2. Understanding the Past (vv. 9-64). Asaph reviewed the past, beginning with the apostasy of Ephraim (vv. 9-11) and continuing with Israel’s sins in the wilderness (vv. 12-39) and in Canaan (vv. 54-64). One of the causes of their rebellion was that they forgot God’s victory over the gods of Egypt and His deliverance of Israel from bondage (vv. 12-13, 40-53). They also did not take to heart His care for them during their wilderness journey. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (George Santayana).

The apostasy of Ephraim (vv. 9-11). This passage refers to the northern kingdom of Israel. When the ten tribes broke away from Judah and Benjamin, they informally adopted the name of their strongest and largest tribe, Ephraim. Joseph’s sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, were adopted and blessed by Jacob, who made Ephraim the firstborn (Gen. 48:8-20; see Deut. 33:13-17). This added to the tribe’s prestige. Moses’ successor, Joshua, came from Ephraim (Num. 13:8), and so did Jeroboam, the founding king of Israel/Ephraim (1 Kings 11:26; 12:16ff.). Proud and militant, the tribe created problems for both Joshua (Josh. 17:14-18) and Gideon (Judg. 8:1-3). The tabernacle was in Shiloh, which was located in Ephraim, and this also added to the honor of the tribe. Like a warrior fleeing from the battlefield, Israel turned back from following the Lord, disobeyed Him, and forgot what He had done for them. (For the image of the “bow,” see also verse 57 and Hos. 7:16.) By opening this long historical section with a description of the apostasy of the northern kingdom, Asaph was warning Judah not to follow their example.

The nation’s sins in the wilderness (vv. 12-39). Asaph now returned to the account of the sins of the whole nation, before the political division after Solomon’s death. The Jews forgot what the Lord did for them in Egypt when He sent the plagues to Egypt and delivered the Jewish people at the exodus. The people saw one miracle after another as the Lord exposed the futility of the Egyptian gods and goddesses (Ex. 12:12; Num. 33:4), but the memory soon faded. (Asaph will again mention the Egyptian experience in vv. 40-53.) God led the nation both day and night and miraculously provided water for all the people. In verses 15-16, he combined the water miracles of Exodus 17:1-7 and Numbers 20:1-13. But the people would not trust the Lord but tempted Him by asking for food, “a table in the wilderness” (vv. 17-31). He sent manna, the “bread of heaven,” as well as fowl to eat (Ex. 16; Num. 11), but He judged them for their insolence and fleshly appetite. Sometimes God’s greatest judgment is to give us what we want. (See vv. 21, 31, 49-50, 58-59, 62.) “He brought their days to an end in futility” (v. 33 nasb; 90:7-12) at Kadesh Barnea when they refused to enter the land (Num. 13–14). They wandered for the next thirty-eight years until the people twenty years and older all died (Num. 14:28-38). From time to time, God’s discipline did bring them to their knees in temporary repentance, but their confessions were insincere flattery (v. 36), and they soon rebelled again. In His mercy, God forgave them and held back His wrath, but they were a generation that grieved His heart.

The forgotten lessons of Egypt (vv. 40-53). The people did not remember the demonstrations of God’s power in sending the plagues to Egypt (Ex. 7–12; Num. 14:32-35) and in opening the Red Sea to set the nation free (Ex. 12–15). Asaph listed six of the ten plagues but did not mention the gnats (Ex. 8:16-19), the killing of the livestock (Ex. 9:1-7), the boils (Ex. 9:8-12), and the three days of darkness before the death of the firstborn (Ex. 10:21-29). After this great display of divine power, the people should have been able to trust the Lord in any situation, knowing that He was in control; but they grieved Him, provoked Him, and tempted Him to display His anger against them! Human nature has not changed. Charles Spurgeon said that we are too prone to engrave our trials in the marble and write our blessings in the sand. They opposed the Holy One of Israel (v. 41; 71:22; 89:18), and He disciplined them time after time.

The sins in Canaan (vv. 54-64). After caring for the nation in the wilderness for thirty-eight years, the Lord brought them again to Kadesh Barnea (Deut. 1:1-2). There Moses reviewed their history and taught them God’s law as he prepared the new generation to enter the land and conquer the enemy. Often in his farewell speech (which we call Deuteronomy–“second law”), Moses exhorted them to remember and not forget what the Lord had said to them and done for them. They were a new generation, making a new beginning with a new leader (Joshua) and a new opportunity to trust God. Under Joshua’s able leadership, they conquered the land and claimed their inheritance and for two generations obeyed the Lord. But the third generation repeated the sins of their ancestors and forgot what the Lord had said and done (vv. 56-57; Josh. 2:7-10). (The “faulty bow” image shows up again in Hos. 7:16.) Instead of destroying the altars and idols, the Jewish people mingled with the people of the land and learned their evil ways, and God had to discipline His people by turning them over to their enemies (v. 59). The book of Judges records how seven different nations invaded the nation of Israel and how God raised up judges to deliver Israel when the people repented and turned to Him for help. During the days of Eli the high priest, the Lord severely punished the people and even allowed His ark to be taken captive by the Philistines (1 Sam. 1–7). This meant the end of the tabernacle at Shiloh. It was at Nob in Benjamin for a time (1 Sam. 21–22; 2 Sam. 6:1-2) and also at Gibeon in Benjamin (1 Kings 3:4). When David brought the ark to Mount Zion (v. 68; 2 Sam. 6), he erected a tent there for the ark, and there the ark remained until it was moved into the temple during the reign of Solomon (1 Kings 8:3-9).

It has well been said that a change in circumstances does not overcome a flaw in character, and the history of the Jewish nation illustrates the truth of that statement. Whether living in Egypt, journeying in the wilderness, or dwelling in their own land, the people of Israel were prone to want their own way and rebel against the Lord. When chastened, they feigned repentance, experienced God’s help, and were forgiven; but before long, they were back in trouble again. But is any people or individual free from this malady? At least the Jewish writers who gave us the Bible were honest to record their sins as well as their achievements! The church today can learn from both (1 Cor. 10).