Psalm 78

April 29, 2007 Psalm 78 Class READ verses 1-4 How many generations are referred to in these verses?

What does God expect you to do with your knowledge about God?

READ verses 5-8 Does God think it is important to teach children about God?

Who should be teaching children?

Deuteronomy 4: 9 … Teach them to your children and to their children after them.

Deuteronomy 6:1-9 … Impress them on your children. …

Ephesians 6: 4 Fathers, …, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

The children can ask their elders. Deuteronomy 32:7 Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you.

What are the results of teaching children about God?

Luke 1: 50His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.

1 Corinthians 10:1-13 … 11These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings.. 2 Timothy 2:1,2 …the things you have heard me say … entrust to reliable men who will also ..teach others.

Acts 8:30-31 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah … "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. 31"How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" …

What if we don’t teach the next generation about God?

Judges 2: 8 –11 another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals.

verses 9 – 31 Who are the men of Ephraim? v10,11 What was Ephraim’s error?

v18,19,20 test God … "to challenge Him to do what one believes Him to be unable to do"

"The New Bible Commentary Revised" D. Guthrie and J. Motyer eds. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (1970) page 500

Were the people thankful to God for the food or did they still have an "attitude?"

How could Israel not believe in God (v22)? Are we in danger of not believing God?

verses 32 – 39

Ezekial 33:30-32 "… With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. …

Mark 7: 6-8 .. 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

Matthew 7: 19-21 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down …

James 2:20-26 … faith without deeds is dead.

Do we give God "lip service?" Why?

Verses 40 – 55 will be summarized. READ verses 56 – 64

What flaws did the people have and how did God respond?

Hebrews 3:12-18 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. .. 19So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

READ verses 65-72 Is verse 72 the end of Israel’s story?
Proverbs 1: 7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom…

John 15:14-16 .. did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit…

1 Peter 2: 9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

So, now, are we chosen by God? How do we stay on God’s good side?

How do we help future generations?

Summarize this Psalm. Next: Psalm 84 Copyright © 2007 by Greg Clements. Permission is granted to copy and distribute these documents as long as no fee of any kind is charged and this copyright notice is included in the document.

April 29, 2007 Psalm 78 Leader

maskil "a composition setting forth divine insights, and which therefore instructs"

"The New Bible Dictionary" J.D. Douglas ed. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (1962) page 1054

READ verses 1-4

v1 & v2

verse 2 is quoted in Matthew 13: 34Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. 35So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world."

How many generations are referred to in these verses?

…3 … fathers, us, children

What does God expect you to do with your knowledge about God?

…tell the next generation of God’s deeds, power, wonders

READ verses 5-8

Does God think it is important to teach children about God?

… God established a law to teach children.

Who should be teaching children?

Deuteronomy 4: 9 … watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.

Deuteronomy 6:1-9 These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land … 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you…3 Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you …. 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. …

Ephesians 6: 4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

The children can ask their elders. Deuteronomy 32:7 Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you.

What are the results of teaching children about God?

verse 7 put their trust in God, no forget his deeds, keep his commands

verse 8 not be rebellious

Luke 1: 50His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.

1 Corinthians 10:1-13 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers … all passed through the sea. 2They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. ….. 5Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them.. 6Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. … 9We should not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. 11These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, …. 12So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! …God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out …

2 Timothy 2:1,2 … my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.

What if we don’t teach the next generation about God?

Judges 2: 8-11 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten… After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals. … In his anger against Israel the LORD handed them over to raiders who plundered them. He sold them to their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.

The leader should summarize verses 9 – 31

Who are the men of Ephraim?

"Ephraim was the most prominent tribe of Israel from the days of Moses to Saul’s time." "Life Application Bible NIV" Tyndale House and Zondervan (1991) page 989

v10,11 What was Ephraim’s error?

did not keep God’s covenant, refused to live by God’s law, forgot what he had done

miracles in Egypt (plagues ??)

miracles in Zoan "Zoan was an ancient capital of Egypt, here used as a poetic parallel for Egypt itself."

