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Texts -- Psalms 78:1-70 (NET)

Context
Psalm 78
78:1 A well-written song by Asaph . Pay attention , my people , to my instruction ! Listen to the words I speak ! 78:2 I will sing a song that imparts wisdom ; I will make insightful observations about the past . 78:3 What we have heard and learned – that which our ancestors have told us– 78:4 we will not hide from their descendants . We will tell the next generation about the Lord’s praiseworthy acts , about his strength and the amazing things he has done . 78:5 He established a rule in Jacob ; he set up a law in Israel . He commanded our ancestors to make his deeds known to their descendants , 78:6 so that the next generation , children yet to be born , might know about them. They will grow up and tell their descendants about them. 78:7 Then they will place their confidence in God . They will not forget the works of God , and they will obey his commands . 78:8 Then they will not be like their ancestors , who were a stubborn and rebellious generation , a generation that was not committed and faithful to God . 78:9 The Ephraimites were armed with bows , but they retreated in the day of battle . 78:10 They did not keep their covenant with God , and they refused to obey his law . 78:11 They forgot what he had done , the amazing things he had shown them. 78:12 He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors , in the land of Egypt , in the region of Zoan . 78:13 He divided the sea and led them across it; he made the water stand in a heap . 78:14 He led them with a cloud by day , and with the light of a fire all night long. 78:15 He broke open rocks in the wilderness , and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea . 78:16 He caused streams to flow from the rock , and made the water flow like rivers . 78:17 Yet they continued to sin against him, and rebelled against the sovereign One in the desert . 78:18 They willfully challenged God by asking for food to satisfy their appetite . 78:19 They insulted God , saying , “Is God really able to give us food in the wilderness ? 78:20 Yes , he struck a rock and water flowed out , streams gushed forth . But can he also give us food ? Will he provide meat for his people ?” 78:21 When the Lord heard this, he was furious . A fire broke out against Jacob , and his anger flared up against Israel , 78:22 because they did not have faith in God , and did not trust his ability to deliver them. 78:23 He gave a command to the clouds above , and opened the doors in the sky . 78:24 He rained down manna for them to eat ; he gave them the grain of heaven . 78:25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones. He sent them more than enough to eat . 78:26 He brought the east wind through the sky , and by his strength led forth the south wind . 78:27 He rained down meat on them like dust , birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores . 78:28 He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp , all around their homes . 78:29 They ate until they were stuffed ; he gave them what they desired . 78:30 They were not yet filled up , their food was still in their mouths , 78:31 when the anger of God flared up against them. He killed some of the strongest of them; he brought the young men of Israel to their knees . 78:32 Despite all this , they continued to sin , and did not trust him to do amazing things. 78:33 So he caused them to die unsatisfied and filled with terror . 78:34 When he struck them down , they sought his favor; they turned back and longed for God . 78:35 They remembered that God was their protector , and that the sovereign God was their deliverer . 78:36 But they deceived him with their words , and lied to him. 78:37 They were not really committed to him, and they were unfaithful to his covenant . 78:38 Yet he is compassionate . He forgives sin and does not destroy . He often holds back his anger , and does not stir up his fury . 78:39 He remembered that they were made of flesh , and were like a wind that blows past and does not return . 78:40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness , and insulted him in the desert ! 78:41 They again challenged God , and offended the Holy One of Israel . 78:42 They did not remember what he had done , how he delivered them from the enemy , 78:43 when he performed his awesome deeds in Egypt , and his acts of judgment in the region of Zoan . 78:44 He turned their rivers into blood , and they could not drink from their streams . 78:45 He sent swarms of biting insects against them, as well as frogs that overran their land. 78:46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper , the fruit of their labor to the locust . 78:47 He destroyed their vines with hail , and their sycamore-fig trees with driving rain . 78:48 He rained hail down on their cattle , and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock . 78:49 His raging anger lashed out against them, He sent fury , rage , and trouble as messengers who bring disaster . 78:50 He sent his anger in full force ; he did not spare them from death ; he handed their lives over to destruction . 78:51 He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt , the firstfruits of their reproductive power in the tents of Ham . 78:52 Yet he brought out his people like sheep ; he led them through the wilderness like a flock . 78:53 He guided them safely along, while the sea covered their enemies . 78:54 He brought them to the border of his holy land , to this mountainous land which his right hand acquired . 78:55 He drove the nations out from before them; he assigned them their tribal allotments and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down . 78:56 Yet they challenged and defied the sovereign God , and did not obey his commands . 78:57 They were unfaithful and acted as treacherously as their ancestors ; they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow . 78:58 They made him angry with their pagan shrines , and made him jealous with their idols . 78:59 God heard and was angry ; he completely rejected Israel . 78:60 He abandoned the sanctuary at Shiloh , the tent where he lived among men . 78:61 He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured ; he gave the symbol of his splendor into the hand of the enemy . 78:62 He delivered his people over to the sword , and was angry with his chosen nation . 78:63 Fire consumed their young men , and their virgins remained unmarried . 78:64 Their priests fell by the sword , but their widows did not weep . 78:65 But then the Lord awoke from his sleep ; he was like a warrior in a drunken rage. 78:66 He drove his enemies back ; he made them a permanent target for insults . 78:67 He rejected the tent of Joseph ; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim . 78:68 He chose the tribe of Judah , and Mount Zion , which he loves . 78:69 He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above; as secure as the earth , which he established permanently . 78:70 He chose David , his servant , and took him from the sheepfolds .

