Then they spoke against God; they said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? Psalm 78:19 NASB A table in the wilderness – שֻׁלְחָן, בַּמִּדְבָּר šūlḥān bamidbār. Eighteen years ago I started writing Today’s Word. It didn’t begin with that title. In fact, it began with a personal email to a friend who lived…
And in their heart they put God to the test by asking for food [g]that suited their taste. Psalm 78:18 That suited their taste – The Bible has a lot to say about the tongue, most of it not very pleasant. The tongue is a source of disagreement, the power of life and death, the instrument of “binding…
Yet they still continued to sin against Him, to rebel against the Most High in the desert. And in their heart they put God to the test Psalm 78:17-18a NASB Sin/ rebel – Hebrew has several words for our general idea of “sin.” Knowing how they differ is important. The two words in this verse are ḥāṭāʾ…
He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them plenty to drink like the ocean depths. He brought forth streams from the rock and made waters run down like rivers. Psalm 78:15-16 NASB Like rivers – One of the benefits and beauties of poetry is that language can be stretched. No one expects poems to be historically accurate. …
He divided the sea and caused them to pass through, and He made the waters stand up like a heap. Psalm 78:13 NASB Like a heap – How did the waters of the yām sûp (Sea of Reeds, usually known as the “Red Sea”) stand up? Oh, I don’t mean, “What was the mechanism that made the…
The sons of Ephraim were archers equipped with bows, yet they turned back on the day of battle. 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. Psalm 78:9-11 NASB Turned back – You’re in the fight of your life. It might seem calm…
So that they would put their confidence in God and not forget the works of God, but comply with 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. Psalm 78:7-8 NASB Confidence – The Hebrew word כִסְלָה (kislâ) is a bit strange. …
For He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers that they were to teach them to their children, so that the generation to come would know, the children yet to be born, that they would arise and tell them to their children, Psalm 78:5-6 NASB Testimony/ law – Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. Remember? Teach your children…
I will open my mouth in a parable; I will tell riddles of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. Psalm 78:2-3 NASB Known – Okay, so how can this be a parable or a riddle if we’ve known it for generations? Was the insightful story and the dark saying passed down…
I will open my mouth in a parable; I will tell riddles of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. Psalm 78:2-3 NASB Parable/ riddle – māšāl and ḥîdâ (parable and riddle). How are these two terms connected? First, we need to know what the Hebrew idea of “parable” really is. “A….
