Psalms 78:1-72
1 Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:
3 Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.
5 For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:
6 That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:
7 That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:
8 And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.
9 The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carryinga bows, turned back in the day of battle.
10 They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law;
11 And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had shewed them.
12 Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
13 He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap.
14 In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.
15 He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths.
16 He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.
17 And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most High in the wilderness.
18 And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust.
19 Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnishb a table in the wilderness?
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?
21 Therefore the LORD heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel;
22 Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation:
23 Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven,
24 And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven.
25 Manc did eat angels' food: he sent them meat to the full.
26 He caused an east wind to blowd in the heaven: and by his power he brought in the south wind.
27 He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and featherede fowls like as the sand of the sea:
28 And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations.
29 So they did eat, and were well filled: for he gave them their own desire;
30 They were not estranged from their lust. But while their meat was yet in their mouths,
31 The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel.
32 For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works.
33 Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble.
34 When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and enquired early after God.
35 And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer.
36 Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues.
37 For their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.
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.
39 For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.
40 How oft did they provokef him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!
41 Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
42 They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy.
43 How he had wroughtg his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan:
44 And had turned their rivers into blood; and their floods, that they could not drink.
45 He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He gave also their increase unto the caterpiller, and their labour unto the locust.
47 He destroyedh their vines with hail, and their sycomore trees with frost.
48 He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.
49 He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them.
50 He madei a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;
51 And smote all the firstborn in Egypt; the chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham:
52 But made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53 And he led them on safely, so that they feared not: but the sea overwhelmedj their enemies.
54 And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to this mountain, which his right hand had purchased.
55 He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
56 Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, and kept not his testimonies:
57 But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
59 When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:
60 So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men;
61 And delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy's hand.
62 He gave his people over also unto the sword; and was wroth with his inheritance.
63 The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage.
64 Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.
65 Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.
66 And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts: he put them to a perpetual reproach.
67 Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim:
68 But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved.
69 And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he hath establishedk for ever.
70 He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:
71 From followingl the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.
72 So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.
Gordon Churchyard
Tell Your Children
Psalms 78
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me. Do not stop them". (Matthew 19:14)
Psalms 78:1-8
(This is one) of *Asaph’s Psalms that Teach Us (about God).
v1 My people, hear what I am teaching you.
Listen to the words that I am saying to you.
v2 I will tell you a story.
I will talk about things hard to understand from past times.
v3 We have heard them and know them
because our fathers told them to us.
v4 We will not hide them from their children.
We will tell future children that they should *praise the *LORD.
(He is) very strong and he has done great things.
v5 He decided what things *Jacob must do and made the *laws in Israel.
He told our grandfathers that they must teach them to their children.
v6 Then those children would know them, even the children still to be born.
When the time came, they too would tell their children.
v7 Then they (the children) would:
• believe that God would give them help
• not forget what God had done
• obey his *laws
v8 So they would not be like their grandfathers who:
• would not listen to God
• would not obey him
• did not make God their leader
• did not continue to follow him
The Story of Psalms 78
We do not know who wrote the psalm. Maybe it was Isaiah after the fall of Ephraim, 720 years before Jesus was born. Ephraim was the name of the largest group of families in Israel.The whole psalm is a story, the story (*history) of God’s people until the time of King David. It tells us that God was good to his people, but they were not good to him. They did not obey him. That is the problem in verse 2. We could translate it as "question" or "secret" or "puzzle". It is something that we want an answer to. It is still true today. We still ask, "Why do people not obey God, when he is so good to them?" Read the psalm and find the answer!
After the first 8 verses, above, verses 9 - 72 are in 6 parts. Each part tells a bit of the story.
Asaph ~ look in the Introduction of Psalm 73.
praise ~ say how great somebody is; or, words that say how great someone is.
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; Adonai in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
Adonai ~ Lord or master; (or better, my Lord or my master) in Hebrew.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the Psalms of David.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the covenant.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
like ~ another word for "as".
Jacob ~ another name for Israel, both the people and the land. (Jacob was Abraham’s grandson).
laws ~ the rules in a country. In Psalm 78, the rules in the first 5 books of the Bible.
history ~ when someone records past events, we say that they have written history.
