Psalms 78 - 79 (with 1 topic)
Psalm 78 A maskil (giving of instructions) by Asaph; texted in grape are the passages (vv. 2a, 24a) that are quoted in the N.T. (see Psalms 12 - 18 Psalm 15 2. N.T. Quotes from Psalms B.):
O My people, hear My teachings; listen to the words of My mouth. I will open My mouth in parables, I will utter now hidden things, things from of old-- what We have heard & known, what Our fathers have told Us. We will not hide them from Their children; We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy Deeds of the LORD, HIS Power, & the Wonders HE has done. HE decreed statutes for Jacob & established HIS Law in Israel, which HE commanded Our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, & they in turn would tell Their children. Thus, if their forefathers did stray: Then They would put (retain) Their trust in GOD & would not forget HIS Deeds, but would keep HIS Commands, They would (might) not be like (inherit from) their forefathers-- a stubborn & rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to (prepared for-- see 2ndCh 20:33) GOD, whose spirits were not faithful to HIM.
The men of Ephraim (perh. a ref. to Jdg 12:1ff), though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle; They did not keep GOD'S Covenant & refused to live by HIS Law. They forgot what HE had done, the wonders HE had shown Them. HE did (had done) miracles in the sight of Their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. HE had divided the Red Sea & led Them through (spiritually carrying them, as we saw); HE had made the water stand firm like a wall. Walking with them, HE had guided Them with the cloud by day & with light from the fire all night. HE had split the rocks in the desert & gave Them water as abundant as the seas; HE had brought streams out of a rocky crag & made water flow down like rivers. But They continued to sin against HIM, rebelling in the desert against the Most High. They willfully put GOD to the test by demanding the food they craved.
Some say that Jesus' final quote, upon being tempted the 2nd time after the 40-day-40-night fast, of Deu 6:16 [Do not test the LORD Your GOD, as You did at Massah-- where they demanded a particular sign (Exo 17:1-7), as proof of Is the LORD among Us or not (v. 7)] indicates that we should never put God to a test. However, in Malachi, the last book before the N.T., in the same chapter where God says, I will send MY Messenger (John the Baptist); then suddenly the messenger of the covenant (Jesus), whom You desire, will come-- in this same chapter is the invitation, ref. the tithe, to Test ME in this & see if I will not throw open the floodgates. 2 key differences: 1), whence the invitation; 2) God's will is that none should perish-- which necessitates a flourishing house. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in MY House (here "food" is administering the milk & meat of the word).
They spoke against GOD, saying, 'Can GOD spread a table in the desert? When HE via Moses struck the rock, water gushed out, & streams flowed abundantly. But can HE also give Us food? Can HE supply meat for HIS People?' When the LORD heard Them, HE was very angry; HIS Fire broke out against Jacob, & HIS Wrath rose against Israel, for They did not believe in GOD or trust in HIS Deliverance. Ref. manna & quail: Yet HE gave a command to the skies above & opened the doors of the heavens; HE rained down manna for the people to eat, HE gave Them the grain of Heaven. Men ate the bread of angels; HE sent Them all the food They could eat. HE let loose the east wind from the heavens & led forth the south wind by HIS Power. HE rained meat down on Them like the dust, flying birds like sand on the seashore. HE made them come down inside Their camp, all around Their tents. They ate till They had more than enough, for HE had given Them what They craved. But before They turned from the food They craved, even while it was still in Their mouths, GOD'S Anger rose against Them; HE put to death via a plague the sturdiest among Them, cutting down (making to bow) the young men of Israel because of the sin of the fathers.
In spite of all this, They kept on sinning; in spite of HIS Wonders, They did not believe. So HE ended Their days in futility (they wandered 40 yrs. in the desert-- Num 32:13 says, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in HIS Sight was gone) & Their years in terror. Whenever GOD slew Them, They would seek HIM; They eagerly turned to HIM again. They remembered that GOD was Their rock, that GOD Most High was Their redeemer. But then They would flatter HIM with Their mouths. lying to HIM with Their tongues; Their hearts were not loyal to HIM, They were not faithful to HIS Covenant. Yet HE was merciful; HE forgave Their iniquities & did not destroy Them. Time after time HE restrained HIS Anger & did not stir up HIS Full Wrath. HE remembered They were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return (reincarnate).