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • ZOAN

    [ebd] (Old Egypt. Sant= "stronghold," the modern San). A city on the Tanitic branch of the Nile, called by the Greeks Tanis. It was built seven years after Hebron in Palestine (Num. 13:22). This great and important city was the ca...
    [isbe] ZOAN - zo'-an (tso`an; Tanis): 1. situation 2. Old Testament Notices 3. Early History 4. Hyksos Monuments 5. Hyksos Population 6. Hyksos Age 7. Description of Site 1. Situation: The name is supposed to mean "migration" (Arab...
    [smith] (place of departure), an ancient city of lower Egypt, called Tanis by the Greeks. It stood on the eastern bank of the Tanitic branch of the Nile. Its name indicates a place of departure from a country, and hence it has been i...

  • QUAIL

    [isbe] QUAIL - kwal (selaw; ortugometra; Latin Coturnix vulgaris): A game bird of the family Coturnix, closely related to "partridges" (which see). Quail and partridges are near relatives, the partridge a little larger and of brigh...

  • PROVOCATION; PROVOKE

    [isbe] PROVOCATION; PROVOKE - prov-o-ka'-shun, pro-vok': "Provoke," literally, "to call forth," hence, to excite or stir up, whether in a good or bad sense, appears frequently in the Old Testament as the translation of Piel, or Hip...

  • PROVIDENCE, 1

    [isbe] PROVIDENCE, 1 - prov'-i-dens: I. PROVIDENCE DEFINED II. DIFFERENT SPHERES OF PROVIDENTIAL ACTIVITY DISTINGUISHED III. BIBLICAL PRESENTATION OF THE DOCTRINE OF PROVIDENCE 1. Divine Providence in the Old Testament Scriptures (...

  • PLAGUES OF EGYPT

    [isbe] PLAGUES OF EGYPT - plagz (niphle'oth, "wonders "from pala', "to be separate," i.e. in a class by themselves; also called negheph, "plague," from naghaph, "to smite" (Ex 9:14), and negha`, "a stroke," from nagha`, "to touch" ...

  • Kibroth-hattaavah

    [ebd] the graves of the longing or of lust, one of the stations of the Israelites in the wilderness. It was probably in the Wady Murrah, and has been identified with the Erweis el-Ebeirig, where the remains of an ancient encampmen...

  • Israel

    [nave] ISRAEL 1. A name given to Jacob, Gen. 32:24-32; 2 Kin. 17:34; Hos. 12:3, 4. 2. A name of the Christ in prophecy, Isa. 49:3. 3. A name given to the descendants of Jacob, a nation. Called also Israelites, and Hebrews, Gen. 4...

  • Herdsman

    [ebd] In Egypt herdsmen were probably of the lowest caste. Some of Joseph's brethren were made rulers over Pharaoh's cattle (Gen. 47:6, 17). The Israelites were known in Egypt as "keepers of cattle;" and when they left it they too...

