|
a. |
Introduction: |
1-3. |
Dark sayings |
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4-7. |
Teaching the next generation |
|
b. |
8-10. |
The reproach of Ephraim |
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|
c. |
11-67. |
Learning from history (subdivisions are given in the commentary) |
|
|
d. |
68-72. |
The exaltation of Judah (cp. Psalm 89: God’s choice of the line of David) |
|
|
a. |
The seven-fold emphasis on the instruction of children (vv.
1-8) matches Exodus 10:2; 12:26,27; 13:8-10,14,15. |
|
b. |
The deliverance from Egypt: verses 10-13, 42-51
here. |
|
c. |
Relevance to Hezekiah’s great Passover: 2 Chronicles
30. |
|
d. |
“The Holy One of Israel” (v. 41) is a common
phrase (about 30 times) in Isaiah. |
|
a. |
Psalm 77: see notes there. |
|
b. |
For the “Learn from history” theme, see also
Psalms 105 and 106. |
|
c. |
Stephen’s defense: Acts 7. |
|
a. |
Ephraim was told by Joshua to fight for its own
inheritance (Josh. 17:14-18), but... |
|
b. |
They captured Bethel by deceit (Judg.
1:24,25). |
|
c. |
Ephraimites gave easy tolerance to the indigenous Canaanites
(Judg. 1:29). Contrast with the vigorous opposition put up against them by Judah
(1:8-20). |
|
d. |
They were cantankerous in the days of Gideon (Judg. 8:1-3) and
Jephthah (12:1). |
|
e. |
They supported secession (Judg. 9:2-6). |
|
f. |
They chose a false priesthood (Judg. 17; 18). |
|
g. |
When Judah was leader in the retribution against Benjamin
(Judg. 20:18), the Ephraimites sulked again (cp. Hos. 10:9). |
|
h. |
Shiloh in Ephraim was a failed sanctuary, run by corrupt or
ineffective priests (v. 60 here; 1 Sam. 2-4). |
|
i. |
Jeroboam of Ephraim “made Israel to sin” by
dividing the kingdom and introducing a debased religion. |
|
j. |
The words “law” (torah) and
“bow” (vv. 9,10) are closely connected, and “shooters of the
bow” (v. 9) would suggest “men of a deceitful law” (the Hebrew
is very similar)... |
|
k. |
Yet Ephraim was intended to be an instructor in righteousness
(Gen. 49:24; hence v. 57 here and Hos. 7:16). |
|
l. |
The contrast with the good emphasis on Judah is very marked
(vv. 67-70). |
|
1. |
Give ear... incline your ear. Compare Psa. 81 for
similarities, especially vv. 8,11,13 there. See also 50:7; 89:30; Isa.
51:7. |
|
|
O my people. These are God’s words, as in Isa.
1:1,2 and Deut. 32:1. |
|
2. |
I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark
sayings of old (cp. Psa. 49:4). This is quoted in Matt. 13:35 as a
commentary on the parabolic teaching of Jesus (and so also the “Give
ear” of v. 1 = Matt. 13:13,14,16). Since the parables in the gospels are
not superficial stories, but are certainly to be interpreted detail by detail,
so also Psalm 78 is to be read as an allegory of the experiences of others
chosen to know God’s redemption and providential leading. Compare
Paul’s use of a portion of Israel’s history (“types of
us”) in 1 Cor. 10:1-11. |
|
|
I will utter. The word naba describes
water bursting forth or over-flowing (cp. Psa. 19:2; Prov. 18:4). Hence,
probably, the word for “prophet” —
nabi. |
|
|
Dark sayings is s.w. Prov. 1:6; literally,
“knots” (like Samson’s riddle: Judg. 14:12). Behind Psalm 78
(see Par. 5) is the Messianic rivalry between Ephraim and Judah. Similarly the
parables (especially in Matt. 13) develop the same theme — how men lose
Christ or gain him. The purpose of the parables is to confound the wise
(1 Cor. 1:18-20) while instructing the child-like. Thus the contrast between
teachable children (vv. 4-6) and independent, rebellious “adults”
(v. 8). |
|
4. |
We will not hide them. The context suggests a strong
understatement here. Or is it an allusion to the serious lack of proper
instruction in Ephraim (v. 9)? |
|
|
Shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
i.e., His praiseworthy actions. To show someone why he should praise
God is better than to show him how! If men understand the reasons, then
the mechanics will take care of themselves. |
|
5. |
For he established a testimony in Jacob. That is, with
all the twelve tribes, all of whom were represented at Hezekiah’s
Passover. |
|
|
Which he commanded our fathers. Besides the seven-fold
instruction in these verses, see also Deut. 4:9; 6:7,20; 11:18-21; 31:26; Prov.
1:8; Josh. 4:22; Eph. 6:4. |
|
6. |
And declare them to their children. That is, our
grandchildren, as in Deut. 4:9 (“thy sons, and thy sons’
sons”). “Scripture has no room for parental neutrality”
(Kidner). |
|
7. |
The works of God recalls Psa. 77:11. |
|
8. |
A stubborn and rebellious generation. True of Israel as
a whole (Deut. 21:18,20; 9:6,7,24; 31:27; 32:5,20)? Or, in this context, true of
Ephraim particularly? Compare similar censures by Peter against the Jews (Acts
2:40) and by Paul against the “world” in general (Phil.
2:15). |
|
|
A generation that set not their heart aright. A
reference to Ephraim in the days of Hezekiah’s reformation (2 Chron.
30:10,18). |
|
|
Stedfast is a key word here: see vv. 22,32,37 also (in
vv. 22 and 32, “believed” is s.w. “stedfast”). |
|
9. |
The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying
bows. See Par. 5, j and k. |
|
|
Turned back in the day of battle. When? Was Ephraim a
ringleader in resisting Joshua and Caleb’s advice (Num. 14:4)? Or is this
verse an addition to Moses’ history? |
|
10. |
They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in
his laws. The whole, mostly sordid history of the ten tribes may be
summarized in this verse. |
|
11. |
And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had shewed
them. |
|
|
|
“They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his
counsel... They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in
Egypt” (Psa. 106:13,21). |
|
|
12. |
Zoan. A city in the northeastern part of the Nile
Delta, of some consequence (cp. v. 43; Num. 13:22). It is also called Tanis.
Kidner has called this psalm: “From Zoan to Zion” (i.e., v.
68)! |
|
|
13. |
He divided the sea. |
|
|
|
“[The Lord] that led them by the right hand of Moses
with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an
everlasting name” (Isa. 63:12; cp. Exod. 14:21). |
|
|
|
He made the waters to stand as an heap. The Red Sea
(Exod. 14:22; 15:8) and the Jordan River (Josh. 3:13,16). Compare the language
of Psa. 33:7. Also see 66:6, notes. |
|
|
14. |
In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the
night with a light of fire. Exod. 13:21; 14:24. |
|
15. |
He clave (s.w. Isa. 35:6; 48:21) the rocks
(tzurim: s.w. Exod. 17:6) in the wilderness. The plural
suggests that it was done more than once (cp. Num. 20:11). |
|
16. |
He brought streams out of the rock (sela,
s.w. Num. 20:8,11; Deut. 32:13). The s.w. sela is used of
God Himself in Psa. 18:2; 31:3; 42:9; 71:3. |
|
17. |
And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most
High in the wilderness. Deut. 9:22. |
|
18. |
And they tempted God in their heart. In Exod.
16:2,3,8,13 the murmuring was directed against Moses and Aaron, but only
outwardly. In their heart they were saying, ‘Can God furnish
a table in the wilderness (v. 19)? No, He cannot!’ |
|
|
Men tempt — or “test” — God when they
(a) covet what is unlawful (here); (b) limit God’s power (v. 41); and (c)
do not keep God’s laws (v. 56). |
|
|
Asking meat for their lust. “Lust”
(“demanding”: RSV) is merely the translation of the common Hebrew
word nephesh (soul!). The situation (whether Exod. 16 or Num. 11)
was closely matched in John 6:26,30 after the feeding of the 5,000 (see
comparisons in Par. 7). There, in v. 31, the critics had the perversity to quote
from Psa. 78:24, out of a context which condemned their own attitude
utterly. |
|
19. |
They spake against God. And as they tempted Him, He
tested them (Deut. 8:3). |
|
|
Can God... ? Compare Gen. 18:12-14 (Sarah’s
doubts) and Mark 9:22,23 (the father of a son with a “dumb spirit”).
This doubt should not go unrebuked. Are those who say “God can, but will
He?” so much better? |
|
|
Furnish a table is the very phrase of Psalm 23:5. But
what a difference! |
|
20. |
Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and
the streams overflowed: can he give bread also? can he provide flesh for his
people? This implies an allusion to Num. 11:6,31 — not Exod. 16
— since the Numbers incident (the quail) comes well after the incident of
the smitten rock. The provision of manna (Exod. 16) comes before that
miracle, and, if meant here, would disrupt the historical order of the
psalm. |
|
21. |
Therefore the Lord heard this, and was wroth. Hebrew is
profuse in words for anger, but none of them are stronger than this (s.w. in vv.
59,62 also). |
|
|
So a fire was kindled against Jacob. Num. 11:1-3 seems
to be a summary of the main crisis described in the rest of the
chapter. |
|
23. |
The doors of heaven may be opened in blessing (“a
storehouse whereof God keeps the key”) or judgment: (a) Mal. 3:10; (b)
Gen. 7:11; 8:2; Isa. 24:18. |
|
24. |
And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given
them of the corn of heaven. Exod. 16:4. Compare Rev. 2:17. |
|
25. |
Angels’ food. Probably this phrase indicates
origin; the angels did not eat it — they brought it. Or:
‘food fit for their finest men (Hebrew
abbirim)’. |
|
|
Meat is, of course, archaic English for
‘food’. In v. 27, there is the more specialized
“flesh”. |
|
|
To the full was the word used by the grumblers:
“When we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the
full” (Exod. 16:3). |
|
26. |
He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven; and by his
power he brought in the south wind. The quails were evidently caught in a
violent storm which God “led forth” from the southeast. |
|
27. |
Flesh as dust (Gen. 13:16; 28:14; Num. 23:10; 2 Chron.
1:9)... fowls like as the sand of the sea (Gen. 22:17; 32:12; Isa. 10:22;
48:19; Hos. 1:10; Rom. 9:27). That is, enough for all Israel! |
|
28. |
Their habitations. Mishkan is generally used
of God’s dwelling; here it is probably an intensive plural,
meaning ‘His special dwelling’: cp. Psa. 132:7. |
|
30. |
They were not estranged from their lust. “They
had not (i.e., even) sated their craving... ” (RSV). This is a classic
example of a request answered to the detriment of the petitioner! “It is
as easy to quench the fire of Etna, as the thoughts set on fire by lust”
(Trapp). |
|
|
From their lust. Not the specialized meaning of modern
English, but (in the Bible) simply what a man wants or craves (s.w. Num.
11:4,34,35). This is the Genesis 3:6 situation all over again. |
|
32. |
In spite of all this (NIV, RSV) they sinned still,
and believed not for his wondrous works. |
|
33. |
Therefore their days did he consume in vanity. Hebrew
hebel (from whence “Abel”) = a breath, nothingness
(Psa. 39:5; 62:9). The key word of Ecclesiastes
(“vanity”). |
|
|
And their years in trouble, or “terror”
(RSV). The judgment of death during the wilderness wanderings for those who were
20 years of age and above (Num. 14:22,23,28-35; s.w. Lev. 26:16). Compare the
ideas in Psa. 90:9-12 (Moses!) and 91:5-7 (Joshua!). |
|
|
By all means, compare Hosea 5:15—6:4, and note how the
sudden change in v. 4 there tells the real truth, as here in vv. 40,41, about
Israel. |
|
|
35. |
God was their rock (tsur: s.w. 19:14),
and the high God (El Elyon) their redeemer (gaal,
near-kinsman: s.w. 19:14 again). |
|
|
36. |
Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and
they lied unto him with their tongues. But none of this is mentioned in
Exodus or Numbers. |
|
|
|
Lied, along with v. 41 = Acts 5:4,9 (Ananias and
Sapphira) — a deliberate allusion to this psalm. |
|
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37. |
For their heart was not right with (loyal to: NIV)
him. Peter quotes this in Acts 8:21, with regard to Simon the sorcerer,
who thought to possess the Holy Spirit for a price: |
|
|
|
“Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy
heart is not right in the sight of God.” |
|
|
|
Neither were they stedfast in his covenant. Verse 38
suggests that Exod. 34:5-7 is the covenant alluded to. |
|
|
38. |
But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity,
and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not
stir up all his wrath. According to Edersheim and others, this verse was
recited when the stripes (such as the “forty save one” of 2 Cor.
11:24) were being administered to offenders. |
|
|
39. |
He remembered. A neat indirect way of referring to
God’s memorial, the Covenant Name. Compare Psa. 103:14-16, and contrast
vv. 11 and 42 here: they forgot God’s works, they remembered
not, but He remembered... |
|
|
|
A wind (ruach) that passeth away, and cometh not
again. “A passing breeze that does not return” (NIV). This is
James’s figure: |
|
|
|
“For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that
appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James
4:14). |
|
|
40. |
How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve
him in the desert! Num. 14:22 says at least ten times in the first two
wilderness years (see Exod. 14:11,12; 15:24; 16:2,10,27; 22:1; Num. 11:1-3,4;
14:1; 20:2,13). Here v. 38 says “many a time”! |
|
|
41. |
Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy
One of Israel. The word “limited” means they marked off a
boundary. Human nature is good at setting limits to the power (and willingness)
of the Almighty. LXX reads provoked. Also, in another, related, sense,
their lack of faith set limits to what God could do for them: |
|
|
|
“And he did not many mighty works there because of
their unbelief” (Matt. 13:58). |
|
|
|
The Holy One of Israel, though occurring often in
Isaiah, comes only three times in the Psalms (here; 71:22; 89:18). |
|
|
42. |
They remembered not his hand. So it is wrong not
to build on one’s past experience of God’s goodness. |
|
|
Nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy. The
plagues were a battlefield between God and the gods of Egypt. |
|
43. |
The field of Zoan is a phrase found in Egyptian
inscriptions. |
|
44-51. |
Not all the ten plagues are mentioned in this paragraph; there
are no lice, boils, or darkness enumerated. Nor is there any attempt at
historical sequence; instead: here, in order, are #’s 1, 4, 2, 8, 7, 5,
and 10. |
|
44. |
And had turned their rivers into blood. This plural may
be explained either as an intensive plural (‘their great
river’), or as the Nile Delta. |
|
47. |
Vines are mentioned or shown in many Egyptian
monuments. |
|
49. |
Evil angels are not “wicked angels”
— there are no such beings! “All” the angels exist as
God’s ministers to do His will (Heb. 1:14). So also these angels through
whom the plagues came on Egypt. Isa. 45:7 and Amos 3:6 are emphatic that evil,
in the sense of unpleasant experience (that is, “evil” from
man’s viewpoint) is under the control of God. There are angels of blessing
(Psa. 34:7; Matt. 18:10; Acts 12:7), and there are angels of “evil”
(2 Sam. 24:16; Acts 12:23; 1 Cor. 10:10; Prov. 17:11; and many instances in
Revelation; cp. esp. the “evil spirit” upon Saul in 1 Sam. 16:14),
or — as RSV (NIV) puts it — “a company (band) of
destroying angels”. In the tenth plague, both angels of good and
angels of “evil” operated in Egypt: Exod. 12:23 (see D. Kingston,
Angels, p. 136). |
|
51. |
The chief of their strength is parallel to “the
firstborn” of the earlier phrase. By metonymy, a man’s
“strength” is demonstrated in his many sons (Deut. 21:17; Gen.
49:3). NIV: “the firstfruits of manhood”. |
|
|
The tabernacles of Ham. Mizraim (Hebrew name for Egypt)
was the son of Ham (Gen. 10:6). An Egyptian god and also the Egyptian name for
Egypt were very similar to “Ham”. See Psa. 105:23,27;
106:21,22. |
|
52. |
But made his own people to go forth like sheep. A
favorite figure in these Asaph psalms; e.g. 74:1; 79:13; 80:1. Isa. 63:11-14 is
a fine parallel passage. |
|
|
53. |
But he led them on safely, so that they feared not. So
when Moses commanded: “Fear ye not” (Exod. 14:10,13), they obeyed
and went through the Red Sea in faith and confidence (Heb. 11:29). |
|
|
54. |
And he brought them to... (as RV mg.) his holy
border. |
|
|
55. |
Sanctuary... mountain... purchased... inheritance are
all terms which occur in Exod. 15:16,17: |
|
|
|
“Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness
of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone: till thy people pass over, O
Lord, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased. Thou shalt
bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine
inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell
in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have
established.” |
|
|
|
This mountain surely implies that this psalm was
written in Jerusalem (cp. v. 68). |
|
|
56. |
Yet they... kept not his testimonies. An indirect
allusion to the smashing of the Tables of Stone at the apostasy of the golden
calf. |
|
57. |
But turned back to Egypt: Num. 14:4. |
|
|
And dealt unfaithfully, i.e., v. 36. |
|
|
They were turned aside like a deceitful bow. Here the
commentators are hopelessly astray through failure to recognize the
“Ephraim” idiom (Hos. 7:16; see Par. 5). |
|
58. |
For they provoked him to anger with their high places.
These “high places” were local centers of worship, referred to
repeatedly in Judges. But because of later perversions they fell into disrepute;
hence 2 Kings 17:16-23. |
|
|
And moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
They broke the second commandment (Deut. 32:16; Ezek. 8:3; Psa. 79:5).
Possibly an allusion to the waters of jealousy (Num. 5:14; as between God, the
Husband, and His nation, the unfaithful wife: cp. Exod. 32:20). Once in the Land
the great sin of Israel was no longer discontent — “murmuring”
— but idolatry. When Israel were under stress, they complained against
God, but when they were at ease — instead of thanking and praising him
— they amused themselves with abominable diversions. Is not this, on the
whole, an epitome of unregenerate man’s thought processes at all
times? |
|
59. |
When God heard implies prayers from the faithful
remnant. |
|
60. |
So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh. So the
Philistine sack of that sanctuary, which is only implied (1 Sam. 4; 5), was
God’s doing; 500 years later, the ruin of Shiloh still bore its eloquent
witness of warning (Jer. 7:12,14; 26:6,9). |
|
61. |
And delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory
into the enemy’s hand. The ark was so called because it was the sign
of God’s Kingship in Israel, and the focal point for the display of His
power and glory (Psa. 26:8; 63:2). This then refers to the Philistine capture of
the ark (Psa. 132:8; 1 Sam. 4:21,22). The withdrawal of the Glory
(“Ichabod”!) happened again in Ezekiel’s day (9:3; 10:4,18,19;
11:22,23; contrast 43:2-5). |
|
63. |
The fire consumed their young men. Fire here is an
image of destructive warfare, as in Num. 21:28. |
|
|
Their maidens were not given in marriage. Literally,
they “had no wedding songs” (NIV), as in Jer. 7:34; 16:9; 25:10
— the reason being they had not been honorably married, because men were
so scarce due to the wars (Isa. 4:1; Jer. 31:22). |
|
64. |
Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no
lamentation. For the details of this paragraph, see 1 Sam. 4:11-22. And for
similar ideas, see Ezek. 24:15-24 (the prophet commanded not to mourn for his
dead wife). |
|
65. |
Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty
man that shouteth by reason of wine. A remarkable figure of speech! Jehovah,
apparently indifferent or even powerless, suddenly goes into action —
exulting and exhilarated. |
|
66. |
And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts. Referring
to: (1) the “emerods” of 1 Sam. 5:9, or (2) ‘He put them to
flight’ — i.e., 1 Sam. 7:11— so that their only wounds were on
their backs! |
|
|
He put them to a perpetual reproach. From the reign of
David onwards, all Philistine aggression against Israel ceased. |
|
67. |
Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph. This
suggests an unsuccessful attempt on Ephraim’s part to reinstate the Shiloh
sanctuary, which would have been in his territory. Instead, God chose the
tabernacle of David (Isa. 16:5; Amos 9:11; Acts 15:16,17), so called because
David brought about its transfer to Zion (2 Sam. 6). |
|
|
And chose not the tribe of Ephraim. An end to
Ephraim’s Messianic aspirations (apart from Jeroboam’s misguided
intentions). |
|
68. |
But chose the tribe of Judah. The boundary between
Judah and Benjamin ran through the middle of Jerusalem (Josh. 15:63; 18:28;
Judg. 1:21; Deut. 33:12), and in fact, according to some, right through the
middle of the Temple area (Blunt, Undesigned Scriptural Coincidences, p.
167). |
|
|
The mount Zion which he (already) loved. The
Hebrew text has a past tense, alluding to the special place in God’s plan
which Zion had held long before (Gen. 14:18; 22:2). |
|
69. |
And he built his sanctuary. Therefore it would appear
that the temple was already built when this psalm was written. If so, this
would rule out a date for the psalm during the reign of David. |
|
|
Like high (palaces is italicized). Not the same
as bamoth (high places). The RSV has: “Like the high
heavens”. |
|
70. |
He chose David also his servant. This suggests that
David was already God’s servant before his anointing in 1 Sam. 16:11,12.
The fact that God Himself chose David made the sin of Jeroboam of Ephraim
all the worse. |
|
71. |
From following the ewes great with young, which need
more rest and special patient attention if their newborns are not to be lost.
|
|
|
To feed (i.e., ‘shepherd’) Jacob his
people is a quotation from 2 Samuel 7:8. It also implies that Ephraim had
not done this. |
|
Psalm 78 |
|
John 6 |
|
7,32 |
Believe his wondrous works |
28,29 |
|
9,41,57 |
Turned back |
66 |
|
11 |
Forgat his works / Not because of the miracle |
26 |
|
17-19 |
Provoked, tempted; “Can God furnish a table in the
wilderness?” |
30,31 |
|
20 |
Water, bread, flesh |
35,52 |
|
22 |
Believed not |
36 |
|
23 |
Opened the doors of heaven / Cometh down from heaven |
33,41,58 |
|
24,25 |
Rained down manna from heaven / Bread of God... cometh down
from heaven |
33,58 |
|
31 |
The wrath of God / Your fathers died |
49 |
|
36,37 |
Heart not right / Evermore give us this bread |
34 |
|
39 |
Flesh, a wind / Spirit, flesh |
63 |
|
41 |
The Holy One of Israel |
69 (RV) |
|
56-72 |
Greatly abhorred Israel, chose David / “Him hath God the
Father sealed” |
27 |
| |
|
|