Today’s Word
Twice Turning
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. …
The List
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…
The One-Way Street
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…
Once Upon a Time
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…
God vs. the People
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…
To Believe
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…
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