How often They rebelled against (see Ephe 4:30; Hebr 3:16) HIM in the desert & grieved HIM in the wasteland! Again & again They put GOD to the test; They vexed the Holy ONE of Israel. They did not remember HIS Power-- the day HE redeemed Them from the oppressor (affliction), the day HE displayed HIS Miraculous Signs in Egypt, HIS Wonders in the region of Zoan. HE turned their rivers to blood; they could not drink from their streams. HE sent swarms of flies that devoured them, & frogs that devastated them. HE gave their crops to the grasshopper, their produce to the locust. HE destroyed their vines with hail & their sycamore-figs with sleet. HE gave over their cattle to the hail, their livestock to bolts of lightening, HE unleashed against them HIS Hot Anger, HIS Wrath, Indignation & Hostility-- a band of destroying angels. HE prepared a path for HIS Anger; HE did not spare them from death but gave them over to the plague. HE struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham. But HE brought out HIS People like a flock; HE led Them like sheep through the desert. HE guided them safely, so They were unafraid; but the sea engulfed Their enemies. Thus HE brought Them out to the border of HIS Holy Land, to the hill country HIS Right Hand had taken. HE drove out nations before Them & allotted their lands to Them for an inheritance; HE settled the tribes of Israel in Their homes. But They put GOD to the test & rebelled against the Most High; They did not keep HIS Statutes.
Like Their fathers They were disloyal & faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow (centuries later: Hos 7:1,11,16 says, Whenever I would restore the fortunes of MY People, whenever I would heal Israel, the sins of Ephraim are exposed & the crimes of Samaria revealed. Ephraim is like a dove, easily deceived & senseless-- now calling to Egypt, now turning to Assyria. They do not turn to the Most High; They are like a faulty bow. Though Joseph had 2 sons, Manassah & Ephraim, only Manassah is specifically listed in Reve 7 as sealed-- but also Joseph is listed). They angered HIM with Their high places; They aroused HIS Jealousy with Their idols. When GOD heard Them, HE was very angry; HE rejected Israel completely. HE abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent HE had set up among men. HE sent the ark of HIS Might into captivity, HIS Splendor into the hands of the enemy [Philistines-- which ark David later brought into Jerusalem & placed in a tent; which ark Solomon later still placed in the temple he had built; see PART II B.2.a.,b. & d.; C.1.(2nd pt.); H.3.(3rd pt.) & I.4.b.1. & 2.].
HE gave HIS People over to the sword; HE was very angry with HIS Inheritance. Fire consumed Their young men, & Their maidens had no wedding songs; & Their priests were put to the sword, & Their widows could not weep. Then the LORD awoke as from sleep, as a man awakes from the stupor of wine. HE beat back HIS Enemies; HE put them to an everlasting shame. Them HE rejected the tents of Joseph (obviously He later repented of this-- recall Joseph & Manasseh are listed as sealed), HE did not choose the tribe of Ephraim at this point; but HE chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which HE loved. HE built HIS Sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that HE established forever. HE chose David HIS Servant & took Him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep HE brought Him to be the shepherd of HIS People Jacob, of Israel HIS Inheritance. And David shepherded Them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands He led Them.
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Psalm 79 A psalm by an elderly Asaph (or more likely by 1 of His descendants, as like Psalm 74, it was probably written some 3.5 centuries after the kingdom divided, after the Babylonians had leveled Jerusalem (see 2ndKi 25)-- i.e., written some 5 centuries after David's time:
O GOD, the nations have invaded YOUR Inheritance; they have defiled YOUR Holy Temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to ruble. They have given the dead bodies of YOUR Servants as food to the birds of the air, the flesh of YOUR Saints to the beasts of the earth. They have poured out blood like water all around Jerusalem, & there is no 1 to bury the dead.