  • Heaven

    [ebd] (1.) Definitions. The phrase "heaven and earth" is used to indicate the whole universe (Gen. 1:1; Jer. 23:24; Acts 17:24). According to the Jewish notion there were three heavens, (a) The firmament, as "fowls of the heaven" ...

  • HEZEKIAH (2)

    [isbe] HEZEKIAH (2) - (chizqiyah, "Yahweh has strengthened"; also written chizqiyahu, "Yah has strengthened him"; Hezekias): One of the greatest of the kings of Judah; reigned (according to the most self-consistent chronology) from...

  • Goshen

    [ebd] (1.) A district in Egypt where Jacob and his family settled, and in which they remained till the Exodus (Gen. 45:10; 46:28, 29, 31, etc.). It is called "the land of Goshen" (47:27), and also simply "Goshen" (46:28), and "the...

  • Fly

    [ebd] Heb. zebub, (Eccl. 10:1; Isa. 7:18). This fly was so grievous a pest that the Phoenicians invoked against it the aid of their god Baal-zebub (q.v.). The prophet Isaiah (7:18) alludes to some poisonous fly which was believed ...

  • FLESH

    [ebd] in the Old Testament denotes (1) a particular part of the body of man and animals (Gen. 2:21; 41:2; Ps. 102:5, marg.); (2) the whole body (Ps. 16:9); (3) all living things having flesh, and particularly humanity as a whole (...
    [isbe] FLESH - @basar, she'er): 1. Etymology: Used in all senses of the word, the latter, however, most frequently in the sense of kin, family, relationship (compare sha'arah, "kins-woman," Lev 18:17): Lev 18:6; 25:49; Prov 11:17; ...

  • Ephraim, The tribe of

    [ebd] took precedence over that of Manasseh by virtue of Jacob's blessing (Gen. 41:52; 48:1). The descendants of Joseph formed two of the tribes of Israel, whereas each of the other sons of Jacob was the founder of only one tribe....

  • Encamp

    [ebd] An encampment was the resting-place for a longer or shorter period of an army or company of travellers (Ex. 13:20; 14:19; Josh. 10:5; 11:5). The manner in which the Israelites encamped during their march through the wilderne...

  • EXODUS, THE BOOK OF, 3-4

    [isbe] EXODUS, THE BOOK OF, 3-4 - III. Historical Character. 1. General Consideration: The fact that extra-Israelitish and especially Egyptian sources that can lay claim to historical value have reported nothing authentic concernin...

  • DESERT

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. midbar, "pasture-ground;" an open tract for pasturage; a common (Joel 2:22). The "backside of the desert" (Ex. 3:1) is the west of the desert, the region behind a man, as the east is the region in front. The same H...
    [smith] Not a stretch of sand, an utterly barren waste, but a wild, uninhabited region. The words rendered in the Authorized Version by "desert," when used in the historical books denote definite localities. ARABAH. This word means ...

  • Beast

    [ebd] This word is used of flocks or herds of grazing animals (Ex. 22:5; Num. 20:4, 8, 11; Ps. 78:48); of beasts of burden (Gen. 45:17); of eatable beasts (Prov. 9:2); and of swift beasts or dromedaries (Isa. 60:6). In the New Tes...

  • Asaph

    [ebd] convener, or collector. (1.) A Levite; one of the leaders of David's choir (1 Chr. 6:39). Psalms 50 and 73-83 inclusive are attributed to him. He is mentioned along with David as skilled in music, and a "seer" (2 Chr. 29:30)...
    [nave] ASAPH 1. Father of Joah, 2 Kin. 18:18; Isa. 36:3, 22. 2. Son of Berachiah. One of the three leaders of music in David's organization of the tabernacle service, 1 Chr. 15:16-19; 16:5-7; 25:1-9; 2 Chr. 5:12; 35:15; Neh. 12:46...

  • Aholah

    [ebd] she has her own tent, a name used by Ezekiel (23:4, 5, 36, 44) as a symbol of the idolatry of the kingdom of Israel. This kingdom is described as a lewdwoman, an adulteress, given up to the abominations and idolatries of the...

