Psalms 78:52-72
52 But He made His own people go forth like sheep,
And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
53 And He led them on safely, so that they did not fear;
But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 And He brought them to His holy border,
This mountain which His right hand had acquired.
55 He also drove out the nations before them,
Allotted them an inheritance by survey,
And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
56 Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God,
And did not keep His testimonies,
57 But turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers;
They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
58 For they provoked Him to anger with their high places,
And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.
59 When God heard this, He was furious,
And greatly abhorred Israel,
60 So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh,
The tent He had placed among men,
61 And delivered His strength into captivity,
And His glory into the enemy's hand.
62 He also gave His people over to the sword,
And was furious with His inheritance.
63 The fire consumed their young men,
And their maidens were not given in marriage.
64 Their priests fell by the sword,
And their widows made no lamentation.
65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
Like a mighty man who shouts because of wine.
66 And He beat back His enemies;
He put them to a perpetual reproach.
67 Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph,
And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion which He loved.
69 And He built His sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has established forever.
70 He also chose David His servant,
And took him from the sheepfolds;
71 From following the ewes that had young He brought him,
To shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel His inheritance.
72 So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart,
And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
After reminding Israel of God’s deliverance and the judgment on those set against His people, He goes on to show what He did for His own. He led them as a Shepherd to safety out of the powerful army of the Egyptians, which bondage is symbolic of sin and its hold on all of Adam’s children, and buried the enemy under the waters of the collapsed path to freed through the Red Sea. God led them to His holy presence on His mountain, putting the fear of Him into them and delivering His word of commands to them to follow His will, what He saved them to out of sin. This is as our own deliverance from sin in order to follow, serve, and worship Him according to His word of grace in holiness. The Lord had given them a promised land to be theirs, with cities already built, a shadow of the heavenly dwellings prepared for all in Christ (John 14:2-3). Unfortunately, they rebelled and went back to the bad examples of their forefathers, rejecting God’s word received on the mountain in fear before, yet now disobeyed and disregarded. The deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13) had hardened their hearts and led their minds astray. Seeking lifeless idols which really were their own ungodly desires, they broke the first commandment to have and worship one God only, earning the wrath of God for their sin (Romans 6:23). They were sent back into captivity to sin to renew their consciences and turn beck in repentance, much like Hymenaeus and Alexander in 1 Timothy 1:19-20 who were delivered temporarily into the enemy’s hand until they learned to stop blaspheming the Lord. The alternative for Israel was judgment and death; in Christ it is a loss of reward in Heaven (1 Corinthians 3:14-15) because of a better covenant of grace in mercy. For Israel, God later seemed to suddenly awake and see their state, and delivered them from the enemy, but in reality He was giving them time to repent as well. He further chose one tribe as His going forward, a pattern of His predetermined choice of all His people, including us as well as them. He established a place for worship and an anointed leader, a foreshadowing of the Messiah, the Christ, to come and rule forever over His chosen people who are His inheritance. This revealed His shepherding of us all according to His proven faithfulness and by the skill of the hand of His providence. We can trust Him to complete the sanctifying work in us (Philippians 1:6) as well. These things were written for our example to learn from that we do not lose hope, as Romans 15:4 reminds us. These things are God’s kindness to us in spite of our rebellion, the grace of the gospel in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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