"The New Bible Commentary Revised" D. Guthrie and J. Motyer eds. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (1970) page 500

divided the sea, guided with a cloud by day, fire by night, split the rock to release water

v17 they continued to sin, rebel, put God to the test by demanding food like they had in Egypt

The Israelites in the wilderness grumbled often, rebelled

v18,19,20 test God … "to challenge Him to do what one believes Him to be unable to do"

"The New Bible Commentary Revised" D. Guthrie and J. Motyer eds. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (1970) page 500

v22 they did not believe in God or trust in his deliverance

v23-28 but God provided food, manna, meat of birds

v31 God’s anger rose against them

…Were the people thankful to God for the food or did they still have an "attitude?"

How could Israel not believe in God (v22)?

…time passed, they were impatient?

Are we in danger of not believing God?

…yes, we need to keep on guard

The leader should summarize verses 32 – 39

v32 they kept on sinning

v34 they turned to God when God disciplined them

v36 but their words were flattery, lies,

Ezekial 33:30-32 "… your countrymen are talking together about … 'Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD.' 31 My people come to you, …, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. …

Mark 7: 6-8 .. "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; … " 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'8You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men."

v37 their hearts were not loyal

v38 God was merciful and forgave, restrained his anger

v39 God remembered that they were but flesh

Matthew 7: 19-21 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down … 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father ….

James 2:20-26 … do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac …? … his faith was made complete by what he did. …. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. … 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Do we give God "lip service?" Why?

…we don’t "pay our vows"

…we think about ourselves first

…we want to take the easy way

The leader should summarize verses 40 – 55

v41 AGAIN and AGAIN they put God to the test

v42 they did not remember his power

v43 miraculous signs in Egypt, in Zoan

rivers turned to blood, swarms of flies, frogs, grasshoppers, locust, hail, sleet, hail, lightning, a band of destroying angels, struck down the firstborn of Egypt

v51 "Ham (Noah’s second son) is sometimes used as a synonym forEgypt" "Life Application Bible NIV" Tyndale House and Zondervan (1991) page 991

v52 brought his people out like a flock

v53 guided them safely, but the sea engulfed their enemies

v55 drove out nations before them, settled the tribes of Israel

READ verses 56 – 64

v56 they put God to the test, rebelled, did not keep his statutes

v57 like their fathers, ..disloyal

v58 high places (idols)

v59 God rejected Israel

v61 God sent the ark into captivity … the Philistines defeated Israel and captured the ark

v62 God gave Israel over to the sword

v63 young men consumed by fire, no weddings for maidens

v64 priests killed by the sword

What flaws did the people have and how did God respond?

Hebrews 3:12-15 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13But encourage one another daily, …, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 14We … share in Christ if we hold firmly … the confidence we had at first… "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." …17And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? 18And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

READ verses 65-72

v65 the Lord awoke

v66 God’s enemies were beat back

v67 God rejected Joseph, Ephraim

v68 God chose Judah

v70 God chose David

v71 from tending sheep to shepherd God’s people Jacob

v72 David shepherded them with integrity of heart, with skillful hands he led them

God is faithful to his people, to his chosen ones.

Is verse 72 the end of Israel’s story?
…no, David sinned, his descendants sinned and the nation declined, went into captivity, but God restored

Proverbs 1: 7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom…

John 15:14-16 You are my friends if you do what I command…I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. …

1 Peter 2: 9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

So, now, are we chosen by God?

…yes

How do we stay on God’s good side?

…obey his commandments, seek him with our hearts, remember his deeds, his response to sin,

How do we help future generations?

…tell them of God’s character, plans, deeds, wonders, glory, …

Summarize this Psalm.

Next: Psalm 84

Tangent Topic Generations to come

There are many passages in the Pentateuch that tell Israel to do activities to remember God "for the generations to come"

Tangent Topic Breaking the Generational Curse

Exodus 34:6-8 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."

Ezekial 18: 1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: " 'The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'? 3 "As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. 4 For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son—both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die.

Romans 8:1-2 "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."

2 Corinthians 5: 17… if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Revelation 12:10-11 … "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers… has been hurled down. 11They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony;

Deuteronomy 5:8-10 8 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.