Psalm 78 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Psalm 78 Short Summary:

Psalm 78 is a summarized historical account of the nation of Israel, which highlights God's repeated acts of deliverance and the people's repeated disobediences. The psalm writer wanted to document this history to teach the upcoming generations about the mistakes of their ancestors and to encourage them to put their faith in God for a brighter future.

Psalm 78 Summary

AUTHOR:

• Psalm 78 was written by Asaph.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES:

• Matthew 13:35; John 6:31

THEMES:

• God’s mighty works amongst the people of Israel from the time of the Exodus to the time of King David.

• Israel’s stubborn and rebellious spirit that persisted through all of God’s miraculous work.

DEFINITIONS:

• Manna (78:24) – When the Israelites were in the wilderness following their exodus from Egypt, God fed them with manna, a special bread like food from Heaven. Manna is described as being like coriander seed, white in color, and with a taste like wafers made with honey (Exo 16:31). Numbers 11:7 says it had an appearance like bdellium. Manna is called the bread of angels in Psalm 78:25.

• Parable (78:2) – An earthly story with a spiritual meaning.

• Ham (78:51) – One of the sons of Noah. He was an ancestor of the Egyptian people (Gen 10:6).

OUTLINE:

• REMEMBERING GOD’S GREAT WORK IN THE NATION OF ISRAEL (78:1-8):

  • In Psalm 78, Asaph recounted God’s great deeds throughout the history of Israel in hopes of convincing the next generation to be faithful to the Lord.

  • Asaph didn’t want the next generation to be rebellious like their ancestors.  

  • Asaph spends a considerable amount of space in Psalm 78 rebuking the previous generations for their faithlessness, faithlessness that persisted even after they were privileged to be eyewitnesses of some incredible miracles.

  • Asaph taught about the Lord so the younger generation would “set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments; and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God” (78:7-8).

• FAITHLESSNESS DURING THE WILDERNESS WANDERINGS (78:9-41):

  • This section is a record of many of the miracles God performed while the Israelites were in the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land. This section is also a condemnation of Israel for their response to those miracles.

  • The miracles mentioned include: (1) the parting of the Red Sea, (2) God leading the people with a cloud and with fire, (3) God giving His people water from a rock, (4) God providing Israel with food from heaven (manna), and (5) God providing His people with quail when the requested meat.

  • How did the Israelites respond to these miracles?

  • By complaining, doubting, rebelling, and quickly forgetting about God’s kindness to them.

  • God punished the people for their behavior, and there were periods of repentance, but the repentance was never genuine (78:32-37).

• FAITHLESSNESS IN EGYPT (78:42-54):

  • The miracles in the wilderness followed the incredible miracles God performed in Egypt.

  • God sent the 10 plagues on Pharaoh to force him to let the Israelites out of slavery.

  • God brought them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and led them to Mount Sinai.

• FAITHLESSNESS IN THE PROMISED LAND (78:55-64):

  • When they finally made it out of the wilderness, God helped them conquer Canaan (the Promised Land), but shortly thereafter they forgot about God and worshipped idols.

  • God was angry and allowed Israel’s enemies to conquer them.

• GOD CHOOSES JUDAH OVER EPHRAIM (78:65-72):

  • Though His people were stubborn rebels, God was merciful and patient.

  • He sent deliverers to free His people from their oppressors.

  • Although God’s Tabernacle had been in Shiloh, in the Tribe of Ephraim, God rejected Ephraim because of their sinfulness and brought His glory to the Tribe of Judah.

  • From within the Tribe of Judah, God lifted up a man named David to lead the nation.

  • David governed the people of Israel and Judah with a “skillful hand” (78:72).

APPLICATION:

• This psalm makes a good case for studying Christian/Church history.

• “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.”

• This was the psalmist’s fear. He didn’t want the upcoming generations to repeat the same mistakes made by their fathers.

• If modern believers hope to avoid the errors of previous generations, it would be wise of us to know something about those generations!