PSALM 78:54-64 - ISRAEL'S DISOBEDIENCE BRINGS TROUBLE AGAIN

PSALM 78:54-64

ISRAEL’S DISOBEDIENCE

BRINGS TROUBLE AGAIN

Psalm 78:54 And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to this mountain, which his right hand had purchased.

Susan: This could be specifically to Mount Moriah upon which the temple would later be built or it could just signify the border of the hill country of Canaan.

Susie: Moriah sounds familiar. Isn’t that where Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac?

Genesis 22:2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

2 Chronicles 3:1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

Susan: God knew that Abraham loved the Lord even more than the child God had promised and given him. So much so that he was willing even to sacrifice the boy’s life if that is what was demanded of him. But God stopped him.

Susie: So, Moriah was a place of worship, for Abraham had told his men that he and the boy would go up and worship and they would both return. Then David and Solomon planned and built the temple of God on that mountain. God brought the Israelites to the Promised Land, Canaan, the place to worship Him.

Psalm 78:55 He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.

Susan: God strengthened and anointed the Israelites to win battles in order to conquer the Canaanites.

Susie: Then the land was divided among the twelve tribes as their inheritance. So He brought them safely into the Promised Land to settle for their home.

Susan: However, there was one tribe who did not receive a land allotment as their inheritance—the tribe of Levi, the priestly tribe.

Deuteronomy 18:1 (VOICE) Moses: The Levitical priests and the whole tribe of Levi will not have any inherited property within Israel. They will be supported by the sacrifices and other offerings that are burnt and set aside for the Eternal.

Psalm 78:56 Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, and kept not his testimonies: 57 But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow.

Susie: Even though God had delivered them miraculously from Egypt, drowned Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea, punished them for rebellion in the wilderness, yet preserved them during 40 years of wandering to the point that their shoes and clothing did not wear out, conquered Canaan and gave them the Promised Land—despite having seen God work mightily for such a long time in all these things—they failed to obey Him!

Susan: They gave God no credit for His faithfulness to them and were perpetually unfaithful to Him in return.

Psalm 78:58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.

Susan: The reason God commanded the Israelites to overtake and annihilate, pulverize, opposing nations was that God did not want pagan nations to infiltrate and influence them to worship false gods.

Susie: Since they did not completely obey this command they were tempted to worship false gods and create idols for themselves. They even built altars on hilltops for the worship of these foreign gods.

Psalm 78:59 When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:

Susie: Let’s look at this in the Amplified Classic version:

Psalm 78:59 (AMPC)    When God heard this, He was full of [holy] wrath; and He utterly rejected Israel, greatly abhorring and loathing [her ways]

Susan: God did not hate the Israelite people but rather the way they were living, walking through life.

Susie: They were worshipping, putting their trust in, and loving worthless idols when the first commandment He had given them was:

Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Psalm 78:60 So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men;

Susie: Shiloh was an early location of the tent of meeting and the ark of the covenant once they settled in the Promised Land. It was in the territory of the tribe of Ephraim.

Susan: I wonder how long it took the Israelites to realize God had left the building, the tent in Shiloh?

Susie: Not long. Let’s read on.

Psalm 78:61 And delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy's hand.

Susie: The fact that God was no longer protecting them became obvious. During the time that Eli was judge and Samuel was still young, God allowed the Philistines to capture the Ark of the Covenant and take it to the temple of their god Dagon. (1 Samuel 4 & 5) My second grade students when I taught in a Christian school loved the story of the idol Dagon falling flat on its face before the Ark of the covenant.

Psalm 78:62 He gave his people over also unto the sword; and was wroth with his inheritance. 63 The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage. 64 Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.

Susie: The Israelites had unwisely carried the Ark of the Covenant into battle thinking the symbol of the Lord’s presence would give them victory. But God was not with them because of their unfaithfulness to Him. Why would there be no maidens given in marriage? Too many of the young men had been killed in the battle in which the Ark was captured:

1 Samuel 4:10-11 10 And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.     11 And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. (emphasis added)

QUESTIONS

1.   What are two significant things that happened in Moriah?

2.  God sovereignly protected His people as they took over the land of Canaan. Have you ever experienced His protection in your own life? Write about it.

3.  Despite all God had done for the Israelites, they were often disobedient. What specific sin provoked God to anger?

4.  Do we have idols today? Is there anything we are tempted to elevate above the Lord?