Gordon Churchyard
God Saved Israel from Egypt and Gave them Water in the *Desert
Psalms 78:9-17
v9 The people of Ephraim had bows and *arrows for war.
But they ran away when the war started!
v10 They did not keep the *covenant of God.
They refused to obey his *laws.
v11 And they forgot what he had done
and the *wonderful things that he had shown them.
v12 He did *miracles in front of their fathers.
(He did them) in the country of Egypt, in the part (they called) Zoan.
v13 He made a road in the sea and led them through it.
He built the waters into a wall (on both sides).
v14 He showed them the way with a cloud in the day
and with light from a fire all night.
v15 He broke rocks in the *desert
and gave (his people) water from deep (in the earth).
v16 He made streams to come from the rocks
so that the waters ran like rivers.
v17 But they continued to *sin against him.
They fought against the *Most High in the *desert.
What verses 9 - 17 mean
The questions, or problems, from past times (verses 2, 8-9) continue here. God did great things (or *wonderful things or *miracles) for his people, but they did not obey him. Why?Because, like us, they wanted to do what they liked, not what God wanted! They did not keep the *covenant of God, verse 10. A *covenant is when two groups of people agree what to do. Here one group is God, the other is his people. God agreed to give them help, and they agreed to obey his *laws, or rules, verse 7. In this psalm "*laws" maybe means only the rules in the first 5 books of the Bible.
In verse 9, we have a picture of this. Ephraim (a big group of people in Israel) had everything they needed to fight a war... but they ran away! God gave his people everything that they needed... but they did not obey his *laws. In this part of the psalm we read about three *miracles that God did for his people:
• Verses 12 - 13 He led them from Egypt to a country that would be theirs. To do this he made a road through the sea. The water was like a wall on both sides of them. This was a *miracle because only God can make a road through a sea. God did this, but his people still did not obey his *laws or keep the *covenant.
• Verse 14 He showed them the way through the *desert. He did this with a special cloud in the day and the light of a fire in the sky at night. Again, they did not keep the *covenant!
• Verses 15 - 16 It was dry in the *desert, and they had nothing to drink. They thought that they would die, but God gave them water. But even then "they continued to *sin against him and fought against the *Most High", verse 17. We "*sin" when we do not obey God.
So there are examples of the problem from *history. It is a problem that we still have.
desert ~ a dry place with much sand.
arrows ~ pointed sticks shot by a bow.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the covenant.
laws ~ the rules in a country. In Psalm 78, the rules in the first 5 books of the Bible.
wonderful ~ great and surprising.
miracles ~ great things that only God can do.
desert ~ a dry place with much sand.
sin ~ not obeying God, or what you do when you do not obey God.'Most High ~ a name for God.
history ~ when someone records past events, we say that they have written history.
Gordon Churchyard
God Gave His People Food in the *Desert, But They Still Did Not Obey Him
Psalms 78:18-31
v18 They made a plan to *test God.
They demanded the food that they liked best!
v19 And they spoke against God.
They said, "Can God do it?
Can he prepare a table in the *desert?
v20 It is true that when he hit a rock, water came out,
streams of water were everywhere.
But can he also give bread?
Can he supply meat for his people?’
v21 When the *LORD heard (this) he was very angry.
So he sent fire against *Jacob
and also his *fury against Israel.
v22 (He did this) because they did not believe that God (could do it),
or that he had the power to save them.
v23 So he gave an *order to the clouds over (them)
and opened the doors in the skies.
v24 He rained *manna down on them, for them to eat.
He gave them bread from *heaven.
v25 People ate the (same) bread that *angels ate.
(God) sent them plenty of food.
v26 Then (God) sent an east wind blowing through the skies.
And he was so strong that he also sent a south wind.
v27 And he rained meat down on them like powder.
(He rained) flying birds on them *like sand by the sea.
v28 He made them fall where (his people) were living,
all round their *tents.
v29 And they ate as much as they needed.
God gave them what they wanted.
v30 But before they ate all that they wanted
(while the food was still in their mouths),
v31 God became very angry with them.
He killed the strongest of them
and sent the young men of Israel to their deaths.