We are objects of reproach to Our neighbors, of scorn & derision to those around Us. How long, O LORD? Will YOU be angry forever? How long will YOUR Jealousy burn like fire? Pour out YOUR Wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge YOU, on the kingdoms that do not call on YOUR Name; for they have devoured Jacob & destroyed His homeland.
Do not hold against Us the sins of the fathers; may YOUR Mercy come quickly to meet Us, for We are in desperate need. Help Us, O GOD Our savior, for the glory of YOUR Name; deliver Us & forgive Our sins for YOUR Name's sake. Why should the nations say, 'Where is Their GOD?'
Before Our eyes, make known among the nations that YOU avenge the outpoured blood of YOUR Servants. May the groans of the prisoners come before YOU; by the strength of YOUR Arm preserve those condemned to die. Pay back into the laps of Our neighbors 7 times the reproach they have hurled at YOU, O LORD. Then We YOUR People, the sheep of YOUR Pasture, will praise YOU forever; from generation to generation We will recount YOUR Praise.
TIME PERIODS (before, during & after the captivities)
First, consider this "Preamble to the Time Periods"-- keep these scriptures in mind, for whenever confusion looms:
- Dan 2:21-22 Praise be to the Name of GOD for ever & ever; Wisdom & Power are HIS. HE changes times & seasons;
- Acts 1:7 He said to Them, It is not for You to know the times or dates the FATHER has set by HIS Own Authority.
For this "glimpse" is categorically not intended to contribute to the VOLUMES of preaching/teaching going on regarding the end times! Do you think that God is unaware of the schemes of some men, to pursue head knowledge, at the expense of heart knowledge, fueled to subject others-- that's the fundamental of mantras, brainwashing & voluminous teaching.
1. Time Period #1 (Time Period #2 is in Psalm 80; Time Period #3 is in Psalm 108)
A. Per Isaiah
- During Captivity Isa 64:8-11 Concerning the Near future: Yet, O LORD, YOU are Our FATHER. We are the clay, YOU are the Potter; We are all the Work of YOUR Hand. Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD; do not remember Our sins forever. Oh, look upon Us, We pray, for We are all YOUR People. YOUR Sacred Cities have becpme a desert; even Zion is a desert, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy & glorious temple, where Our fathers praised YOU, has been burned with fire, & all that we treasured lie in ruins. Isa 65:8-11,16 Distant prophecy As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes & men say, 'Don't destroy it, there is yet some good in it,' so will I do in behalf of MY Servants; I will not destroy Them all. Far Distant prophecy I will bring forth descendants, who will possess MY Mountains; MY Chosen People will inherit them, & there MY Servants will live. But as for you who forsake the LORD (opt to remain where scattered) & forget MY Holy Mountain, I will destine you for the sword. MY Servants will eat, drink, rejoice, sing; you will go hungry, thirsy, put to shame, cry out from anguish of heart & wail in brokeness of spirit-- these things were written & not hidden; they were amply forewarned; it was their choice (sound familiar?). For the past troubles will be forgotten & hidden from MY Eyes. EOP
- After Captivity Isa 65:17-20,24-25 Far Distant prophecy: Behold, I will create new heavens & a new earth. The former things (those that occurred before the scattering, as well those after the return from the nations) will not be remembered. But be glad & rejoice forever in what I will create. Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who fails to reach (the sinner who reaches) 100 yrs. old will be considered accursed. They will build houses & dwell in them; they will plant vineyards & eat their fruit. For as in the days of a tree, so will be the days of MY People-- which tree supports the vine; MY Chosen Ones will long enjoy the works of their hands. Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf & the lamb will feed together, & the lion will eats straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy in all MY Holy Mountain. EOP
B. Per Jeremiah
