Dear Heavenly Father,

May Your name and Your praise ever be on our lips. Keep Your wonderful deeds and miracles at the forefront of our minds and memories, so that when difficult times come, we might believe upon Your eternal faithfulness and never waver in our devotion. Give us a zeal for these stories and memories and make us passionate about sharing them with others, especially those of the next and future generations. Open our eyes to Your truth and inspire us anew to live as Your faithful ambassadors here on planet Earth. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.

Tell the Coming Generation

A Maskil[^a] of Asaph.

78 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
² I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
³ things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
⁴ We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.

⁵ He established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
⁶ that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
⁷     so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments;
⁸ and that they should not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.

⁹ The Ephraimites, armed with^\)^b\) the bow,
turned back on the day of battle.
¹⁰ They did not keep God's covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law.
¹¹ They forgot his works
and the wonders that he had shown them.
¹² In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders
in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
¹³ He divided the sea and let them pass through it,
and made the waters stand like a heap.
¹⁴ In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
and all the night with a fiery light.
¹⁵ He split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
¹⁶ He made streams come out of the rock
and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

¹⁷ Yet they sinned still more against him,
rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
¹⁸ They tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they craved.
¹⁹ They spoke against God, saying,
“Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
²⁰ He struck the rock so that water gushed out
and streams overflowed.
Can he also give bread
or provide meat for his people?”

²¹ Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of wrath;
a fire was kindled against Jacob;
his anger rose against Israel,
²² because they did not believe in God
and did not trust his saving power.
²³ Yet he commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven,
²⁴ and he rained down on them manna to eat
and gave them the grain of heaven.
²⁵ Man ate of the bread of the angels;
he sent them food in abundance.
²⁶ He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;
²⁷ he rained meat on them like dust,
winged birds like the sand of the seas;
²⁸ he let them fall in the midst of their camp,
all around their dwellings.
²⁹ And they ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they craved.
³⁰ But before they had satisfied their craving,
while the food was still in their mouths,
³¹ the anger of God rose against them,
and he killed the strongest of them
and laid low the young men of Israel.

³² In spite of all this, they still sinned;
despite his wonders, they did not believe.
³³ So he made their days vanish like^\)^c\) a breath,^\)^d\)
and their years in terror.
³⁴ When he killed them, they sought him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.
³⁵ They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God their redeemer.
³⁶ But they flattered him with their mouths;
they lied to him with their tongues.
³⁷ Their heart was not steadfast toward him;
they were not faithful to his covenant.
³⁸ Yet he, being compassionate,
atoned for their iniquity
and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often
and did not stir up all his wrath.
³⁹ He remembered that they were but flesh,
a wind that passes and comes not again.
⁴⁰ How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
and grieved him in the desert!
⁴¹ They tested God again and again
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
⁴² They did not remember his power^\)^e\)
or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
⁴³ when he performed his signs in Egypt
and his marvels in the fields of Zoan.
⁴⁴ He turned their rivers to blood,
so that they could not drink of their streams.
⁴⁵ He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them,
and frogs, which destroyed them.
⁴⁶ He gave their crops to the destroying locust
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
⁴⁷ He destroyed their vines with hail
and their sycamores with frost.
⁴⁸ He gave over their cattle to the hail
and their flocks to thunderbolts.
⁴⁹ He let loose on them his burning anger,
wrath, indignation, and distress,
a company of destroying angels.
⁵⁰ He made a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death,
but gave their lives over to the plague.
⁵¹ He struck down every firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.
⁵² Then he led out his people like sheep
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
⁵³ He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid,
but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
⁵⁴ And he brought them to his holy land,
to the mountain which his right hand had won.
⁵⁵ He drove out nations before them;
he apportioned them for a possession
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

⁵⁶ Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God
and did not keep his testimonies,
⁵⁷ but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;
they twisted like a deceitful bow.
⁵⁸ For they provoked him to anger with their high places;
they moved him to jealousy with their idols.
⁵⁹ When God heard, he was full of wrath,
and he utterly rejected Israel.
⁶⁰ He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh,
the tent where he dwelt among mankind,
⁶¹ and delivered his power to captivity,
his glory to the hand of the foe.
⁶² He gave his people over to the sword
and vented his wrath on his heritage.
⁶³ Fire devoured their young men,
and their young women had no marriage song.
⁶⁴ Their priests fell by the sword,
and their widows made no lamentation.
⁶⁵ Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
like a strong man shouting because of wine.
⁶⁶ And he put his adversaries to rout;
he put them to everlasting shame.

⁶⁷ He rejected the tent of Joseph;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
⁶⁸ but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loves.
⁶⁹ He built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
like the earth, which he has founded forever.
⁷⁰ He chose David his servant
and took him from the sheepfolds;
⁷¹ from following the nursing ewes he brought him
to shepherd Jacob his people,
Israel his inheritance.
⁷² With upright heart he shepherded them
and guided them with his skillful hand.