What verses 18 - 31 mean
The people saw that God gave them water in the *desert. But they needed food as well. They decided to give God a test, or an exam. "Can he prepare a table?", verse 19, means "can he put food on our table?". They did not think that he could! It does not mean that they did not believe that there was a God. They did not believe that he would give them help. In other words, they did not *trust him.This made God very angry, verse 22. He was so angry (or *furious) that he was like a fire! Before he killed many of their best men, verse 31, he showed them what he could do. He sent *manna, verse 24, and meat, verse 27.
We think that *manna was *like bread. The word "*manna" really means "What is this?" Another word for it in verse 25 is ‘bread’. That is why we think that *manna was *like bread. The psalm gives us a picture. *Manna was what the *angels ate. *Angels live with God in *heaven. So the psalm shows us God opening a door in *heaven (the sky) and raining *manna down on the *Israelites! It is only a picture. We do not know how God really did this *miracle.
And he sent them meat. He made a strong wind that blew birds to them, verse 27. There were so many birds that they were *like bits of sand by the sea! They could eat these birds. We think that they were birds that we call "*quails". But while they ate the *manna and *quails, God killed many of them. We do not know how.
desert ~ a dry place with much sand.'test God ~ make God show what he can do.
desert ~ a dry place with much sand.
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; Adonai in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
Adonai ~ Lord or master; (or better, my Lord or my master) in Hebrew.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the Psalms of David.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the covenant.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
like ~ another word for "as".
Jacob ~ another name for Israel, both the people and the land. (Jacob was Abraham’s grandson).
fury ~ what you feel when you are very, very angry.
order ~ words that tell someone what they must do.
manna ~ food from heaven. It is like bread. The word "manna" is Hebrew for "What is it?" This is because the Jews did not know what God had sent them!
heaven ~ the home of God.
like ~ another word for "as".
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the Psalms of David.
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
heaven ~ the home of God.
angels ~ spirits that live in heaven with God.
spirits ~ they are alive, but we cannot see them. There are good spirits usually known as angels. Bad spirits (known also as evil spirits, or demons) do not live in heaven now, but in the air round us. Satan is their leader.
heaven ~ the home of God.
Satan ~ the leader of the bad spirits, known also as the Devil and Lucifer.
like ~ another word for "as".
tent ~ a home or building made from animal skins.
trust ~ believe that someone (usually God in the psalms) will be good to you.
furious ~ very, very angry.
manna ~ food from heaven. It is like bread. The word "manna" is Hebrew for "What is it?" This is because the Jews did not know what God had sent them!
heaven ~ the home of God.
like ~ another word for "as".
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the Psalms of David.
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
angels ~ spirits that live in heaven with God.
spirits ~ they are alive, but we cannot see them. There are good spirits usually known as angels. Bad spirits (known also as evil spirits, or demons) do not live in heaven now, but in the air round us. Satan is their leader.
heaven ~ the home of God.
Satan ~ the leader of the bad spirits, known also as the Devil and Lucifer.
Israelite ~ a Jewish person (see Jew).
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything to do with a Jew.
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
miracles ~ great things that only God can do.
quails ~ small birds that people can eat.
Gordon Churchyard
The People Are Not Really Sorry
Psalms 78:32-39
v32 Even when this happened, they still *sinned.
They did not believe that God had done these *miracles.
v33 So he made their days seem to blow away like the wind.
He made their years go away fast (so that they were) afraid!
v34 When he killed (some of) them, (the other people) looked to God.
They were sorry and really prayed to him.
v35 And they remembered that God was their Rock.
Also, (they remembered) that God *Most High was their *Redeemer.
v36 But what they said was not true
and they did not mean what they said with their mouths to *praise him.
v37 They were not honest with him.
They did not obey his *covenant in their heart.
v38 But he was *merciful (to them).
He *forgave their *sin and did not destroy them.
Many times he was not angry (with them)
and did not become *furious (with them).
v39 But he remembered that they were only human,
like a wind that blows away and does not return.
What verses 32 - 39 mean
In verses 22 and 32we read that they did not "believe that God could do" or that God "had done" these *miracles. They did not think that their God was powerful enough! Some Bible students think that these verses mean that they did not believe that there was a God! They certainly did not obey him, or keep his *covenant.Verse 33 is a nice way of saying what verse 34 says in a clear way. "Days... to blow away like the wind" and "years to go fast" both mean that life is short. Because God killed them (we do not know how), their lives were shorter than they thought that they would be! This made the people that God did not kill say that they were sorry. They remembered that God was their Rock and their *Redeemer (verse 35).
