Remembering the Wonders of God

Psalm 78

It's a longer Psalm so I was thinking maybe we could just

go around and read it if you guys are okay with that

Maybe we could each

read 10 verses or so

and then I'll read the first part

Give ear on my people to my teaching

incline your ears to the words of my mouth

I will open my mouth in a parable

I will utter dark sayings from of old

things that we have heard and known

that our fathers have told us

we will not hide them from their children

but tell to the coming generation

the glorious deeds of the Lord

and his might and the wonders

that he has done

he established a testimony in Jacob

and appointed a law in Israel

which he commanded our fathers

to teach to their children

that the next generation might know them

the children yet unborn

and arise and tell them to their children

so that they should set their hope in God

and not forget the works of God

but keep his commandments

and that they should not be like their fathers

a stubborn and rebellious generation

a generation whose heart was not steadfast

whose spirit was not faithful to God

the Ephraimites

armed with the bow

turned back on the day of battle

they did not keep God's covenant

but refused to walk according to his law

I'll give it a quick question

He forgot his works

and the wonders that he had shown them

in the sight of their fathers

he performed wonders

in the land of Egypt

and the fears of Zion

he divided the sea

and let them pass through it

and made the water stand like a heap

in the daytime

he led them with a cloud

and all the night

with a fiery light

he split rocks in the wilderness

and gave them drink abundantly

as from the deep

he made streams come out of the rock

and cause waters to flow down like rivers

yet they sinned still more against him

rebelling against the most high in the desert

they tested God in their heart

by demanding the food they crave

they spoke against God

saying can God spread a table in the wilderness

he struck the rock

so that water gushed out

and streams overflow

can he also give bread

or provide meat for his people

therefore

when the Lord heard

he was full of wrath

the fire was kindled against Jacob

his anger arose against Israel

because they did not believe in God

and did not trust his saving power

yet he commanded the skies above

and opened the doors of heaven

and he ran down on them manna to eat

and gave them the grain of heaven

man ate of the bread of angels

he sent them food in abundance

he caused the east wind to blow in the heavens

and by his power he led out the south wind

he rained meat on them like dust

winged birds like the sand of the seas

he let them fall in the midst of their camp

all around their dwelling

and they ate and were well filled

for he gave them what they craved

but before they had satisfied their craving

while the food was still in their mouths

the anger of God rose against them

and he killed the strongest of them

and laid those the young men of Israel

in spite of all this

they still sinned

despite his wonders

they did not believe

so he made their days vanish like a breath

and their years in tears

when he killed them

they sought him

they repented and sought God earnestly

they remembered that God was their rock

the most high God

their redeemer

but they flattered him with their mouths

they lied to him with their tongues

their heart was not steadfast toward him

they were not faithful to his tongues

yet he being compassionate

atoned for their iniquity

and did not destroy them

he restrained his anger often

and did not stir up all his wrath

he remembered that they were but flesh

a wind that passes and comes not again

how often they rebelled against him

in the wilderness

and grieved him in the desert

again and again they put God to the test

they vexed the Holy One of Israel

they did not remember his power

the day he redeemed them from the oppressor

the day he displayed his miraculous signs in Egypt

his wonders in the region of Zon

he turned their rivers to blood

they could not drink from their streams

he sent swarms of flies that devoured them

and frogs that devastated them

he gave their crops to the grasshopper

their produce to the locust

he destroyed their vines with hail

and their sycamore figs with sleet

he gave over their cattle to the hail

their livestock to bolts of lightning

he unleashed against them his hot anger

his wrath, indignation and hostility

a band of destroying angels

he made a path for his anger

he did not spare them from death

but gave their lives over to the plague

he struck down every firstborn in Egypt

the first fruits of their strength

in the tents of Ham

then he led out his people like sheep

and guided them in the wilderness like a flock

he led them in safety so that they were not afraid

but the sea overwhelmed their enemies

and he brought them to his holy land

to the mountain which his right hand had won

he drove out nations before them

