Psalm 78 explained: Remembering a Long, Stubborn History

Why tell these stories (vv. 1-8)

The speaker draws lessons from old stories handed down by the ancestors, so each generation can tell the next what God has done, trust him, and not repeat earlier stubbornness. Christians note that the Gospel of Matthew quotes verse 2 about Jesus teaching in parables, and read it in that light.

Forgetting the rescue (vv. 9-16)

Ephraim, a leading northern tribe, ran from battle. Scholars are unsure which defeat is meant, possibly the loss at Shiloh described later, and the psalm blames it on forgetting the escape from Egypt, the parted sea, the guiding cloud and fire, and water from rock.

Food in the desert (vv. 17-31)

The people doubted God could feed them in the desert, so he sent manna, the bread-like food from the sky, and then flocks of birds for meat. The book of Numbers tells of a plague striking while they were still eating, and the psalm presents it plainly as God's anger at their greed and distrust.

A cycle of turning back (vv. 32-39)

When disaster came the people turned to God, but their words were flattery and their loyalty did not last. Even so, the psalm says God held back his full anger again and again, remembering how frail and short-lived humans are.

The plagues and the land (vv. 40-55)

The poet retells the disasters in Egypt, ending with the death of the firstborn ('the tents of Ham' means Egypt, since Ham was seen as the Egyptians' ancestor). God then leads Israel like a shepherd to the land and drives out the nations already living there, which the psalm states without softening.

Shiloh falls, David rises (vv. 56-72)

Once settled, the people worshiped idols at hilltop shrines, so God let the sanctuary at Shiloh fall and the ark, the sacred chest, be captured, with young men and priests killed. Then, pictured boldly as a warrior waking up, God drives back the enemies and shifts his favor from Ephraim to Judah, choosing Jerusalem's Mount Zion and the shepherd David to lead.

Key verse: Psalm 78:7

Something to think about

Which stories from your own family or community's past seem worth handing on, including the ones that don't make your side look good?