Tell it to the Next Generation

Tell it to the Next Generation (Psalm 78)

Verse 1 Many bibles have a heading that says, “A Maskil of Asaph.”

• Maskil is a literary or musical term.
• The authorship of the Psalm is also attributed to Asaph.
• There were a number of Levites that King David assigned as worship leaders in the tabernacle choir, according to 1 Chronicles 6: Asaph was one of these men.
• Why a song?
  • Because that helped them remember it.
• Asaph is trying to get our attention and says; hey this is important, listen up.

Verse 2 Asaph now begins to explain why this is important to listen to.

• Now of course these things from the old days are the things of God.
• This is not Gnosticism, unknown things, and secret knowledge. He is talking about the past and forgotten deeds of God.
• Now this verse 78:2 is also a prophetic statement about Jesus and what Jesus will do.
  • We know that Jesus taught with Parables and remined us of the things God had done in the past.

Verse 3 Asaph now beings to explain what the things from old are and what it is we are to pay attention to.

• The things are ancestor taught us about God.
• In Asaph’s day, this would have been all oral tradition, stories and songs handed down from generation to generation.

Verse 4 He says we are not to hide the stories of God from the past from our descendants.

• Asaph goes on to tell us what we are to share with our
• First, the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord.
• Second, they were to tell of His power and wonders.
• The Hebrew word translated here as power means: fierceness, power, or strength.
• It seems that when it comes to teaching our children we should focus on three things.
  • His praiseworthy deeds, His power or fierceness, and His wonders.

Verse 8 Asaph is saying that those who don’t hear of the praiseworthy deeds, power and the wonders of God will end up Stubborn, rebellious, disloyal, and unfaithful to God.

Verse 9 One commentator put it this way. “Though Ephraim had everything they needed to fight, they turned back on the day of battle. (In Judges 12)

Verse 10 Because they did not know the praiseworthy deeds, His power and His wonders.

• They did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his law.

Verse 11 Just to drive home the point Asaph again states why Ephrain failed so badly.

• They forgot what he had done,the wonders he had shown them.

Verse 12 Asaph now brings up the Exodus as of one example of what Ephraim failed to remember and teach the next generation.

Verse 22 This is speaking of the Hebrew people while they were in the wilderness.

• They had lost all faith in God because of the hardship.

Verse 23-24 Despite their lack of faith and disobedience God opened the heavens and rained down food for them.

Verse 25 The manna is described as the bread of angels.

Conclusion:

• If we fail to do this for ourselves, we run the risk of becoming, “a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.”