he apportioned them for a possession

and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents

yet they tested and rebelled against the most high God

and did not keep his testimonies

but turned away and acted treacherously

like their fathers

they twisted like a deceitful bow

for they provoked him to anger with their high places

they moved him to jealousy with their idols

when God heard he was full of wrath

and he utterly rejected Israel

he forsook his dwelling at Shiloh

in the tent where he dwelt among mankind

and delivered his power to captivity

his glory to the hand of the foe

he gave his people over to the sword

and he bunted his wrath on his heritage

fire devoured their young men

and their young women

had no marriage song

the priests fell by the sword

and their widows made no lamentation

the Lord awoke as from sleep

like a strong man shouting because of one

and he put his adversaries to wrath

he put them to everlasting shame

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

he built a sanctuary like the high heavens

like the earth

which he has founded forever

he chose David his servant

and took him from the sheepfold

for following the nursing news

he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people

Israel his inheritance

with upright heart he shepherded them

and guided them with a skillful hand

yeah

you guys have heard the quote

I'm sure it's from the Spanish-American philosopher

George Santayana

he said

those who cannot remember the past

are condemned to repeat it

and the Bible

obviously said

said that long before Santayana did

and that's really the theme of the psalm

because twice

in verses 7 and 11

the word forget is repeated

and then the verb remember

is repeated three times

throughout this psalm

and the idea is

that the first part of it

the verses 1 to 8

really is an exhortation

to the future generation

to remember

the wonders of God

the wondrous works of God

and then the rest of it

really is

a recitation of the past generations

forgetting the wonders of God

so using them as an example

really a negative example

the psalmist exhorting the future generations

to remember the wonders of God

and so

that's really

what you see in verses 1 to 8

God had charged them

after rescuing them

and making a covenant with them

to observe his commandments

and to remember

the covenant that they made

and then to teach it to their children

and that's what the psalmist is trying to do

because the fathers

their fathers

from whom they heard the story

were actually themselves unfaithful

to the covenant

and so they

it says in verse 8

that they should not be like their fathers

a stubborn and rebellious generation

a generation whose heart was not steadfast

whose spirit was not faithful to God

and so

the main point of the psalm really

is that we should remember

the wonders of God

and be steadfast and faithful toward them

and then we get to the second half

which is most of the psalm

verses 9 to 72

which is recounting of the past generations

forgetting the wonders of God

and it begins in verses 9 to 11

by saying

the Ephraimites

armed with the bow

turned back on the day of battle

they did not keep God's covenant

but refused to walk according to his law

they forgot his works

and the wonders that he had shown them

so Ephraim was the leading tribe of Israel

they were the biggest tribe

Ephraim was the younger son of Jacob

or Joseph

that received Jacob's blessing

the greater blessing

and so Ephraim became the leading tribe of Israel

so often the name Ephraim is used

to stand for the entire nation of Israel

so that's what's going on here

which is why the name Israel is used

repeatedly interchangeably throughout the psalm

when it's referring to the tribe of Ephraim

it singles out that it's a tribe of Ephraim

like it does later in verse 67

and Ephraim turning back from battle

it's probably a reference to 1 Samuel 4

where the Israelis are fighting against the Philistines

and Israel is defeated

because they have been idolatrous

and the ark of God is lost in the battle

and it says they fled every man to his home

so that's probably the reference

and I think that's most likely to be the background

of this psalm

because the psalmist mentions that specifically

that instance more in detail

later in verses 59-64

what's remarkable is in verses 12-56

we see repeated rebellion by the Israelites

just persistent sin and rebellion

and they forget the wonders that God performed

it's in verse 12

in the sight of their fathers

he performed wonders in the land of Egypt

in the fields of Zohan

so he's going back a generation further

than the ones that he's currently addressing

the ones that are in the promised land

and then he's saying that their fathers

saw the wonders of God in the land of Egypt

and fields of Zohan is another way to say land of Egypt

Zohan is a city in Egypt

that's the area of Goshen

it's a city inside the region of Goshen

where the Israelites

