A Story to Remember – Psalm 78. A Psalm by Asaph
Poor memory of God’s goodness? Yet we will make a way to remember what is important.
Asaph was the director of music in the Temple, and author of many of the psalms.
“My people, hear my teaching;
Psalm 78:1-4 NIV
listen to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth with a parable;
I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
things we have heard and known,
things our ancestors have told us.
We will not hide them from their descendants;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders he has done.”
Gather round, hear a story!
Hidden things, yet known! Perhaps things that they did not want talk about.
Poor memory? Yet we will make a way to remember what is important. Asaph does this, helping them to remember what God has done them. Eg, the 12 stones taken from the Jordan River bed. “Tell the children not to be like their parents!” who were hard-hearted.
The story of His power.
- Sea parted
- Fire by night, so Israelites could travel in the dark.
- Water from the rock; rivers of waters.
- Miraculous demonstrations of His power.
But they still sinned, testing Him, doubting He could provide them with food.
Yet again He gives: manna and meat.
Even after His judgment, they rebelled, flattering with tongues but their hearts far away.
Asaph then repeats. You’re not paying attention!
He takes them back to the plagues in Egypt, and ultimately to the death of firstborn, and the crossing of the Red Sea.
On to the promised land. Again they proved faithless. They didn’t drive out all the Canaanites, but blended with them, adopting their ways.
At the last He lets Tabernacle be robbed, and He rejects Ephraim. The tribe of Judah is chosen instead. Not for Judah’s goodness, but for David to come, a throne forever.
But Judah has gone and David is long dead! It’s not about David, but about Jesus.
As God parted the sea, so He parted the heavy curtain that separated the people from the Holy Place in the great Jerusalem Temple, as Jesus died. As He parted the rock, so He parted the Rock tomb, that Jesus, the Water of Life, might come out.
How will we remember?
Share the story. Share your story.
Malcolm Muggeridge.
“Every happening, great and small, is a parable whereby God speaks to us, and the art of life is to get the message.”
Share THE Story.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 NIV
Brothers and sisters, I want you to know something about our people who lived long ago. They were all led by the cloud. They all walked through the Red Sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food. They all drank the same spiritual water. They drank from the spiritual rock that went with them. That rock was Christ. 5But God was not pleased with most of them. Their bodies were scattered in the desert.
1 Corinthians 10:1-5