• Rock was a name for God. It meant that they could build their lives on him (or, maybe, that he is like the Rock that gave them water in the *desert).
• *Redeemer was another name for God. It meant that he gave them help and saved them from their enemies.
Verses 36 – 37: These verses tell us about the people. They did not mean what they said and they did not keep the *covenant. But God was kind (*merciful) to them, verses 38 and 39. Because they were human, he did not destroy them. Instead, he *forgave them. What does the word "*forgive" really mean?
Some people think that "forgive" means "excuse and forget". But here it means more than this. We can only really understand it after Jesus came to the earth. Jesus died to "*forgive" *sin. This means that God "gave" our *sin to Jesus, and Jesus took it away. God gave it for us... so we say that God forgave us! Paul tells us in Romans 3:25 that the death of Jesus gave "*forgiveness for *sins that are past". This means that God *forgave all the *sins of people in the *Old Testament because Jesus died. This includes the people in Psalms 78:38-39. But they... *like us... had to thank God for it!
sin ~ not obeying God, or what you do when you do not obey God.
miracles ~ great things that only God can do.'Most High ~ a name for God.
Redeemer ~ a name for God. It means that he pays the price of our sin. This happened when Jesus died on the cross.
sin ~ not obeying God, or what you do when you do not obey God.
praise ~ say how great somebody is; or, words that say how great someone is.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the covenant.
merciful ~ kind.
forgive ~ take away the results of sin. (But look in the notes on Psalm 85:2).
sin ~ not obeying God, or what you do when you do not obey God.
furious ~ very, very angry.
desert ~ a dry place with much sand.
forgiveness ~ what you give people when you forgive them.
forgive ~ take away the results of sin. (But look in the notes on Psalm 85:2).
sin ~ not obeying God, or what you do when you do not obey God.'Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible; the holy things that the writers wrote before Christ’s birth.
holy ~ very, very good; only God is really holy, the land where he lives with his people is also holy because he is there.
like ~ another word for "as".
Gordon Churchyard
The People Do Not Remember What God Did In Egypt
Psalms 78:40-55
v40 The people (of Israel) often fought against God in the *desert.
They made him very sad in the *wilderness.
v41 Many times they *tested God
and this made the *Holy One of Israel very *unhappy.
v42 - v43 They chose not to remember what he did when:
• he saved them from the enemy
• he showed his *miracles in Egypt
• he did *wonders in that part (of Egypt called) Zoan
v44 (Here is some of what God did to the Egyptians):
He turned their rivers into blood,
so they could not drink from their streams.
v45 He sent very large numbers of flies that made a lot of trouble for them.
And (he sent) *frogs that made even more trouble!
v46 He gave the plants that they grew to *grasshoppers
and their food to *locusts.
v47 He killed their *vines with *hail
and their *fig-trees with *frost.
v48 He killed their cows with *hail
and their sheep with fire from the sky.
v49 He was so angry that he burned *like a fire against them.
He sent a group of *angels to destroy them
(called) *anger, *fury and *distress.
v50 He made a path for his *anger.
He did not save them from death.
He gave their lives to the *plague.
v51 He killed all the first born (sons) in Egypt,
the oldest boys of the men of Ham.
v52 (This is what God did for his people):
But he took his people (from Egypt) like a *flock.
And he led them like sheep through the *desert.
v53 They were safe with him as a guide and they were not afraid.
But the sea drowned their enemies.
v54 So he brought them to the edge of his *holy (land),
to this hill-country, which his right hand took.
v55 He sent away the people that were living there.
He said which parts (of the land) each group (of his people) could have.
He put the families of Israel in their homes.