Joseph and Jacob and his families lived

and their descendants

and then the way

the unfaithfulness of Israelites

and the faithfulness of God is described

is exactly contrasted

so in Hebrew poetry

the poetry is divided into colons

and in verses 12-16

there are exactly 10 colons

that exclaim the wonders of God

and then in verses 17-20

there are exactly 10 colons

of Israel's rebellion

and the kind of pattern repeats

and so it's showing us

that the faithless behavior of Israel

is the exact opposite

of what you would expect

from God's faithfulness

that he had shown them

in Egypt

and he recons

different things he's done

in Egypt

God brought various pests and plagues

upon the Egyptians

and killed their firstborn

to rescue

and deliver Israel

when they were in the wilderness

right

God provided rock

you know water from the rock

he poured down manna

the bread from heaven

and he poured down quail from heaven

meat from heaven

he parted the sea

to take them out

through the Red Sea

and in spite of all of this

we keep hearing the refrain

throughout this psalm

verse 17

yet they sinned

still more against him

rebelling against the most high

and then verse 32

in spite of all this

they still sinned

in verse 40

how often they rebelled against him

and then finally in verse 56

yet they tested

and rebelled against the most high God

the word rebel

and the word test

are repeated in conjunction

with each other

throughout this psalm

three and four times

to describe the Israeli forefathers

so this really is

kind of gets at the heart of sin

right

instead of submitting to God

we rebel against him

and instead of trusting God

we test him

and how many times

have we done this in our lives

right

when we

when God's word is clear

and the demands

the commands of God

are clear

we disobey

we rebel

instead of submitting

and when God calls us

to trust him

in spite of uncertainty

when God calls us

to trust him

and we take things

into our own hands

and by doing that

we test him instead

instead of trusting him

and so really

this psalm

calls us to repentance

that in spite of

the repeated forgiveness

and repeated deliverance

and the constant love of God

that we have been

turning against him

and being unfaithful to him

and then

by verse 56

we return to the second generation

because it's

and

and

yet they

even though God

had driven out the nations

before them

and given them the inheritance

of the promised land

even they

as it says in 56

they have rebelled against the Lord

and we see the details

of the rebellion

in verses 57 to 58

it says

they turned away

and acted treacherously

like their fathers

they twisted like a deceitful bow

the mention of the bow

is

ties this verse back

to verse 9

which describes

the Ephraimites

as those who are armed

with the bow

and

and so it's

it's

probably referring to

the same incidents

incident

and

and

like a twisted bow

like a deceitful bow

so I mean

like when your bow is twisted

and you shoot it

it misfires

and it

it basically

treacherous

because you can hit anything

you can even hit your own

people

or

and so that's how

the Israelites

responded

behaved

toward God

they acted like a

treacherous

deceitful bow

turned against him

who was his Lord

and

and

and the reason why

and

and

and they do

did that

it says

by following the idols

so they were pursuing

idols

and

God

rejected them

in response to that

and so

I mentioned this earlier

but

the incident that

verse 8 is referring to

is probably from

1st Samuel 4

right

so

they're worshipping

Baal

worshipping the

Asherah

and

and

and

and

at the time

in the tabernacle

was where

God's presence

dwelt

and it was

God's presence

was represented

by the Ark

of the Covenant

and the Ark

of the Covenant

resided in

in Shiloh

that's the

place that's

mentioned here

but then

even though

they were

idolatrous

they thought

that they would

do live service

to God

and make

and

and get

maybe good luck

charm

as they go into

this battle

against Philistines

they brought

the Ark of God

to accompany them

and of course

God would not

be mocked

and so

they lose

the battle

and

Hophni

and Phinehas

who are the

two priests

who priest

sons of

Eli

die in the

battle

and then

the Ark

of the Covenant

is stolen

and then

they

the news

reaches

Eli the

priest

and he's

an overweight

man

and he's

elderly

and he's

so shocked

by the news

he tips over

backward

in his chair

breaks his neck

and dies

and then

when his

daughter-in-law

who is Phinehas

his wife

was pregnant

hears the news

she gives

premature birth

and she dies

after giving birth

and as she

names

as she dies

she names

her son

Ichabod

or Ichabod

and which means

it says

the glory

has departed

from Israel

that's what

that's what

verses 59 to 64

is talking about

it says

he forsook

he forsook

his dwelling

at Shiloh

the tent

where he

dwelt

