For they provoked Him with their high places and moved Him to jealousy with their carved images. Psalm 78:58 NASB Provoked/ jealousy – Yesterday we realized that the children of Israel turned back (sûg) toward Egypt in their hearts because they could not emotionally trust God. Their feet kept going forward, around and around in the wilderness waiting, waiting,…
But turned back and acted treacherously like their fathers; they turned aside like a treacherous bow. Psalm 78:57 NASB Turned back – Don’t be mistaken. This Hebrew word is not שׁוּב (šûb) (re)turn. šûb is “turning back” to God. Jeremiah uses this Hebrew verb in seventeen different ways, all connected to returning. But Asaph doesn’t employ šûb. …
They did not remember His [w]power, the day when He redeemed them from the enemy, Psalm 78:42 NASB Not remember – In the next ten verses Asaph lists all the mighty works that God did to redeem His people from Egypt. You might notice that his list isn’t quite the same as the sequence of events in Exodus. For…
How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert! Again and again they [v]temptedGod, and pained the Holy One of Israel. Psalm 78:40-41 NASB Tempted – We’re all familiar with James’ declaration: “No one is to say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He…
So He remembered that they were only flesh, a wind that passes and does not return. Psalm 78:39 NASB Only flesh – Human life is a fairy tale. Oh, I don’t mean it isn’t real. I mean it’s a “once upon a time” story. Every human life is a wind that passes and does not return. It’s…
But He, being compassionate, [s]forgave their wrongdoing and did not destroy them; and often He restrained His anger and did not stir up all His wrath. Psalm 78:38 NASB Forgave – I hope you noticed that there’s a little footnote attached to this translated verb. That footnote tells the reader that the verb is “atone,” that is, kāpar. But as…
And they remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God their Redeemer. But they flattered Him with their mouth and lied to Him with their tongue. For their heart was not steadfast toward Him, nor were they faithful with His covenant. Psalm 78:35-37 NASB Remembered – “To believe is to remember,” wrote Abraham Heschel. Asaph might not…
When He killed them, then they sought Him, and they returned and searched diligently for God; Psalm 78:34 NASB Sought – When do you seek God? Well, when do most people seek God? When things are bad. When we want a God-genie to fix things. When we’re suffering. The rest of the time, God is sort of…
In spite of all this they still sinned and did not believe in His wonderful works. Psalm 78:32 NASB Did not believe – This is quite an amazing statement by Asaph. In spite of all this! Those words are very hard to believe. What more could God have done? He demonstrates His power over all the Egyptian…
So they ate and were well filled, and He satisfied their longing. Yet before they had abandoned their longing, while their food was in their mouths, the anger of God rose against them and killed some of their strongest ones, and subdued the choice men of Israel. Psalm 78:29-31 NASB Killed – Verses like these make liberal theologians…