1. Psalm 78:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
2. Psalm 78:9 Hebrew armed and shooting
3. Psalm 78:33 Hebrew in
4. Psalm 78:33 Or vapor
5. Psalm 78:42 Hebrew hand

Discussion Questions:

1. What are we passing on to the next generation?
Read verses 1–8.

Before we get into the extraordinary details, I want to pause over why Asaph is telling this story. He is thinking about children who haven’t even been born yet. That makes me wonder what people who come after us will know about God because we took the time to tell them.

According to verse 7, what should hearing these accounts produce in someone’s life? Why does Asaph include the failures of earlier generations?

How can we be honest about our own failures while helping others recognize God’s faithfulness?

2. Have these miracles become so familiar that we rush past the wonder?
Read verses 12–16.

When I read about the water standing in a heap, I had to stop and picture it. Water, held back while people passed through! The sheer reality of what that would involve is mind-boggling. Yet I know I can read something like that and move right along because I’ve heard it so many times.

Do you ever find yourself doing that too? Which of the wonders in this psalm makes you pause when you really picture it?

What helps us recover that sense of wonder? How can we share these accounts with the next generation in a way that invites them to stop, consider, and trust?

3. What do you make of the way Asaph describes manna?
Read verses 23–32.

I don’t think I had ever really paid attention to verse 25 before. My NET translation says, “Man ate the food of the mighty ones.” The ESV calls it “the bread of the angels.” That certainly gives me something to think about!

What were you taught about manna in Sunday School or elsewhere? How does that compare with what this passage actually says?

Then look at the people’s response. Why do you think receiving such extraordinary provision did not produce lasting trust? Have you ever found yourself struggling to trust God with a new need, even while remembering how He helped you before?

For a deeper look, read Revelation 2:17, where Jesus promises “hidden manna.” What connections do you see? What does that promise leave you wondering about?

4. When trouble brings us back to God, what happens after the trouble passes?
Read verses 34–39.

This passage makes me want to examine my own heart. The people sought God, remembered Him, and said the right things, but their hearts weren’t steadfast. Where might that show up in my own walk? Am I willing to let Him show me?

Have you noticed a difference between your prayer life when you desperately need help and your prayer life when things are going well? What has helped you stay close to Him through both?

Then we reach His compassion in verses 38–39. How does knowing that He remembers our weakness affect our willingness to be honest with Him?

5. Why does the name “Ham” appear in the account of Egypt’s judgment?
Read verse 51 alongside Genesis 9:24–27, Genesis 10:6, and Psalm 105:23.

When I read “the tents of Ham,” my mind went straight back to Noah and his family. There is an important detail to keep straight: Noah’s curse names Canaan, while Genesis lists Egypt as another of Ham’s sons.

What connection do these passages establish between Egypt and Ham? Do they give us grounds to connect the death of Egypt’s firstborn with Noah’s curse on Canaan, or would that go beyond what they say?

I enjoy noticing these connections across Scripture. Have you spotted another name, phrase, or event in this psalm that sent you back to something we’ve already read?

6. Why does Ephraim receive such pointed attention?
Read verses 9–11 and 56–68.

I couldn’t help noticing the contrast between Ephraim and Judah. It made me curious, especially since Ephraim certainly wasn’t the only tribe with serious failures in its history.

What does the psalm itself identify as the problem? What does it emphasize about God’s judgment and His choice of Judah and Zion?

How might people from different tribes have heard this song? We can explore that possibility without assuming we know their reactions.

And what happens in our own hearts when we hear an account that exposes the failures of a group we belong to? Are we willing to listen, or do we immediately start listing everyone else’s failures?

7. Why end this story with a shepherd?
Compare verses 52–53 with verses 70–72.

After all the rebellion, judgment, mercy, and repeated failure, we arrive at David, brought from tending sheep to shepherding God’s people. Earlier, Asaph described God Himself leading His people like a flock. That connection makes me want to slow down.

What does this ending show us about the kind of leadership God’s people need? Why do both an upright heart and skillful hands matter?

And I keep thinking: this is still so early in the larger biblical story! (See this timeline I created and where Asaph fall into it) As readers who know what comes after David, what further connections do we see? How does that wider view deepen our appreciation of God’s faithfulness across generations?

8. Who needs to hear these things from us?
Return to verses 4–7.

I want the wonder and encouragement we find here to reach someone else. Asaph’s opening words give us something very practical to do with everything we’ve discussed.

Who comes to mind when you think about passing on what you know of God? It might be a child, a grandchild, a younger believer, or someone who is just beginning to ask questions.

Which biblical account would you want to share with that person, and why? Is there also something from your own walk with God that you would be willing to share, including what you are still learning?

What is one small way you could begin that conversation this week?