Arts

Hymns

(Note: In "active" or "on" condition, the hymns music will be played automatically when mouse hover on a hymns title)
  • [Psa 78:1] Let Children Hear The Mighty Deeds
  • [Psa 78:1] My People, Give Ear
  • [Psa 78:1] O Come, My People, To My Law
  • [Psa 78:25] Very Bread, Good Shepherd, Tend Us
  • [Psa 78:39] Days And Moments Quickly Flying

Questions

  • The Ark of the Covenant was definitely real and was a part of the tabernacle, being placed in the Holy of Holies behind the curtain. I will include articles below from three Bible Dictionaries that will give you some informat...
  • The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in Old Testament times was selective and temporary. He was nevertheless working in the lives of people to do much of the same type of thing as seen in John 16:8-11, though the object of faith...
  • I'm going to copy some articles on this subject, but let me give you my summation of all of them. In the Old Testament, the firstborn son was the one who normally received a double inheritance, and was the one who would inher...

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Psalm 78:43 places the scene of the plagues in northern Egypt near Zoan.The plagues were penal; God sent them to punish Pharaoh for his refusal to obey God and to move him to obey Yahweh. They involved natural occurrences rat...
  • "The way of the land of the Philistines"refers to the most northern of three routes travelers took from Egypt to Canaan (v. 17). The others lay farther south. The Egyptians had heavily fortified this caravan route, also calle...
  • The "rabble"(v. 4) were the non-Israelites who had come out of Egypt with God's people (Exod. 12:38). It did not take them long to become discontented with conditions in the desert and to complain about their bland diet of ma...
  • The previous ordinance guarded a son from a capricious father. This one maintained the rights of parents whose son (or daughter, presumably) was incorrigible. While the problem in view was one of lack of respect for parents (...
  • Not all the people who later assembled to see the ark were as careful as those from Bethshemesh, however. The Mosaic Law specified that no one was to look into the ark or that person would die (Num. 4:5, 20; cf. 2 Sam. 6:6-7)...
  • A second group of seven Levites (v. 5) led the people in the prayer of praise that Nehemiah included in this book perhaps on a different day than the prayer he wrote about in verses 1-4."The prayer is intended to instruct the...
  • The texts of the individual psalms do not usually indicate who wrote them.1However some of the titles of the individual psalms do contain information about the writers.2This is the only really reliable information we have as ...
  • I. Book 1: chs. 1-41II. Book 2: chs. 42-72III. Book 3: chs. 73-89IV. Book 4: chs. 90-106V. Book 5: chs. 107-150...
  • In this psalm David urged those who sin against the Lord to seek His pardon with the encouragement that He is gracious with the penitent. He will, however, chasten the unrepentant.Students of this penitential psalm have often...
  • This psalm pictures God seated in His heavenly throne room. He has two indictments against His people Israel. The wicked among them were hypocritical in their worship, a violation of the first part of the Decalogue, and in th...
  • 71:14-18 Regardless of the outcome in his case the writer determined to continue trusting and praising God. The Lord had demonstrated His righteousness, salvation, and mighty deeds for a long time and in many ways. Therefore ...
  • A man or men named Asaph wrote 17 of the psalms in this book (Pss. 73-83). Other writers were the sons of Korah (Pss. 84-85, 87), David (Ps. 86), Heman (Ps. 88), and Ethan (Ps. 89). Asaph, Heman, and Ethan were musicians from...
  • 74:3 There is no record that any of Israel's enemies ever destroyed the temple in David's day to the extent that this verse implies. Perhaps Asaph was speaking hyperbolically, namely describing the destruction in extreme term...
  • This didactic psalm teaches present and future generations to learn from the past, and it stresses the grace of God."This could be sub-titled, in view of verses 12 and 68, From Zoan to Zion, for it reviews the turbulent adole...
  • Asaph appealed to his audience to listen to his instruction about God's acts, power, and wonders. He had received these teachings from former generations and was now passing them on to the next generation as God had commanded...
  • 78:12-20 In his historical review Asaph began with the plagues in Egypt (v. 12). He drew broad strokes on his verbal canvas tracing God's faithfulness to the generation that left Egypt in the Exodus (vv. 12-16). Each verse in...
