Psalm 78:1-11 - "That They Might Set Their Hope in God..."

That they may arise and declare them to their children, That they may set their hope in God..." Psalm 78 is called a “History Psalm” that gives us the story of the failures of the nation of Israel over the centuries. Asaph is writing this Psalm during a dark and dismal time and he wants the new generations to remember their past, “That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments; And may not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not set its heart aright, And whose spirit was not faithful to God” (vv.7-8).   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 (Psalms 71:18; 79:13; 102:18; 145:4). Moses gave the people this commandment from God in Exodus 10:2; 12:26-27; 13:8, 14; Deut. 4:9; 6:6-9, 20-25.   This commandment is especially clear in Deuteronomy 6:4-9: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”   My friend, this law applies to us and His church today (2 Tim. 2:2). Paul told Timothy to pass down God’s Word and His truth to succeeding generations. “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also”. (2 Timothy 2:2)   In telling the "praises of the Lord", His deeds worthy of praise (v. 4), Asaph helped his readers understand a mystery in their history. 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 Mt. 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), and they 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 and “have hope in God” (vv. 7-8). Only then could they be sure of the blessing of the Lord. That principle still applies today.   In verses 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 God’s care for them during their wilderness journey. As someone said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it".   During these days of crisis in our nation and world, may the Lord help us to give our children and grandchildren hope as we share with them “His Story”!   God bless!