For Future Generations – Part 2
Psalms 78 (40-72)
August 2, 2020
Well tonight we return to the 78th Psalm.
• I hate that it fell like this, it’s been 3 weeks since we last looked at this Psalm.
• I’ve preached 5 other sermons in between.
• You’re really not supposed to break it up like that.
So allow me a moment to bring our hearts and minds
Back to the point of this great Psalm.
We called this Psalm “For Future Generations”
Because it is a Psalm in which Asaph vows to preserve and share
The history of his nation with the next generation.
And as we noted, he’s NOT JUST GOING TO TELL THE GOOD STORIES.
(1-3) “Listen, O my people, to my instruction; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.”
Asaph is going to tell it all, even the “dark sayings of old”;
Even the embarrassing stories of their history.
We noted that last time.
• In a day where we even see a movement to erase history, we note the danger in that.
• It’s not that we think our history is solely glorious and good.
• We are well aware that even our history is filled with mistakes and blemishes and bruises.
• Yet, by remember it, we learn from our mistakes.
It is a similar motivation which drives Asaph
To pass along Israel’s history to the next generation.
(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.”
But not only that.
Asaph also realizes that he is to pass it on because GOD COMMANDED ISRAEL TO DO THIS.
(5-6) “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, That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, That they may arise and tell them to their children,”
We read Deuteronomy 6 where the “Shema” is recorded and Israel is commanded to diligently teach the commands of God to their children.
Asaph is certainly honoring that command here.
And ultimately the purpose of the Psalm is revealed.
Asaph gives you his heart’s desire in writing here.
(7-8) “That they should put their confidence in God And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments, 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.”
Asaph wants the next generation to do better than the last generation.
• They rebelled, you trust.
• They were not faithful, you be faithful.
• The disobeyed, you obey.
• Learn from the mistakes of your fathers.
As we also said, it is a mistake
For us to only assume that this is a Jewish warning.
Paul wrote to the Gentile church in Corinth all about the failures of Israel.
And he said:
1 Corinthians 10:6-11 “Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY.” Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 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.”
Paul even told Gentile believers that this history was for them
That they too would learn from it.
And since God never changes,
History is a great source for us to learn the truth about God.
That is what Asaph is doing.
We broke this Psalm down into 6 main points
That Asaph would teach the next generation.
6 main truths he wants them to remember and learn from.
(We saw the first 3 last time)
#1 THE UNWARRANTED REBELLION OF EPHRAIM
Psalms 78:9-16
Ephraim of course represents Israel.
And analogy was given here about them turning back in the day of battle.
That is to say, they blew it when it mattered most.
Every time they were given the chance to shine out for God, they blew it.
(10-11) “They did not keep the covenant of God And refused to walk in His law; They forgot His deeds And His miracles that He had shown them.”
And Asaph even chronicled some of those miracles they forgot.
• Things like parting the Red Sea.
• Things like a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
• Things like God bringing water from a rock
But despite God’s faithful deliverance and provision
They still rebelled and refused to obey God.
The first point Asaph would make is that their rebellion was unwarranted.
It was unjustified.
It could not be explained.
God did not deserve their rebellion.
So it is true of all rebellion, God deserves your obedience, not your disobedience.
The Unwarranted Rebellion of Ephraim
#2 THE UNTOLERATED GRUMBLING OF ISRAEL
Psalms 78:17-33
Here Asaph focused on the grumbling of Israel in their desire for meat.
• God had given water from a rock
• They chose to put Him to the test by daring Him to produce meat.
Asaph reminded that God honored their request
And then judged them for it.
(29-31) “So they ate and were well filled, And their desire He gave to them. Before they had satisfied their desire, While their food was in their mouths, The anger of God rose against them And killed some of their stoutest ones, And subdued the choice men of Israel.”
The clear point was that God doesn’t tolerate grumbling.
Romans 1 clearly teaches that ingratitude brings the wrath of God.
Romans 1:21 “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
Asaph wanted the next generation to learn this lesson.
#3 THE UNEQUALLED LOYALTY OF GOD
Psalms 78:34-39
This section almost reads as an interlude.
It just takes a summation type approach to reveal that while the history of Israel is one of
• Rebellion
• Disobedience
• Grumbling
• Hypocrisy
The history of God is that of a long-suffering and merciful Savior.
They weren’t faithful to God, but God was always faithful to them.
(38-39) “But He, being compassionate, forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them; And often He restrained His anger And did not arouse all His wrath. Thus He remembered that they were but flesh, A wind that passes and does not return.”
It actually reads to us much like the infamous 103rd Psalm.
Psalms 103:7-14 “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel. The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.”
And so the point thus far is that
Israel has a Savior they do not deserve.
They are the worst people and He is the best God.
None of their rebellion makes sense.
It is a good thing for them that God has been so faithful.
It would be nice if their rebellion was over,
But another part of their embarrassing past is that they just kept rebelling.
The Unwarranted Rebellion of Ephraim The Untolerated Grumbling of Israel
The Unequaled Loyalty of God
#4 THE UNDESERVED RESPONSE TO SALVATION
Psalms 78:40-53
Asaph just outlined in one of the most beautiful sections of Scripture in all the Bible what a great and loyal and merciful Savior God is.
• He saves people who do not deserve it.
• His salvation is not about merit, it is always totally about grace.
• He saves sinners.
Well, you’d expect that when a sinner gets saved
Then they’d respond accordingly, with loyalty and gratitude and worship.
BUT THAT’S NOT AT ALL HOW ISRAEL RESPONDED.
(40-42) “How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness And grieved Him in the desert! Again and again they tempted God, And pained the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember His power, The day when He redeemed them from the adversary,”
There are some words that really just jump out at us there.
• (40) – “rebelled”
• (40) – “grieved”
• (41) – “tempted”
• (41) – “pained”
They are words that are just wrong.
• When someone saves you, you don’t rebel against them.
• When someone delivers you, you don’t grieve them.
• When someone helps you, you don’t tempt them.
• When someone redeems you, you don’t pain them.
But that is what Israel did.
And Asaph says
• “How often” they did this.
• In verse 41 he says, “Again and again” they did this.
And time would fail us if we tried to read ever account of this,
But I can give you a pretty quick summary.
Asaph already alluded to
• The grumbling that took place on the banks of the Red Sea before God delivered.
• He didn’t even mention the golden calf incident.
• He did mention the grumbling for meat.
But what about all he hasn’t covered?
• We could turn to Numbers 12 and read how Miriam and Aaron rose up against Moses who was God’s appointed leader.
• We could turn to Numbers 13&14 read about how they refused to enter the Promised Land.
• We could turn to Numbers 16 and read about how Korah rose up against Moses and then the people followed suit.
• We could turn to Numbers 20 and read about Meribah where the people again grumbled for water.
• We could turn to Numbers 21 and read about another account of grumbling for which God gave serpents to bite them and ultimately the bronze serpent.
• We could turn to Numbers 25 and read how Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor by taking for themselves the Moabite women.
It really is just story after story after story of rebellion.
• These people who had a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
• These people who ate manna every morning.
• These people who had a stream from a rock following them.
• These people whose shoes never wore out.
• These people who had the very presence of God in their camp.
And all it seems they want to do is drive Him away.
It is clear that they had totally forgotten their salvation from Egypt,
Which is what Asaph chronicles next.
(READ 43-53)
Do you remember that story?
• All of those plagues…
• All of those demonstrations of power…
• All of those times God singled out His people for salvation…
And the summary is that God faithfully shepherded His people.
(52-53) “But He led forth His own people like sheep And guided them in the wilderness like a flock; He led them safely, so that they did not fear; But the sea engulfed their enemies.”
God was such a good and saving shepherd.
• They should have all be singing Psalms 23
• But instead they rebelled and grieved and tempted and pained God.
What we talk about here is the sin of forgetting salvation.
IT IS A GRIEVOUS ERROR FOR A PERSON TO MAKE.
God actually went to great lengths in Israel to make sure they did not forget His salvation.
Every year on the 14th day of the 1st month do you know what Israel was to do?
• Celebrate the Passover.
• They were to remember how God delivered them from Egypt.
Every year on the 15th day of the 7th month do you know what Israel was to do?
• Celebrate the Feast of Booths
• They were to live in booths to remember how God shepherded them through
the wilderness.
They were simply supposed to remember all that God had done on their behalf.
They were to remember their salvation.
Other events also come to mind.
Joshua 4:1-7 “Now when all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, and command them, saying, ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firm, and carry them over with you and lay them down in the lodging place where you will lodge tonight.'” So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; and Joshua said to them, “Cross again to the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. “Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”
It was a reminder of the deliverance of God
And that He gave them the Promised Land.
The point is that Israel was supposed to remember salvation.
Israel was supposed to remember deliverance.
Incidentally, aren’t we supposed to do that too?
Luke 22:17-22 “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. “But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Mine on the table. “For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”
This is why we take the Lord’s Supper.
• We remember the salvation of Jesus.
This is why we proclaim the gospel weekly both in song and in preaching.
• We remember the salvation of Jesus.
• We fix our minds on what we were and what He did.
• We fix our minds on our deserved fate and our now deliverance.
• We fix our minds on forgiveness through the atonement of Christ.
And what is that to produce in us?
Gratitude, Worship, Obedience.
We remember and we are again pushed to worship.
ISRAEL DIDN’T DO THIS.
• It is like they forgot their salvation.
• It is like they forgot what danger they used to be in.
• It is like they forgot the mud pits of Egypt.
• It is like they forgot the stealing and murdering of their babies.
• It is like they forgot how God avenged them.
• It is like they forgot how God freed them.
• It is like they forgot how God shepherded them.
AND THAT WAS AN UNDESERVED RESPONSE.
You will never repay God for all that He has done for you.
You will never repay Christ for all that He has done for you.
But the desire to do so should certainly be there.
Their out to be a desire to honor Him
And worship Him and obey Him and serve Him.
We sing:
“Were the whole realm of nature mine; that were a present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”
Israel forgot.
It was an undeserved response.
#5 THE UNSURPRISING DEPARTURE OF GOD
Psalms 78:54-64
Now we’ve moved even further into Israel’s history.
(54-55) “So He brought them to His holy land, To this hill country which His right hand had gained. He also drove out the nations before them And apportioned them for an inheritance by measurement, And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.”
And so if we’re keeping score.
• This is a people He saved despite their complaining.
• This is a people He provided for despite their complaining.
• This is a people He guided despite their rebellion.
And now, even though they have done nothing but pain Him for 40 years
GOD IS STILL GIVING THEM THIS LAND.
He brings them in.
• It is His land.
• He drove out the nations before them.
• He apportioned out the land for them.
And we think of all those famous stories of the conquest.
• Crossing the Jordan
• Conquering Jericho
• The sun standing still
All of those miraculous events where God gave them the land.
HE HAS BEEN GRACIOUS YET AGAIN.
(56-58) “YET they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God And did not keep His testimonies, But turned back and acted treacherously like their fathers; They turned aside like a treacherous bow. For they provoked Him with their high places And aroused His jealousy with their graven images.”
It’s the same old story.
• Regardless of the faithfulness of God, these people were unfaithful.
• They rebelled against God.
• They gave His glory to graven images.
And God was once again angry.
(READ 59-64)
Do you remember that story?=
GOD DEPARTED.
TURN TO: 1 Samuel 4:1-22
The Psalmist says in verse 61 that God “gave up His strength to captivity And His glory into the hand of the adversary.”
That is not a reference to the Babylonian captivity.
That is when God gave up His glory to captivity.
God reached such a point of frustration with Israel
That He chose rather to live amongst pagan idolaters than them.
God had enough of them and departed.
Years later as Jeremiah warned Jerusalem that what God had done before He was ready to do again, he referenced that story.
Jeremiah 7:8-15 “Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. “Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known, then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’ — that you may do all these abominations? “Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” declares the LORD. “But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. “And now, because you have done all these things,” declares the LORD, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you but you did not answer, therefore, I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to the place which I gave you and your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. “I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brothers, all the offspring of Ephraim.”
God was so frustrated with His people
That He determined to allow His glory to be kidnapped and leave Israel.
It is yet another blemish in the history of Israel that Asaph passes along.
IT IS THE UNSURPRISING DEPARTURE OF GOD
Based upon the continual rebellion of His people.
And these are the history lessons that Asaph wants to teach you.
• The Unwarranted Rebellion of Ephraim – God does not deserve your rebellion.
• The Untolerated Grumbling of Israel – God expects gratitude
• The Unequaled Loyalty of God – you don’t realize how good you have it
• The Undeserved Response to Salvation – should have been worship not grief.
• The Unsurprising Departure of God – The presence of God is a gift
And at this point in the Psalm, it is dark.
• God has saved, but He has been terribly offended.
• God has delivered, but He has been grieved.
• God has provided, but He has been angered.
• God has been faithful, but He has been denied.
And by the time we get to verse 64,
God has departed in what must have been
A REAL LOW POINT IN ISRAEL’S HISTORY.
And yet, we see again the remarkable faithfulness of God.
#6 THE UNMERITED APPOINTMENT OF A SHEPHERD
Psalms 78:65-72
• Despite the rebellion
• Despite the anger
• Despite the offense
God once again arose to the defense of His people.
(65-66) “Then the Lord awoke as if from sleep, Like a warrior overcome by wine. He drove His adversaries backward; He put on them an everlasting reproach.”
• Those Philistines stole the ark and the glory of God, but God hardly gave them a pass for it.
• God smote them and smote them until they finally put the ark of God on a cart and sent it away.
• Not only that, but God raised up a king to deliver His people from the Philistines.
• First it was Saul, but his personal rebellion called for his removal.
And then the infamous story of a shepherd boy
Who stood before a giant and took his head from him.
God raised up a new shepherd.
(67-72) “He also rejected the tent of Joseph, And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved. And He built His sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which He has founded forever. He also chose David His servant And took him from the sheepfolds; From the care of the ewes with suckling lambs He brought him To shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them with his skillful hands.”
God raised up David.
And God put him in charge of his people to shepherd them.
And we are again blown away at the long-suffering and patience of God.
GOD CONTINUES TO CARE FOR HIS PEOPLE.
Now of course we know that if Psalms 78 were to continue:
• The idolatry of Solomon
• The rebellion of the period of the Kings
• Jeroboam son of Nebat
• Ahab & Jezebel
• Manasseh
It would include the ignoring of the prophets
• Like Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.
It would include the exile into Babylon and the presence of God again leaving.
But then we’d speak of God’s favor to bring Israel back to their land.
• We’d talk of Ezra and Nehemiah
• We’d talk of Haggai and Zerubbabel
• And we’d again marvel at God’s faithfulness to a wicked people.
We’d see that God would again grant them a shepherd;
• “The Good Shepherd” to save them,
But they would reject and kill Him.
But we’d have a promise that when they repent and return He will save them.
The point to be seen is simple when you zoom out
And see the history of Israel.
It is a simple message that we can all grasp.
1) Man is undeniably wicked – every chance they get for sin, they take it.
2) Man desperately needs a Savior – otherwise all they’ll ever get is judgment.
3) God alone is that Savior – no one else ever came to their rescue
4) God’s appointed Savior is the descendant of David – Jesus Christ
It is the simple message of the history of Israel.
It is the gospel message that has been preached for generations.
It is the message that Asaph wanted to make sure you passed down to your children.
It is the message Paul said we should learn from as an example.
• If you can read the history of Israel…
• Or even the history of America…
• Or even the history of the church…
And come away with any other belief than
The fact that man is terribly sinful and in need of a savior,
Then you just aren’t paying attention.
God announced it at the very beginning.
Genesis 6:5 “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
And nothing has changed.
The history of man is indeed a dark history.
• It is a story of continual rebellion
• It is a story of a terrible lack of gratitude
• It is a story of idolatry
• It is a story of disobedience
But it is also a story of a faithful God,
Whose mercy is new every morning,
Who all day long offers mercy to sinful men.
When we zoom out and see that it should bring about a definite response.
Repentance for our rebellion.
Worship for God’s grace.
That is the undeniable message of history.
It is the job of each of us to pass that history on.
It may make us look bad, but it makes God look good,
and that is the goal.
Psalms 78:1-4 “Listen, O my people, to my instruction; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us. 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.”