What verses 40 - 55 mean
These verses look back to when Israel was in Egypt. God did two things there:• He sent 10 *plagues to make the King of Egypt (Pharaoh) let God’s people go free
• He led his people through the Red Sea and the *desert to the land he had promised them
In verses 44 - 51 are 6 of the 10 *plagues. A *plague is when something bad happens to a group of people. Here is where you can find them in the Bible. The other 4 are also in the list.
| Plague | Verse | Name | Where to Find |
| 1 | 44 | water to blood | |
| 2 | 45 | *frogs | |
| 3 | - | *lice (insects) | |
| 4 | 45 | Flies | |
| 5 | - | cows died | |
| 6 | - | *boils | |
| 7 | 47 | *hail and storm | |
| 8 | 46 | *locusts | |
| 9 | - | *darkness | |
| 10 | 51 | death of first sons | Exodus 11 and 12; Psalms 105:36 |
Pharaoh would not let God’s people go. God sent these 10 *plagues to make Pharaoh let God’s people go, verses 43-51. Then God took them to the *holy land, a Bible name for the country of Israel, verses 52-55. But verse 42 tells us that "they chose not to remember what he did". This made God very sad, verse 40, and *unhappy, verse 41.
desert ~ a dry place with much sand.
wilderness ~ a wild place where people did not grow food.
tested ~ (in Psalm 81) saw if they were good or bad.
tested ~ gave a (spoken) exam to.
holy ~ very, very good; only God is really holy, the land where he lives with his people is also holy because he is there.
unhappy ~ the opposite of happy.
miracles ~ great things that only God can do.
wonder ~ another word for miracle.
miracles ~ great things that only God can do.
frogs ~ small animals that live in water and on land.
grasshopper ~a small locust (here it may also mean locust).
locust ~ an insect that eats all the green parts of plants.
locust ~ an insect that eats all the green parts of plants.
vines ~ plants that grow grapes (to make wine).
grapes ~ the fruit of a plant called the vine. People use them to make drink that has alcohol in it. The drink is wine.
wine ~ a drink with alcohol in it. People make it from grapes.
hail ~ ice in rain.
frost ~ cold white powder like snow.
like ~ another word for "as".
like ~ another word for "as".
angels ~ spirits that live in heaven with God.
spirits ~ they are alive, but we cannot see them. There are good spirits usually known as angels. Bad spirits (known also as evil spirits, or demons) do not live in heaven now, but in the air round us. Satan is their leader.
heaven ~ the home of God.
Satan ~ the leader of the bad spirits, known also as the Devil and Lucifer.
anger ~ what you feel when you are angry.
fury ~ what you feel when you are very, very angry.
distress ~ a very unhappy feeling.
unhappy ~ the opposite of happy.
plague ~ something very bad, often an illness.
flock ~ a group of animals such as sheep.
holy ~ very, very good; only God is really holy, the land where he lives with his people is also holy because he is there.
lice ~ small insects that can carry illnesses to people.
boil ~ a red place on your skin that hurts.
darkness ~ when there is no light.
Gordon Churchyard
The *Israelites In The *Holy Land
Psalms 78:56-64
v56 But (the *Israelites *tested God *Most High and fought against him.
Also, they did not obey his *laws.
v57 They turned away and did not keep the *covenant, like their fathers.
They were like a bow that would not shoot straight!
v58 They made him angry with their high places
and their *idols made him *jealous.
v59 When God heard this, he was angry
and he stopped giving them help completely.
v60 He left his house (the *tent) at Shiloh,
the place where he had lived on earth.
v61 He gave his power and his *glory
to the enemy for them to keep.
v62 He let the *sword kill his people,
he was so angry with them.
v63 The fire (of war) ate their young men
and the young girls did not hear music (when they married).
v64 The *sword killed their *priests
and their wives could not cry for them.
What verses 56 - 64 mean
In verses 9-31, we read about God’s people Israel (the *Israelites) in the *desert. They were coming from Egypt to the *holy land. In verses 40-55, we read about the *plagues that God used to get them out of Egypt. Now in verses 56-64, we read about Israel (the people) in Israel (the land). They turned away from God and did not obey him. They were *like "a bow that did not shoot straight", verse 57. A bow like this is not good. So, the people of Israel were not good. Instead of loving and *worshipping God in his house in Shiloh, they loved *idols instead. They put these *idols on high hills, where they *worshipped them, verse 58. Shiloh was a place about 30 kilometres north of Jerusalem. They kept the *ark there. The *ark was a box. They kept the *covenant-rules in it. But God was so angry because of their *idol *worship that he:• went away from the house that they had made him at Shiloh
• did not give them any more help
• gave the *ark (his power and *glory) to their enemy, the Philistines
• let the enemy kill many of the people of Israel
The story about this is in I Samuel 4 and 5. The wife of a *priest had a baby when the Philistines took the *ark of God. She called the baby Ichabod. This is a *Hebrew word that meant "the *glory is gone". She meant that the *ark of God was gone! In verse 63, "ate" means "killed them by burning them to death".
