Commentary - Psalm 78:56-64

Bird's-eye view

Psalm 78 is a sprawling historical recital, a didactic poem intended to drill into the minds of the next generation the central lesson of Israel's history: God is unswervingly faithful, and His people are stubbornly, almost comically, unfaithful. The psalm is a tale of two characters. On the one hand, you have the Most High God, who works wonders, provides manna, splits rocks, and guides His people with a pillar of fire. On the other hand, you have Israel, a people characterized by testing, rebellion, forgetfulness, and idolatry. This particular section, verses 56-64, brings the historical narrative to a grim and catastrophic climax in the period of the Judges, leading up to the establishment of the monarchy. It details the covenantal lawsuit of God against His people, culminating in a verdict of guilty and the execution of a sentence. The central theme is that persistent, high-handed sin, particularly idolatry, provokes the holy jealousy of God, leading to devastating consequences. God's wrath is not a fit of pique; it is the settled, righteous, covenantal response to treachery. The abandonment of Shiloh and the capture of the Ark of the Covenant are presented not as a military failure, but as a divine judgment. God Himself hands over His glory because His people had ceased to glorify Him.

This passage is a stark reminder that being God's covenant people is not a guarantee of blessing irrespective of behavior. Covenant has terms, and those terms have teeth. When the people treat God's presence as a good luck charm while their hearts are chasing after other gods, He will withdraw that presence in judgment. Yet, even in this dark portrait of apostasy and judgment, the psalm as a whole points forward to God's ultimate solution: His choice of Judah, Mount Zion, and David His servant. The failure of the people necessitates the coming of a perfect King who will not be a treacherous bow. This passage, therefore, sets the stage for the gospel by demonstrating with historical clarity the utter inability of God's people to keep their side of the bargain, making the intervention of a faithful representative absolutely necessary.

Outline

Context In Psalm 78

Psalm 78 is one of the great historical psalms, written by Asaph. Its stated purpose is to teach the coming generations the works and laws of God, so they would not repeat the mistakes of their fathers (vv. 1-8). The psalmist then embarks on a long, selective retelling of Israel's history, starting from the Exodus. He recounts God's mighty deeds in Egypt, His miraculous provision in the wilderness, and the people's constant grumbling, testing, and rebellion in response. The section immediately preceding our passage (vv. 40-55) details their rebellion in the wilderness and God's faithfulness in nevertheless bringing them into the Promised Land and driving out the nations before them. This sets up a tragic contrast. After all that grace, after being planted in the land of promise, the cycle of sin does not stop. Our passage (vv. 56-64) describes the apostasy that characterized the era of the Judges, a time when "everyone did what was right in his own eyes." This period of infidelity reaches its nadir with the events recorded in 1 Samuel 4-6, where the Philistines defeat Israel and capture the Ark. The psalm uses this historical low point to demonstrate the consequences of covenant unfaithfulness before moving to the resolution God provides in the subsequent verses: the rejection of Ephraim (Shiloh's tribe) and the choosing of Judah and David (vv. 67-72).

Key Issues

The Treacherous Bow

One of the central images in this passage is that of a "treacherous bow." This is a vivid and potent metaphor for covenant unfaithfulness. A treacherous, or deceitful, bow is one that looks fine when you string it. It appears to be a reliable weapon. But when you draw it back to shoot at the target, it fails. It either snaps, or it is warped in such a way that the arrow flies off in a completely different direction. It is useless and untrustworthy precisely at the moment of testing.

This is how Asaph describes the generation of the judges. They were God's people. They had the covenant, the law, the history of redemption. They looked like they were aimed in the right direction. But when the time came for faithful action, for loyalty to Yahweh in the face of pagan temptation, they turned aside. They did not just miss the mark; they were fundamentally warped. Their entire orientation was off. This is not about an occasional slip-up. It is about a deep-seated corruption of nature that renders them useless for their intended purpose, which was to be God's arrow, sent into the world to display His glory. This metaphor perfectly captures the idea of promise without performance, of profession without practice, which is the very essence of hypocrisy.

Verse by Verse Commentary

56 Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God And did not keep His testimonies,

The word "Yet" sets up the great contrast. God had planted them in the land, giving them an inheritance (v. 55). In response to this grace, what did they do? The very same things their fathers did in the wilderness. They "tested" God, which means they put Him on trial, demanding that He prove Himself on their terms. They "rebelled," which is the conscious act of a subject throwing off the authority of his rightful king. And the root of it all was that they "did not keep His testimonies." They had the Word of God, the clear revelation of His will, but they disregarded it. This is not a sin of ignorance, but of defiance. They knew the standard and refused to meet it.

57 But turned back and acted treacherously like their fathers; They turned aside like a treacherous bow.

This verse reinforces the previous one with two powerful images. First, they "turned back and acted treacherously." This is the language of apostasy and betrayal. They were supposed to be advancing into the land, taking dominion for God. Instead, they retreated into the paganism of the nations around them. They were covenant-breakers, spiritual adulterers. Second, the psalmist nails the diagnosis with the metaphor of the "treacherous bow." As discussed above, this speaks of a fundamental unreliability. They could not be counted on. They were warped wood. This emphasizes the generational nature of their sin; they were just like their fathers. Sin has a corporate and historical momentum. The apple does not fall far from the rotten tree.

58 For they provoked Him with their high places And aroused His jealousy with their graven images.

Here we get the specific content of their treachery: idolatry. The "high places" were hilltop shrines, originally used by the Canaanites, which the Israelites adopted for their syncretistic worship. "Graven images" were idols carved from wood or stone. The two verbs used here are crucial. They "provoked" Him and "aroused His jealousy." This is the language of a marriage covenant. God had bound Himself to Israel, and their worship of other gods was spiritual adultery. God's jealousy is not a petty, insecure emotion like ours. It is the righteous and holy zeal of a husband for the exclusive love and loyalty of his wife. He has a rightful claim on their worship, and their idolatry was a direct assault on His honor and His covenant love. They were flaunting their infidelity in His face.

