then they would not be like their ancestors,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not loyal
and whose spirit was not faithful to God.#Dt 31:27; 2Kg 17:14; 2Ch 30:7
9The Ephraimite archers turned back
on the day of battle.#Ps 44:10
10They did not keep God’s covenant
and refused to live by his law.#1Kg 11:11; 2Kg 17:15; Jr 32:23
11They forgot what he had done,
the wondrous works he had shown them.#Ps 106:13
12He worked wonders in the sight of their ancestors
in the land of Egypt, the territory of Zoan.#Ex 7–12; Ps 78:43
13He split the sea and brought them across;
the water stood firm like a wall.#Ex 14:21; 15:8; Ps 136:13
14He led them with a cloud by day
and with a fiery light throughout the night.#Ex 13:21; Nm 14:14; Ps 105:39
15He split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink as abundant as the depths.#Ex 17:6; Nm 20:8–13; Is 48:21
16He brought streams out of the stone
and made water flow down like rivers.#Ps 105:41; 114:8
17But they continued to sin against him,
rebelling in the desert against the Most High.#Dt 9:22; Is 63:10; Heb 3:16
18They deliberately#78:18 Lit in their heart tested God,
demanding the food they craved.#Ex 17:2,7; Ps 106:14; 1Co 10:5–10
19They spoke against God, saying,
“Is God able to provide food in the wilderness?
20Look! He struck the rock and water gushed out;
torrents overflowed.#Nm 20:11
But can he also provide bread
or furnish meat for his people?” #Ex 16:3; Nm 11:4; 21:5
21Therefore, the Lord heard and became furious;
then fire broke out against Jacob,
and anger flared up against Israel#Nm 11:1
22because they did not believe God
or rely on his salvation.#Dt 1:23; 9:23; Heb 3:18
23He gave a command to the clouds above
and opened the doors of heaven.#Gn 7:11; Mal 3:10
24He rained manna for them to eat;
he gave them grain from heaven.#Ex 16:4,31; Jn 6:31
25People#78:25 Lit Man ate the bread of angels.#78:25 Lit mighty ones
He sent them an abundant supply of food.#Ex 16:3
26He made the east wind blow in the skies
and drove the south wind by his might.#Nm 11:31
27He rained meat on them like dust,
and winged birds like the sand of the seas.
28He made them fall in the camp,
all around the tents.#Ex 16:13; Ps 105:40
29The people ate and were completely satisfied,
for he gave them what they craved.#Nm 11:4,34
30Before they had turned from what they craved,
while the food was still in their mouths,
31God’s anger flared up against them,
and he killed some of their best men.
He struck down Israel’s fit young men.#Nm 11:33–34; Jb 20:23
32Despite all this, they kept sinning
and did not believe his wondrous works.#Nm 14:16–17
33He made their days end in futility,
their years in sudden disaster.#Nm 14:29,35; Jb 14:1; Ps 90:9; Ec 1:2–3
34When he killed some of them,
the rest began to seek him;
they repented and searched for God.#Nm 21:7; Ps 63:1; Hs 5:15
35They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God, their Redeemer.#Is 44:6,8
36But they deceived him with their mouths,
they lied to him with their tongues,#Is 29:13; 57:11; Ezk 33:31
37their hearts were insincere toward him,
and they were unfaithful to his covenant.#Ps 51:10; 78:8; Ac 8:21
38Yet he was compassionate;
he atoned for their iniquity
and did not destroy them.
He often turned his anger aside
and did not unleash#78:38 Or stir up all his wrath.#Nm 14:18–20; Dt 4:31; Is 12:1
39He remembered that they were only flesh,
a wind that passes and does not return.#Dt 31:27; Ps 107:11
40How often they rebelled against him
in the wilderness
and grieved him in the desert.
41They constantly tested God#Ps 95:8–9
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.#Dt 9:7–8,22; Ps 106:29; Zch 8:14
42They did not remember his power shown
on the day he redeemed them from the foe,#Jdg 8:34; Ps 44:3; 106:10
43when he performed his miraculous signs in Egypt
and his wonders in the territory of Zoan.#Ex 4:21; 7:3; Ps 105:27
44He turned their rivers into blood,
and they could not drink from their streams.#Ex 7:14–25; Ps 105:29
45He sent among them swarms of flies,#Ex 8:17; Ps 105:31
which fed on them,
and frogs, which devastated them.#Ex 8:3–6; Ps 105:30
46He gave their crops to the caterpillar
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.#Ex 10:14–15; Ps 105:34
47He killed their vines with hail
and their sycamore fig trees with a flood.
48He handed over their livestock to hail
and their cattle to lightning bolts.#Ex 9:23–24; Ps 105:32
49He sent his burning anger against them:
fury, indignation, and calamity —
a band of deadly messengers.#78:49 Or angels#Ex 12:13,23; 2Sm 24:16
50He cleared a path for his anger.
He did not spare them from death
but delivered their lives to the plague.#Ex 12:29–30
51He struck all the firstborn#Ex 13:15; Ps 105:36 in Egypt,
the first progeny of the tents of Ham.#Ps 105:23,27
52He led his people out like sheep
and guided them like a flock in the wilderness.#Ex 15:22; Ps 77:20
53He led them safely, and they were not afraid;
but the sea covered their enemies.#Ex 14; 15:19; Jos 24:7; Ps 106:11
54He brought them to his holy territory,
to the mountain his right hand acquired.#Ex 15:17; Ps 74:2
55He drove out nations before them.#Jos 11:16–23; Ps 44:2
He apportioned their inheritance by lot
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.#Jos 13:7; 23:4; Ps 135:12
56But they rebelliously tested the Most High God,
for they did not keep his decrees.#Jdg 2:11–13
57They treacherously turned away like their ancestors;
they became warped like a faulty bow.#Ezk 20:27–28; Hs 7:16
58They enraged him with their high places
and provoked his jealousy with their carved images.#Jdg 2:12; 1Kg 3:2; Ezk 20:28
59God heard and became furious;
he completely rejected Israel.#Dt 32:19; Ps 106:40; Am 6:8
60He abandoned the tabernacle at Shiloh,
the tent where he resided among mankind.#Jr 7:12,14; 26:6
61He gave up his strength to captivity
and his splendor to the hand of a foe.#1Sm 4:17
62He surrendered his people to the sword
because he was enraged with his heritage.#Jdg 20:21; 1Sm 4:10
63Fire consumed his chosen young men,
and his young women had no wedding songs.#78:63 Lit virgins were not praised#Jr 7:34; 16:9; Lm 2:21
64His priests fell by the sword,
and the widows could not lament.#Jb 27:15; Ezk 24:23
65The Lord awoke as if from sleep,
like a warrior from the effects of wine.#Ps 73:20; 121:4; Is 42:13
66He beat back his foes;
he gave them lasting disgrace.#1Sm 5:6; Ps 40:14
67He rejected the tent of Joseph
and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68He chose instead the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loved.#Ps 87:2
69He built his sanctuary like the heights,
like the earth that he established forever.#1Kg 6
70He chose David his servant
and took him from the sheep pens;#1Sm 16:11–13
71he brought him from tending ewes
to be shepherd over his people Jacob —
over Israel, his inheritance.#Ps 28:9; Is 40:11
72He shepherded them with a pure heart
and guided them with his skillful hands.#1Kg 9:4; Ps 101:2
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers