Psalm 77 — 78
readers understand an enigma in their history. (See Matt. 13:35.) He explained why God rejected the tribe of Ephraim and chose the tribe of Judah and David to be king, and why He abandoned the tabernacle at Shiloh and had a temple built on Mount Zion. Future generations needed to understand this so they would obey the Lord and do His will. Asaph did not want the people to imitate the "exodus generation" that died in the wilderness, or the third generation in Canaan that turned to idols, or the ten tribes that forsook the Lord and established a new kingdom and a false religion. The nation had been stubborn and rebellious (vv. 8, 37; Deut. 21:18) and had suffered because of their disobedience. On the positive side, Asaph wanted the future generations to trust God, to learn from the past, and to obey God's Word (v. 8). Only then could they be sure of the blessing of the Lord. That principle still applies today.
Shepherd of Israel (v. 20; see 74:1; 78:52, 70–72; 79:13; 80:1). Just as He called Moses and Aaron (Num. 33:1) and David (78:70–72) to lead His flock, so He would appoint other shepherds in the years to come. One day, the Good Shepherd would come and give His life for the sheep (John 10). Asaph had some struggles during this difficult period in his life, but in the end, he knew he could trust the Lord to work out everything for good, and like an obedient sheep, he submitted to the Shepherd. That is what we must do.
PSALM 78
This is a history psalm (see 105, 106, 114, 135, and 136). The German philosopher Hegel said that the one thing we learn from history is that we don't learn from history. If you study the Bible and church history, you discover that God's people make that same mistake. As Asaph reviewed the history of his people, he saw a sad record of forgetfulness, faithlessness, foolishness, and failure, and he sought to understand what it all meant. These things were written for the profit of believers today (1 Cor. 10:11–12), so we had better heed what Asaph says. As A. T. Pierson said, "History is His story."
Understanding the Past (vv. 9–64) Asaph reviewed the past, beginning with the apostasy of Ephraim (vv. 9–11) and continuing with Israel's sins in the wilderness (vv. 12–39) and in Canaan (vv. 54–64). One of the causes of their rebellion was that they forgot God's victory over the gods of Egypt and His deliverance of Israel from bondage (vv. 12–13, 40–53). They also did not take to heart His care for them during their wilderness journey. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" (George Santayana).
The psalm concludes with the coronation of David, but the mention of the temple in verse 69 indicates that David's reign had ended. "Ephraim" in verse 9 probably refers, not to the tribe, but to the northern kingdom (Israel) that had split from Judah and Benjamin when Rehoboam became king (1 Kings 12). The leaders of Israel abandoned the faith of their fathers and established a religion of their own making, while the people of Judah sought to be faithful to the Lord. In this psalm, Asaph warned the people of Judah not to imitate their faithless ancestors or their idolatrous neighbors and disobey the Lord. He admonished them to know the Scriptures and teach them to their children. Judah had the temple on Mount Zion, the covenants, the priesthood, and the Davidic dynasty, and all this could be lost in one generation (see Judg. 2). Since Israel is a covenant nation, she has the responsibility of obeying and honoring the Lord, and this psalm presents three responsibilities God expected His people to fulfill.
The apostasy of Ephraim (vv. 9–11). This passage refers to the northern kingdom of Israel. When the ten tribes broke away from Judah and Benjamin, they informally adopted the name of their strongest and largest tribe, Ephraim. Joseph's sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, were adopted and blessed by Jacob, who made Ephraim the firstborn (Gen. 48:8–20; see Deut. 33:13–17). This added to the tribe's prestige. Moses' successor, Joshua, came from Ephraim (Num. 13:8), and so did Jeroboam, the founding king of Israel/Ephraim (1 Kings 11:26; 12:16ff.). Proud and militant, the tribe created problems for both Joshua (Josh. 17:14–18) and Gideon (Judg. 8:1–3). The tabernacle was in Shiloh, which was located in Ephraim, and this also added to the honor of the tribe. Like a warrior fleeing from the battlefield, Israel turned back from following the Lord, disobeyed Him, and forgot what He had done for them. (For the image of the "bow," see also verse 57 and Hos. 7:16.) By opening this long historical section with a description of the apostasy of the northern kingdom, Asaph was warning Judah not to follow their example.
Protecting the Future (vv. 1–8) Where would we be today if over the centuries the remnant of Jewish spiritual leaders had not preserved the Scriptures for us! Until the New Testament was completed near the end of the first century, the only Bible the early church had was the Old Testament. It was God's law that each generation of Jewish people pass on God's Word to the next generation (71:18; 79:13; 102:18; 145:4; see Ex. 10:2; 12:26–27; 13:8, 14; Deut. 4:9; 6:6–9, 20–25), and this law applies to His church today (2 Tim. 2:2). In telling the "praises of the Lord"—His deeds worthy of praise—Asaph helped his
The nation's sins in the wilderness (vv. 12–39). Asaph now returned to the account of the sins of the whole nation, before the political division after Solomon's death. The Jews forgot what the Lord did for them in Egypt when He sent the plagues to Egypt and delivered the Jewish people at the exodus. The people saw one miracle after another as the Lord exposed the