Psalm 78 looks at the past to draw lessons for the present. Specifically in Israel’s life, God wants them to avoid the mistakes of the past. In here are important lessons for us for, as the old saying goes, those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
1 – 8
Asaph describes three different things he is giving in this psalm: “instruction” is the Hebrew word “torah” which means literally instruction, law, or teaching. “wise sayings” are proverbs, and “mysteries” can be translated “riddles.” It can also be translated as “parables.”
A parable is a practical story with a spiritual moral. A proverb is a short saying that packs a punch, and teaching is direct instruction. So the psalmist will use various methods to get through the thick heads of His people. And sometimes God has to use various methods to get through to us as well!
And he stresses the importance of not only getting God’s truth, but passing it on. He wants them to know the mistakes as well as the victories. This is important to us as well—we learn as much or more from our weaknesses as we do our strengths.
The point is so they would not continue to be a “stubborn and rebellious generation.” (vs 8). The end goal then is to be “loyal” and “faithful” to God.
In the next section he recounts numerous occasions where God was faithful and the people rebellious.
9 – 11
The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh represented northern Israel, which were the first to rebel against God and serve other Gods.
12 – 16
Here Asaph recounts the crossing of the Red Sea, and the fact that the presence of God followed Israel as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. He also provided water when they had none.
17 – 20
So after all that—the attitude of the people was “God might be able to provide water, but can he also provide food?” There is a truth we must embrace, that if we continue to let our human nature rule, we will never be satisfied. If we let God rule, we may not get all we want, but we will get all we need.
Galatians 5:16 I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want.
21 – 31
The accounts of God providing Manna and quail are stories of a rebellious people. God gave them what they wanted, but they also suffered the consequences of it. (Numbers 11)
Galatians 6:7 7 Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap, 8 because the one who sows to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.
Next, it appears as if they’ve learned their lesson, but in reality they have merely learned how to hide their true nature even from themselves.
32 – 39
Life in the wilderness was tough, and many died who had rebelled. Sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking that if we talk to God like a Christian should, and we go to church and carry a big Bible that we really are being faithful to Him. Being transformed on the inside is what matters, not looking good on the outside.
Notice the compassion and grace of God to forgive over and over.
Then the psalmist goes back to describing the rebellion in their wilderness wanderings, and how they had forgotten what God had just done for them in Egypt.
40 – 55
So here we see all of the plagues against Egypt found in the book of Exodus. Zoan is a city in Egypt that became its capital. Verse 52 shows God leading His people out like sheep, through the Red Sea and eventually into the Promised Land. But even there, they rebelled.
56 – 64
During the period of the judges, many people died and they went from one tyrant over them to another. There was this see-saw that happened. The people would suffer, then they would cry out to God and He would rescue them. But they were not sincere in their repentance and so went right back to worshipping other Gods.
One of the worst things Israel did was to try to use the Ark of the Covenant as a talisman in battle. It was captured by Philistia (vs 61).
65 – 72
Finally God had had enough with the northern tribes. He chose Judah and Jerusalem as the place to put his temple, and David as His king the man after His own heart
I love how this ends because the promise to David was that out of his loins one would come who would rule, but also give Himself as a sacrifice for all of our rebellions.
God rescued His people and provided for His people. But it wasn’t enough. Is God enough for you?
God desires faithfulness. He is a jealous God. He doesn’t want you ruled by other gods. That’s a recurring theme here. It happens to easily to us—as we listen to the values of this age.
Revelation 2:4 says “you have abandoned the love you had at first.” Don’t abandon that love for God. Return to Him—and enyoy your relationship with Him.
Psalm 79
Psalm 79, like Psalm 74, was written at the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. The people of Israel never thought this would happen, but their disobedience and unfaithfulness to God had gone to far and discipline was needed.
1 – 4
The psalmist describes the death and destruction that happened when the Babylonian forces broke through into Jerusalem. Psalm 74 talks about the destruction of the places where Israel worshiped. This psalm focuses on the people who were destroyed and left without being buried. The desecration of the temple, making it unusable for sacrifices, was especially troubling as it represented God’s presence among His people. Further, he is saddened by the fact that people seeing the destruction are mocking Israel and Israel’s God.
5 – 8
There are several important things in this section:
He acknowledges that God’s jealousy for the faithfulness of His people is at the heart of what’s going on.
He is asking that God’s wrath be poured out instead on those who reject Yahweh (which is what Judah actually did over and over).
He is asking for forgiveness for past sins
He acknowledges that their sin has made them weak.
9 – 11
The psalmist wants help, not for the glory of Judah, but for the glory of Yahweh. This is an important distinction and is a shift from their past thinking. If we focus on God’s name being lifted up, instead of our own, we are starting to think the right way.
12 – 13
The taunts of the surrounding nations should be hurled back on them by God, the psalmist asks. The result will be praise and thanksgiving.
In fact, Babylon was judged for their attack on Israel. And Israel learned their lesson and never again fell into idolatry. They did, though, fall into something else: legalism.
Did you know that God is jealous for you? He’s jealous when you chose to worship any other god. He isn’t expecting you to be perfect, He just wants faithfulness in the relationship that He will leverage in the process of remaking you in His image.
Psalm 80
Most likely this Psalm was written when the northern tribes of Israel were brought into captivity by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. It’s a cry of anguish over how far Israel had fallen, and a cry for mercy.
1 – 3
Joseph, Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh represent the entirety of Israel—the northern tribes, the southern tribes, and those that settled across the Jordan.
“Sit enthroned on the cherubim” represents the Ark of the Covenant and represents the presence of the Lord among His people.
The word “restore” can also mean “return” and suggests the restoration of a relationship when one returns to God in repentance.
4 – 7
The psalmist uses the term “Lord of Hosts” twice in this section. It is the language of a warrior. He describes their situation as anguish and tears, among enemies that are “making fun” of them as well as angry with them.
8 – 11
Verses 8 through 11 describes how God pulled Israel out of Egypt like a vine, and under David, the kingdom spread geographically. The imagery was used extensively by Isaiah (especially Isaiah 5). The problem with Israel is that Israel was unfaithful:
Isaiah 5: 1 “I will sing about the one I love, a song about my loved one’s vineyard: The one I love had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. 2 He broke up the soil, cleared it of stones, and planted it with the finest vines. He built a tower in the middle of it and even dug out a winepress there. He expected it to yield good grapes, but it yielded worthless grapes.”
So we see the result of their unfaithfulness to God in the next verses:
12 – 13
Let’s read on in Isaiah:
Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard:
I will remove its hedge,
and it will be consumed;
I will tear down its wall,
and it will be trampled.
6 I will make it a wasteland.
It will not be pruned or weeded;
thorns and briers will grow up.
I will also give orders to the clouds
that rain should not fall on it.
7 For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts
is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah,
the plant He delighted in.
He looked for justice
but saw injustice,
for righteousness,
but heard cries of wretchedness.
So you can see here in Psalm 80 the imagery of the broken down wall and the beasts “picking” its fruit.
14 – 19
The psalmist is calling for Yahweh to restore the vine, and the king “the man at your right hand.”
What’s wonderful about this is that though the vine of Israel was not faithful, the true vine, Jesus Christ, who is Israel in one man, was faithful to God. In that vine, we will not only see God restore us, but will also continually be fruitful:
John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vineyard keeper. 2 Every branch in Me that does not produce fruit He removes, and He prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me. 6 If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples.
So how do you bear fruit? It’s not by trying really hard. It is by “remaining in Me” as Jesus said. This goes back to Psalm 79. God desires a faithful relationship. If you have that He has you and can work in and through you to bear fruit.
