SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
4/24/2012 7:54:34 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Protecting the Future
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm 78:1-8
Message of the verses: In Today’s SD we will begin a rather long psalm; Psalm 78 has 72 verses in it so it will probably take a few days to complete it. We will first take a look at sever introductions from different commentators and then begin to look at the psalm.
“Some think David was the penman of it; but from the latter part of it, in which mention is made of him, and of his government of the people of Israel, it looks as if it was wrote by another, and after his death, though not long after, since the account is carried on no further than his times; and therefore it is probable enough it was written by Asaph, the chief singer, that lived in that age: whoever was the penman of it, it is certain he was a prophet, and so was Asaph, who is called a seer, the same with a prophet, and who is said to prophesy, #2Ch 29:30 #1Ch 25:1,2 and also that he represented Christ; for that the Messiah is the person that is introduced speaking in this psalm is clear from #Mt 13:34,35 and the whole may be considered as a discourse of his to the Jews of his time; giving them an history of the Israelites from their first coming out of Egypt to the times of David, and in it an account of the various benefits bestowed upon them, of their great ingratitude, and of the divine resentment; the design of which is to admonish and caution them against committing the like sins, lest they should be rejected of God, as their fathers were, and perish: some Jewish writers, as Arama observes, interpret this psalm of the children of Ephraim going out of Egypt before the time appointed.” (John Gill)
“TITLE. Maschil of Asaph. This is rightly entitled an instructive Psalm. It is not a mere recapitulation of important events in Israelitish history, but is intended to be viewed as a parable setting forth the conduct and experience of believers in all ages. It is a singular proof of the obtuseness of mind of many professors that they will object to sermons and expositions upon the historical parts of Scripture, as if they contained no instruction in spiritual matters: were such persons truly enlightened by the Spirit of God, they would perceive that all Scripture is profitable, and would blush at their own folly in undervaluing any portion of the inspired volume.
“DIVISION. The unity is well maintained throughout, but for the sake of the reader’s convenience, we may note that #Ps 78:1-8 may be viewed as a preface, setting forth the psalmist’s object in the epic which he is composing. From #Ps 78:9-41 the theme is Israel in the wilderness; then intervenes an account of the Lord’s preceding goodness towards his people in bringing them out of Egypt by plagues and wonders, #Ps 78:42-52. The history of the tribes is resumed at #Ps 78:53, and continued to #Ps 78:66, where we reach the time of the removal of the ark to Zion and the transference of the leadership of Israel from Ephraim to Judah, which is rehearsed in song from #Ps 78:67-72.” (Charles H. Spurgeon)
“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 the 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 benfit 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.’
“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 (1Kings 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 Scriptures and teach them to their children. Judah had the temple on Mt. Zion, the covenants, the priesthood, and the Davidic dynasty, and all this could be lost in one generation (see Judges 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.” (Dr. Warren Wiersbe)
Protecting the Future (vv. 1-8): “1 ¶ «A Maskil of Asaph.» Listen, O my people, to my instruction; 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 conceal them from their children, But tell to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done. 5 For He established a testimony in Jacob And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers That they should teach them to their children, 6 That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, That they may arise and tell them to their children, 7 That they should put their confidence in God And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments, 8 And not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not prepare its heart And whose spirit was not faithful to God.”
The first verse sounds to me a bit like verses in Proverbs, when Solomon was teaching his son things that were important for him to learn. We read in the 6th chapter of Deuteronomy and other places that the fathers were to teach their children the things of the Lord, for if they did not pass the truth of God’s Word to their children then the next generation would not know the truth. Paul writes to Timothy these words, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
We read these word of Jesus from Mathew 13:35: “This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: "I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES; I WILL UTTER THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.’” Asaph writes these words in verse two of Psalm 78. Asaph goes on to say that these words have been known by their fathers, for they have told them to their sons. Then he says that these words must be taught to the children.
Just think if the nation of Israel and not taken the time to write down all of God’s Word so that it could be passed on to the next generation. This was a painstaking job for these scribes, for they would count all the letters that they would write and if they came up one short of how many they were copying then they would through it away and begin again. This took a great deal of work and dedication.
Dr. Wiersbe writes “Asaph helped his readers understand an enigma 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.” This was very important for his readers to understand so they would obey the Lord. Asaph will tell about the rebellious generation that came out of Egypt and all died in the desert. He will tell of the generation who lived in Canaan and turned to idols, and about the division of the ten tribes as they set up their own blasphemous religion. Asaph did this so this generation would understand what God wanted them to know and follow the Law of the Lord and therefore be blessed.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: There are two things that I can learn from this section and from this Psalm 78 that are important for me to know. I know that I can praise the Lord that through the Holy Spirit of God He has kept the Word of God intact so that I can read, study, meditate on it and know that what I am reading is God’s truth. History is important and I can learn from the history of the nation of Israel and not follow their mistakes. “11 Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.”
My Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to study the Word of God in order to learn what the Lord has for me each and every day. Continue to trust the Lord to teach me contentment through the trials that I face, trusting that God has a definite plan for my life.
4/24/2012 9:01:42 AM
No comments:
Post a Comment