Israelite ~ a Jewish person (see Jew).
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything to do with a Jew.
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
holy ~ very, very good; only God is really holy, the land where he lives with his people is also holy because he is there.'Most High ~ a name for God.
laws ~ the rules in a country. In Psalm 78, the rules in the first 5 books of the Bible.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the covenant.
idol ~ a false god made of wood or stone or metal.
jealous ~ what you feel when someone else loves the person that you love.
tent ~ a home or building made from animal skins.
glory ~ something that shines very much, maybe heaven: God has glory because his righteousness shines from inside him.
heaven ~ the home of God.
righteousness ~ what you have when you are righteous.
righteous ~ very good (only God is really righteous). God says that the people that love and obey him are righteous. Sometimes we say that they are "the righteous", meaning "righteous people". Look after Psalm 5 in Book 1 of The Psalms of David for more about the word "righteous".
sword ~ a long, sharp knife that soldiers use to fight people with.
priest ~ a servant of God in his temple.
temple ~ a place where people meet to worship God.
worship ~ tell someone that they are very great and that you love them.
desert ~ a dry place with much sand.
holy ~ very, very good; only God is really holy, the land where he lives with his people is also holy because he is there.
plague ~ something very bad, often an illness.
like ~ another word for "as".
worship ~ tell someone that they are very great and that you love them.
ark ~ a box with things important to the Jews in it.
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the Psalms of David.
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Gordon Churchyard
God Makes Judah Leader Instead Of Ephraim
Psalms 78:65-72
v65 Then the *Lord woke up as from sleep.
He was like a strong man shouting after (drinking) *wine.
v66 He beat his enemies so that they went away.
He did this so that they would always be ashamed.
v67 Also, he decided not to let the people of Joseph (continue as leaders).
And he no longer chose the *tribe of Ephraim.
v68 But he chose the *tribe of Judah.
*Mount Zion (was there), which he loved.
v69 (There) he built a *temple to live in *like his home in *heaven.
He made it so that it would always be there, *like the earth.
v70 Also, he chose David his servant
and he took him away from the sheep farm.
v71 (He took him) from feeding sheep
and brought him to be *shepherd of his people *Jacob,
those in Israel that were his.
v72 And so David, with his honest heart, was their *shepherd.
He knew how to lead them.
What verses 65 - 72 mean
Now there is a big change. God leads his people so that they beat their enemy, the Philistines. He did three other things:• He made Judah the leader of the *tribes, not Ephraim, verses 67-68. Until then, Ephraim was leader, but not a good leader, verse 9.
• He made his home on earth in *Mount Zion in Jerusalem, verses 68-69.
• He chose David to be king, verses 70-72. David led his people *like a *shepherd leads his sheep.
Jacob had 12 sons. Each had a large family or *tribe. As the *tribe of Levi worked in Jerusalem, that left 11 *tribes. Joseph had two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. They both took the place of Joseph, so there were still 12 *tribes!
Something to do
1. Read the story of the *plagues in Egypt, if you have a Bible. You can find where they are after verse 55 of Psalms 78.2. Make sure that you tell your children the story of Jesus and his love for them.
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; Adonai in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
Adonai ~ Lord or master; (or better, my Lord or my master) in Hebrew.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the Psalms of David.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the covenant.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
like ~ another word for "as".
wine ~ a drink with alcohol in it. People make it from grapes.
grapes ~ the fruit of a plant called the vine. People use them to make drink that has alcohol in it. The drink is wine.
vines ~ plants that grow grapes (to make wine).
tribe ~ a large group of people from the same family.
mount ~ small mountain.
temple ~ a place where people meet to worship God.
worship ~ tell someone that they are very great and that you love them.
like ~ another word for "as".
heaven ~ the home of God.
shepherd ~a sheep farmer.
Jacob ~ another name for Israel, both the people and the land. (Jacob was Abraham’s grandson).
plague ~ something very bad, often an illness.