  • 89:38-45 Next Ethan recounted what God had permitted to overtake David. He was now weak and defeated rather than being strong and successful. God had apparently cut David off and gone back on His promises. The fall of Jerusal...
  • Allen, Ronald B. "Evidence from Psalm 89."In A Case for Premillennialism: A New Consensus, pp. 55-77. Edited by Donald K. Campbell and Jeffrey L. Townsend. Chicago: Moody Press, 1992._____. Lord of Song. Portland: Multnomah P...
  • This pericope concludes the sections on the culmination of Israel's future (65:17-66:24), Israel's future transformation (chs. 56-66), Israel's hope (chs. 40-66), and the whole book, Yahweh's salvation. As 56:1-8, it clarifie...
  • Israel deserved judgment, and this pericope shows why. Jeremiah presented a series of pictures of the nation's irresponsibility and corruption.2:29 The Lord wanted to know why His people were angry with Him. The difficulties ...
  • 8:1 The following prophecy came to Ezekiel during September of 592 B.C. as he was sitting in his house with the elders of Israel.141This would have been during the time when he was lying on his right side for part of the day ...
  • In the section that follows, the relationship between Israel and Yahweh becomes even clearer. The mention of Baals and Israel's feasts makes this obvious. Hosea's relationship with Gomer recedes into the background.2:8 Israel...
  • 7:14 Amos replied that he was not a prophet by his own choosing; he did not decide to pursue prophesying as a career. Neither had he become a prophet because his father had been one. In Amos' culture it was common and expecte...
  • The message of the false prophets was not completely wrong; it just presented the positive aspects of God's promises to Israel but omitted the negative. Micah's message had been mainly negative; the people needed to repent or...
  • Jesus' genealogy and virgin birth prove His legal human qualification as Israel's King. His baptism was the occasion of His divine approval. His temptation demonstrated His moral fitness to reign. The natural question a thoug...
  • Matthew linked this parabolic teaching with the controversy in chapter 12 by using the phrase "on that day"(NASB) or "that same day"(NIV, Gr. en te hemera ekeine). These parables were a response to Israel's rejection of her K...
  • 13:34 Matthew stressed the importance of parables in Jesus' teaching. This verse is a chiasm in the Greek text with "parables"in the middle. Jesus constantly used parables in His spoken ministry to the multitudes following Hi...
  • John had questioned Jesus' identity, and Jesus had defended John's identity. Jesus now warned his hearers who rejected John's identity and Jesus' identity.7:29 Verses 29 and 30 do not appear in the Matthew parallel. They reve...
  • This section of the text contains Jesus' enigmatic and attractive description of the Bread of Life. Jesus was whetting His hearers' appetites for it (cf. 4:10). The pericope ends with their asking Him to give them the Bread (...
  • Having announced His departure Jesus proceeded to offer the Holy Spirit for those who believed on Him (cf. chs. 14-16).7:37 The feast of Tabernacles lasted seven days (cf. Deut. 16:13). However the day following the feast was...
  • Following the blowing of the second trumpet something "like [cf. 6:13] a great mountain"that was on fire came crashing down from heaven into the waters of one or more of the earth's seas. This resulted in a third of the ocean...
  • 9:1 Again John saw a "star"(cf. 6:13; 8:10), but this time the "star"was an intelligent being. If "fallen"(Gr. peptokota) has theological connotations, the "star"may refer to Satan (vv. 2, 11; cf. 1:20; Job. 38:7; Luke 10:18)...
  • 14:1 "And I looked"(Gr. kai eidon) introduces three scenes in chapter 14 (vv. 1, 6, 14), as this phrase did twice in chapter 13 (vv. 1, 11). "Behold"(Gr. idou, cf. v. 14) calls special attention to the greatness of the sight ...
  • All the fresh water sources (springs, rivers, lakes, etc.) become blood in this plague (cf. 8:11; Exod. 7:24; Ps. 78:43-44). If the water is literal water, should we not understand the blood as literal blood too? People canno...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Gilgal, the first encampment, lay defenseless in the open plain, and the first thing to be done would be to throw up some earthwork round the camp. It seems to have been the resting-place of the ark and probably of the non-co...
  • That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments.'--Psalm 78:7.IN its original application this verse is simply a statement of God's purpose in giving to Israel the Law, and su...
  • Mark's picturesque words show the groups sitting by companies of hundreds or of fifties. He uses a word which means the square garden plots in which herbs are grown.' So they sat on the green grass, which at that Passover sea...
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