Psalms 78:21-51
21 Therefore the LORD heard this and was furious;
So a fire was kindled against Jacob,
And anger also came up against Israel,
22 Because they did not believe in God,
And did not trust in His salvation.
23 Yet He had commanded the clouds above,
And opened the doors of heaven,
24 Had rained down manna on them to eat,
And given them of the bread of heaven.
25 Men ate angels' food;
He sent them food to the full.
26 He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens;
And by His power He brought in the south wind.
27 He also rained meat on them like the dust,
Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas;
28 And He let them fall in the midst of their camp,
All around their dwellings.
29 So they ate and were well filled,
For He gave them their own desire.
30 They were not deprived of their craving;
But while their food was still in their mouths,
31 The wrath of God came against them,
And slew the stoutest of them,
And struck down the choice men of Israel.
32 In spite of this they still sinned,
And did not believe in His wondrous works.
33 Therefore their days He consumed in futility,
And their years in fear.
34 When He slew them, then they sought Him;
And they returned and sought earnestly for God.
35 Then they remembered that God was their rock,
And the Most High God their Redeemer.
36 Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth,
And they lied to Him with their tongue;
37 For their heart was not steadfast with Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
38 But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity,
And did not destroy them.
Yes, many a time He turned His anger away,
And did not stir up all His wrath;
39 For He remembered that they were but flesh,
A breath that passes away and does not come again.
40 How often they provoked Him in the wilderness,
And grieved Him in the desert!
41 Yes, again and again they tempted God,
And limited the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not remember His power:
The day when He redeemed them from the enemy,
43 When He worked His signs in Egypt,
And His wonders in the field of Zoan;
44 Turned their rivers into blood,
And their streams, that they could not drink.
45 He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them,
And frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He also gave their crops to the caterpillar,
And their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail,
And their sycamore trees with frost.
48 He also gave up their cattle to the hail,
And their flocks to fiery lightning.
49 He cast on them the fierceness of His anger,
Wrath, indignation, and trouble,
By sending angels of destruction among them.
50 He made a path for His anger;
He did not spare their soul from death,
But gave their life over to the plague,
51 And destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt,
The first of their strength in the tents of Ham.
Disbelief and a lack of trust in who God is and in His providential working led to God unleashing His fury on His chosen who did these rebellious acts. Had they forgotten that the LORD had reigned down manna from Heaven to sustain them in spite of their unrighteousness? Had they disregarded the angel’s food from Heaven (John 6:31-33) as nothing, when they only deserved God’s wrath and recompense instead of that great mercy and grace? In their discontent the people of God complained even more as He kept them alive with this gracious gift, demanding meat as they had when in bondage in Egypt (Hebrews 8:9-10, 12) instead of the freedom given them in the midst of want. Do we who are freed from bondage to sin on Christ consider these things and still complain, or do we learn by their example what to do instead? If we live by a selfish name and claim perversion of the gospel in order to fill our desires crying out as deprived stomachs, do we suppose that we will not also suffer as they did after gorging themselves on quail supplied as demanded? Or do we instead find godliness in contentment with our daily bread of provision? Those had not learned from the consequences and continued wandering for forty years in sin and unbelief. They not only did not do as God said, but did not trust Him or His word or His care for them as the birds of the air (Matthew 6:26). Though when some of them suffered death for that disobedience, they temporarily turned back to God (repented) by searching for Him and obeying to avoid further punishment. They then remembered that God was their Rock and Redeemer. Do we repent and later turn back in reverse repentance to repeat the past sins as they did, or will we learn from their example to not just give lip service with hearts not set on Him (2 Chronicles 16:9)? God’s compassion and mercy saved them from further punishment because He forgave the iniquity of their sin (Psalm 32:5) as He has ours. Because we are as a breath which passes easily and quickly away, God’s grace now in Christ is even more assured because we are eternally, once for all time, released from His condemning wrath on sin. Its penalty no longer holds us to eternal punishment because of the atonement of Jesus Christ our Lord. Even so, may we learn not to provoke God as they did, tempting and limiting God in His word and work. We should meditate on God’s redeeming power towards us, and consider the deliverance out of Egypt with the plagues and the Destroyer of His enemies while passing over those covered in the life-giving blood of the sacrifice, symbolic of Christ’s life given as the eternal Lamb to come for us all who are chosen. We have escaped destruction (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9), and should therefore live accordingly in that eternal security. Remember God’s kindness to rebellious Israel.
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