Psalm 81 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Psalm 81 Short Summary:

Psalm 81 begins with the psalmist calling on the people of Israel to worship God according to His law, to sing to Him and celebrate the prescribed holy days. As the Israelites were preparing to celebrate these feast days, the psalmist wanted them to look back at their history and the promises God had made to their nation. He encouraged them to give their hearts solely to God and worship Him alone.

Psalm 81 Summary

AUTHOR:

• Psalm 81 was written by Asaph.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES:

• No Known New Testament References.

THEMES:

• Celebration of the Lord’s sacred days as prescribed in the law of God for Israel.

• God’s people fail to honor Him even after being the recipients of His blessings.

DEFINITIONS:

• Meribah (81:7) – In Exodus 17, Moses led the Israelites to a place called Meribah where God tested Israel’s faithfulness. There was no water in that desolate place. God told Moses to strike a rock with Aaron’s staff, and the Lord brought water out of the rock.

• Place of Thunder (81:7) – There is some debate about the meaning of this term in verse 7, but most believe it refers to Mount Sinai, the mountain on which God gave Moses His law for the Israelites. The description of thunder is fitting based on the description of the mountain when God’s presence descended upon it (Exo 19:16, 20:18).

OUTLINE:

• A CALL TO CELEBRATE THE FEAST DAYS (81:1-5):

  • The psalmist called on the Israelites to worship God in the way prescribed in His law.

  • They were to sing, play instruments, and blow trumpets on the special holy days.

  • They weren’t to neglect these celebrations because these practices were a “statute for Israel, a rule of the God of Jacob” (81:4).

  • Some think specific reference was being made to the Passover Feast, because it was established while the Israelites were in Egypt (81:5). Others believe this should be connected to the Feast of Tabernacles.

• GOD HEARD ISRAEL’S PLEA, NOW WILL ISRAEL HEAR GOD? (81:6-16):

  • As the Israelites were preparing to celebrate these feast days, the psalmist wanted them to look back at their history and the promises God had made to their nation.

  • When the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, they called out to God because of their subjugation and the manual labor they were forced to offer to the Pharaoh.  

  • God heard their cries and freed them by afflicting Egypt with 10 plagues.

  • The Lord led them out of Egypt through the Red Sea (Exo 14) to Meribah (Exo 17) and to the “place of thunder” (probably Mount Sinai; Exo 19-20).  

  • In exchange for hearing Israel in their time of need, God asked the Israelites to hear and heed His commands. They were to worship the Lord alone. They were not to worship any of the false gods and idols of the neighboring nations.

  • But the Israelites grieved God and did not listen to Him.

  • God said, “But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels. Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways! (81:11-13).”

  • God gave them over to the consequences of their actions.

  • He was ready to deliver them at any time, but not before they genuinely repented and returned to Him (81:14).

  • God had storehouses of the finest wheat and honey awaiting them upon their return (81:16).

  • As the Israelites were preparing to celebrate their feast days (81:1-5), they needed to keep this history of their nation in mind and ensure that they’re hearts were given wholly to the Lord.

  • When they had honestly given their hearts to God, they would enjoy God’s abundant blessings, and their feast days would days of beautiful celebration.

APPLICATION:

• We can very easily make the same mistake the Israelites made in this chapter.

• We can find ourselves in a time of trouble, call out to the Lord for rescue, and appreciatively receive His deliverance when He hears our prayers.

• Then, when our troubles are over, we close our ears to God’s commands, don’t bother listening to His voice, don’t pick up His word, and go about our lives according to our own counsels (according to our own plans; 81:12).

• That’s pretty selfish, isn’t it?