A maskil of Asaph.
The psalms of Asaph are generally later than the time of David, sometimes even dealing with worship during or after the Babylonian Exile.
Psalm 78, 1-4, Teach these things to your children
O my people, hear my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter hidden things, things from of old--
what we have heard and known,
what our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
his power,
and the wonders he has done.
This is a "teaching psalm", a song of instruction. The psalmist announces that we will tell the wonderful works of God, things we have heard from our fathers, and will pass them on to the next generation
Psalm 78, 5-8, Decrees for Jacob
He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children,
so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.
Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget his deeds
but would keep his commands.
They would not be like their forefathers--
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
whose spirits were not faithful to him.
God gave instructions to Jacob, passed them down to each generation, so that people would put their trust in God and remember both His works and His commandments.
It is admitted, in verse 8, that these generations should not be like their forefathers who rebelled against God. (If this is written at the time of the Babylonian exile, the psalmist surely has many examples of this rebellion.)
Psalm 78, 9-11, Men of Ephraim
The men of Ephraim,
though armed with bows,
turned back on the day of battle;
they did not keep God's covenant
and refused to live by his law.
They forgot what he had done,
the wonders he had shown them.
The men of Ephraim are given as example of this rebellious behavior. (If this is a historical battle, the exact event is not clear. Are the "men of Ephraim" an expression for the northern kingdom after Solomon, in their long rebellion?)
Psalm 78, 12-16, The Exodus
He did miracles in the sight of their fathers
in the land of Egypt,
in the region of Zoan.
He divided the sea and led them through;
he made the water stand firm like a wall.
He guided them with the cloud by day
and with light from the fire all night.
He split the rocks in the desert
and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
he brought streams out of a rocky crag
and made water flow down like rivers.
Here the psalmist remembers God's deeds during the exodus, the flight from Egypt, the crossing the opened sea, the cloud and fire leading them in the desert, and providing them water in that desert. Verse 13, "He divided the sea ... made the water stand firm like a wall," remembers a line from the Song of Moses, Exodus 15:8.
Zoan was a city in Egypt, on the Nile delta. The name plays on the word Zion; YHWH took the Israelites from Zoan to Zion.
Psalm 78, 17-20, But...
But they continued to sin against him,
rebelling in the desert against the Most High.
They willfully put God to the test
by demanding the food they craved.
They spoke against God, saying,
"Can God spread a table in the desert?
When he struck the rock, water gushed out,
and streams flowed abundantly.
But can he also give us food?
Can he supply meat for his people?"
Yet despite the miracles in the desert, the people whined and complained. A standard example of this is the whining at Meribah/Massah in Exodus 17:1-7.
The psalmist is reciting Israelite history, summarizing the events in the Books of Moses.
Psalm 78, 21-22, Anger
When the LORD heard them, he was very angry;
his fire broke out against Jacob,
and his wrath rose against Israel,
for they did not believe in God
or trust in his deliverance.
In response to the whining and rebellion, God become angry. A fire displaying His anger in the desert occurs in Numbers 11:1-3.
Psalm 78, 23-29, Rich gifts
Yet he gave a command to the skies above
and opened the doors of the heavens;
he rained down manna for the people to eat,
he gave them the grain of heaven.
Men ate the bread of angels;
he sent them all the food they could eat.
He let loose the east wind from the heavens
and led forth the south wind by his power.
He rained meat down on them like dust,
flying birds likes and on the seashore.
He made them come down inside their camp,
all around their tents.
They ate till they had more than enough,
for he had given them what they craved.
Despite the stubborness of the Israelites, God provided them manna and meat in the Wilderness of Sin (Exodus 16.)
Psalm 78, 30-31, Too much
But before they turned from the food they craved,
even while it was still in their mouths,
God's anger rose against them;
he put to death the sturdiest among them,
cutting down the young men of Israel.
Despite these gifts, the stubborn Israelites still complained. In Numbers 11:31-34, the complainers were struck down with a plague even as they gorged themselves on quail.
The Old Testament history is a cycle of deliverance, rebellion, oppression, pleading and deliverance again. This psalm has this same cycle. It continues for 72 verses so we will break it into two pieces and continue with the second half in tomorrow's blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment