Introduction: Asaph apparently died before Solomon died. The nation didn’t split into two kingdoms until after Solomon’s death. The northern kingdom, Samaria, which had its own king after Solomon was often called by the prophets ‘Ephraim’. You may recall that Ephraim was not a son of Jacob. Two of Jacob’s sons don’t have areas designated to their tribes. Levi – the priestly line covered the whole of the nation; Joseph’s two sons were each counted separately – they made up the twelve tribes Ephraim and Manasseh instead of Levi and Joseph! Levi is nation-wide a priestly tribe and Joseph while not having a tribe named after him, has in fact a double portion because of his rescuing the nation from extinction! Judges 1; 29 reads, ‘And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.’ Thus they specifically didn’t obey the instructions given by Moses and is mentioned in a negative way in this second portion of Psalm 78, which at the start emphasises learning and following the covenantal laws!!
9 The Ephraimites, armed with the bow,
turned back on the day of battle.
10 They did not keep God’s covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law. – Obviously Asaph is saying, ‘Don’t be an Ephraim’!
11 They forgot his works
and the wonders that he had shown them.
12 In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders
in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
13 He divided the sea and let them pass through it,
and made the waters stand like a heap.
14 In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
and all the night with a fiery light.
15 He split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
16 He made streams come out of the rock
and caused waters to flow down like rivers. – In less than a minute the Psalmist covers the Goodness of God to Ephraimites and all the people of Israel extending over 40+ years. You can’t live in the past but learning its lessons makes excellent sense!
17 Yet they sinned still more against him,
rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 They tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they craved.
19 They spoke against God, saying,
“Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
20 He struck the rock so that water gushed out
and streams overflowed.
Can he also give bread
or provide meat for his people?” – Exodus 16 & 17 and Numbers 21 tell the stories about God providing water, clean water and manna and quails for the people as they travelled through the Wilderness on their way to Canna. We shall get further comment in the following days but v 17 above shows why the Goodness of God is highlighted! In order to expose the gravity of the people not learning the lessons which God had taught them!
Proverbs 9: 9&10 – Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
Prayer: Thank You for showing us and encouraging us to walk in Your Revealed Way. Thank You for Jesus example!