Psalm 78 is the second longest psalm in the Bible, following Psalm 119, containing 72 verses. Today we will focus on the first half of the psalm. The author of this psalm was a Levite by the name of Asaph. Asaph was one of several Levites whom King David set as a music or worship leader in the tabernacle choir, as is recorded in I Chronicles 6. Later in Chronicles it states that he played the cymbals in worship, and was also a prophet. Asaph was also listed as being present and participating in the dedication of King Solomon’s Temple. He is listed as the author of twelve different psalms.
In this psalm, Asaph calls upon the people to remember God’s goodness to them. It was written with the purpose of teaching us, and having moral instruction, so to learn from the past. Learning from the past is very important. We have heard the saying that if we don’t learn from the past we are bound to repeat it. Asaph wanted the people to learn from the nation’s past mistakes, and to remember God’s goodness to them. He wished this psalm to be like a long parable, with the purpose of teaching us, the readers, moral and spiritual lessons. He wishes to open up to us lessons from the past which may have had hidden or ambiguous meanings before (vs. 2).
One very important lesson that we learn from this psalm is the importance of telling our children, grandchildren, and all young people in the generations that follow, all about God and what He has done for us. We must share with them all that God has done in our lives (vs. 4 - 8). If we don’t tell them about the Lord, who will? They need to know what He has done for us. It is important to keep our children from repeating the mistakes of us and our ancestors. Asaph saw throughout Israel’s history that the people kept making the same mistakes of their ancestors, such as repeatedly following after the false gods of the heathen nations around them.
The most crucial aspect of this is telling them about salvation through the saving Blood and death of the Lord Jesus Christ. All Christian parents should do their utmost in telling their children, and later their grandchildren, about the Lord Jesus, and not just leave that to the Sunday School teachers. I have two children who are now adults, but when they were young I could not rest in my spirit until I knew that they had accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior. Here in this psalm we are told to be sure and tell the younger generation all about the Lord, and what He has done for us.
In the remainder of this portion of the psalm, Asaph rehearses for the people how God brought them out of Egypt, and particularly how He provided them food in the wilderness. This, in spite of their grumbling, and actually challenging Him. God, throughout Israel’s history, continued to bless and care for them, despite their complaining and ungratefulness.
The nation of Israel continually rebelled against God. They were not faithful to Him, and repeatedly forgot what He had done for them (vs. 8, 11 - 12). They even had the audacity to make demands of God (vs. 18 - 20). This, after He had miraculously provided manna for them in the wilderness. As we read this psalm, we might have the pride in our hearts that we could never be like that. The purpose in Asaph writing this, though, is to warn us to not fall into the same sins which his people did, year after year, century after century. In the New Testament, Paul also reminded us of their behavior and unfaithfulness to be an example not to follow (I Corinthians 10:5-12).
We, just like the Israelites, need to be grateful for what God has given us, and not complain that we don’t have what we might always want. God wants us to have grateful hearts. Being grateful helps us to stop focusing on what we don’t have, and looking, instead, at what we do have.
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