59 God heard and was filled with wrath And greatly rejected Israel;

God is not a distant, dispassionate deity. He sees, He hears, and He reacts. Their idolatrous worship was not silent; it had rites and chants and festivals, and God "heard" it all. The result was that He was "filled with wrath." This is the necessary, holy revulsion of a perfectly righteous being against sin. And this wrath was not just a feeling; it resulted in action. He "greatly rejected Israel." The word "greatly" is important. This was not a minor chastisement. It was a profound and national rejection. He was, for a time, treating them as though they were not His people at all. This is terrifying language, and it shows the gravity of their sin.

60 So that He abandoned the dwelling place at Shiloh, The tent which He caused to dwell among men,

The divine rejection took a concrete, geographical form. God abandoned His own sanctuary at Shiloh. Shiloh had been the central place of worship for centuries, the place where the Tabernacle, the "tent which He caused to dwell among men," was located. This was the visible sign of God's presence with His people. For Him to abandon it was a catastrophic statement. It was like a husband moving out of the family home. God was saying, "If you will not have Me as your God, then I will not dwell in your midst." He dismantled the central symbol of their covenant relationship because they had already dismantled the reality of it in their hearts.

61 And gave up His strength to captivity And His beauty into the hand of the adversary.

This verse refers to the capture of the Ark of the Covenant by the Philistines (1 Sam 4:11). The Ark is described here as God's "strength" and His "beauty." It was the symbol of His mighty power that had delivered them from Egypt and the representation of His glorious, holy presence. But the Israelites had begun to treat it like a magical talisman, bringing it into battle as a guarantee of victory, even while their hearts were far from God. So God did the unthinkable. He allowed His own "strength" to be captured. He handed His "beauty" over to the enemy. This was a radical demonstration that His power and glory are not tied to physical objects that can be manipulated by men. He was teaching them a hard lesson: He will not be used. His glory will not be co-opted to serve the agenda of a rebellious people.

62 He also gave over His people to the sword, And was filled with wrath at His inheritance.

The judgment was not limited to the sanctuary and the Ark. It fell upon the people themselves. God "gave over His people to the sword." The military defeat at the hands of the Philistines was not ultimately the result of Philistine superiority; it was the result of God's decree. He was the one who handed them over. The reason is repeated: He "was filled with wrath at His inheritance." The term "inheritance" makes the statement even more poignant. They were His chosen possession, His treasured people. And yet, their sin was so grievous that His wrath was kindled against the very ones He had set apart for Himself.

63 Fire devoured His choice men, And His virgins had no wedding songs.

The psalmist now paints a picture of the human cost of this judgment. The "choice men," the young warriors in the prime of their life, were consumed by the "fire" of battle. This devastation had profound social consequences. With the young men dead, the "virgins had no wedding songs." There would be no marriages, no new families, no future generation. The life of the nation was grinding to a halt. This is a picture of a society coming undone at the seams because it has cut itself off from the God of life.

64 His priests fell by the sword, And His widows could not weep.

The judgment struck even the religious leadership. The priests, Hophni and Phinehas, who were corrupt men, were killed in the battle (1 Sam 4:17). Their death symbolized the corruption of the entire religious system. The final line is haunting: "His widows could not weep." This could mean a number of things. Perhaps the shock and trauma were so great that they were beyond tears. Perhaps the death toll was so high that the normal rituals of mourning were impossible to carry out. Or perhaps it means that the widows, like the wife of Phinehas, died in the midst of the catastrophe, unable to perform the rites of mourning (1 Sam 4:19-20). Whatever the precise meaning, the image is one of utter desolation. The grief was so profound it shattered the very capacity for grief. This was rock bottom for Israel.

Application

This is a hard passage, but it is a necessary one. The modern church in the West has for too long been sold a bill of goods about a God who is all affirmation and no wrath, all blessing and no judgment. We like to think of ourselves as God's people, His chosen inheritance, and we assume that this status is an unconditional guarantee of comfort and prosperity. This psalm blows that sentimental nonsense out of the water.

We must see that our sins are not trivial matters to God. When we accommodate the idolatries of our age, whether it is the worship of self, sex, money, or political power, we are provoking the Most High to jealousy. We are acting like a treacherous bow. When we maintain an outward form of religion, going to church and singing the songs, while our hearts are full of rebellion and our lives are marked by disobedience to His testimonies, we are behaving just like the Israelites at Shiloh. We are in danger of God abandoning our sanctuary. We are in danger of seeing our "glory" handed over to our adversaries. The church in the West is weak and compromised in many places, and we wonder why. This psalm gives us the diagnostic key. It is because we have tested and rebelled.

The application is not to despair, but to repent. The story of the Bible is that God's people are constantly failing, and God is constantly providing a way of restoration through judgment. The abandonment of Shiloh led, eventually, to the establishment of Jerusalem. The failure of the Levitical priesthood led to the establishment of the perfect High Priest, Jesus Christ. The treachery of the line of Saul led to the faithful kingship of David, which ultimately pointed to the eternal throne of David's greater Son. Our hope is not in our ability to be a true and straight bow. Our hope is in the one who was the true and straight arrow of God, who always flew true to the mark, Jesus Christ. He absorbed the full force of God's wrath against our idolatry and treachery. Because He was given over to the sword, we can be spared. Because He was abandoned by the Father, we can be welcomed home. The call of this psalm, then, is to abandon our high places, to smash our modern idols, and to flee to the true King who alone is faithful.