among mankind

and delivered

his power

to captivity

his glory

to the hand

of the foe

their priests

later says

fell by the sword

and their widows

made no lamentation

so that's

kind of the low

point really

of Israel's

history

before the

monarchy

began

but even

in that case

it turns out

that God

does not

reject his

people forever

so he says

in verses

65 to 66

then the Lord

awoke as

from sleep

like a strong

man shouting

because of wine

and he put

his adversaries

to rout

he put them

to everlasting

shame

and of course

it's not saying

that God

was literally

asleep

but he

woke up

as if

from slumber

as like

a strong

man who

is energized

invigorated

by wine

he came

in power

and routed

his enemies

and restored

them

but then

when that

happens

God's grace

the focal

point

the locus

of God's

really grace

and blessing

shifts

so Ephraim

was the leading

tribe in Israel

but that now

shifts to Judah

the tribe of Judah

and the house

of David

is chosen by God

to be the

ones that will

lead

and so that's

what verses

67 to 70

is talking about

he chose

David his servant

and took him

from the sheepfold

and so it was

under the

established

under the

Davidic monarchy

that Israel

achieved victory

from the

surrounding nations

and the ark

of God

was finally

restored

to its

new dealing

place in

Jerusalem

and that's

kind of

really

what the

psalmist

is celebrating

and so the

psalm really

ends in a

hopeful note

right

because

and most

likely because

that's the

period that the

psalmist lived

in

so he's saying

oh yeah

all this

happened now

we should

remember this

so that this

doesn't happen

to us again

but that we

can stay

with God's

blessing

but as

people who

know the

rest of

scripture

we know

that it

doesn't play

out the way

the psalmist

envisions or

hopes

and they

sin again

they turn to

idolatry again

and then they're

exiled

and they lose

God's favor

and so it

seems that

things are just

hopeless

maybe this

vicious cycle

will continue

indefinitely

but then that's

exactly why

God has to

send a second

David

a better

David

because the

first David

could not

accomplish

once and

for all

what God

intended to

accomplish

and so

Jesus was

the prophesied

offspring of

David

he's described

that way

in 2 Samuel

7 12-16

as the one

the Davidic

offspring who

will reign

forever in

God's stead

as a

representative

and then during

his life he

was given the

messianic title

son of David

Matthew 1-1

other places

and then so

similar to

David who

David was a

champion of

Israelites

he defeated

Goliath on

behalf of the

Israelites

defeated the

Philistines and

cut off the

Goliath's head

in a similar

way Jesus

now as the

champion of

his people

dies on the

cross for our

sins on

Golgotha

rises again

and he

crushes the

head of

Satan

David was

only able to

deliver his

people temporarily

but Christ is

able to deliver

his people

eternally and

permanently

because he

fights not

only the

physical

temporal

enemies but

the spiritual

enemies

the sin

and the

devil and

world and

flesh and

the devil

and even

though we

continue to

sin and

because of

that this

cycle really

should continue

because Christ

bore all the

punishment and

we deserved

and the

justice of

God and

the mercy of

God was

satisfied

it was made

one in

him we

are no

longer under

condemnation

under judgment

and so

that's

that's

really what

this is

talking about

so that in

verse 2

when the

psalmist says

I will open

my mouth

in a parable

I will utter

dark sayings

from the

world

right

dark saying

meaning obscure

saying something

that's perplexing

a riddle

and then

and that

verse is

cited in

Matthew 13

35 to

just describe

Jesus's

teaching

that Jesus

is described

as I open

up my mouth

in parable

and how

is this

a parable

it's a

parable

because

the story

of Israel

their history

is supposed

to function

as a parable

for us

so that it's

supposed to be

a parable

of the gospel

for us

that if we

are faithless

God remains

faithful

2 Timothy

2 13

right

that where

sin increased

grace abounded

all the more

right

Romans 5 20

right

that's

that's the

truth

that's the

parable

of the gospel

the Israel

history

their ups

and downs

their

their constant

their repeated

unfaithfulness

and God's

constant

faithfulness

is the

parable

for us

to learn

the mystery

of Christ

that he's

the one

who saves

us

and is

faithful

with us

in spite

of our

sins

and so

that's

when we

remember

that

that's

when we're

able to be

steadfast

and faithful

toward God

so when we

are plagued

by doubts

or

we remember

how faithful

God has been

toward us

when we

are tempted

to

sin

disobey him

and rebel

against him

instead of

obeying him

that's

when we

remember his

goodness

and kindness

toward us

and that's

what enables

us to be

still