“We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.”
– Psalm 78:4
Hi James and Ellen,
How much do you know about the history of the Israelite people group? Why do you think that it might be important for you to know the history of the Israelite people group? Do you think that knowing the history of the Israelite people group might be germane for you today? Psalm 78 is a maskil or an enlightenment psalm poem that was scribed by a Levi tribal clan poet from Asaph’s family clan for the purpose of passing on from generation to generation the Israelite people group’s story. Verse 4 identifies this Levi tribal clan poet’s target audience, “We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.” This psalm poem is a teaching tool that Israelite people group’s dads were to use to instruct their kids about their people group’s history. This psalm poem is a warning to the Israelite people group’s kids that if they did not want to end up being punished by God as their forefathers were because of their sins against Him, that they were not to repeat their forefather’s sins. This psalm poem enforces the expectation that God had that the Israelite people group’s kids were to plant their loyal trust in Him. This psalm poem is replete with a history of God’s mighty saving acts including how ten God driven plagues were what got the Israelite people group to have to leave the land of Egypt, how God helped the Israelite people group guys and gals as they did desert meandering and how God had a shepherd – who was David, become their king. This psalm poem was written symmetrically with a thematic cycle that underscores and contrasts the Israelite people group’s sinfulness and God’s unending mercy. The Asaphite Levi tribal clan guy who scribed this psalm poem had internalized that the laws and statutes that God had mandated the Israelite people group to always faithfully obey could only be assimilated by a kid into his or her life through having interpersonal relationships with God-fearing guys and gals – which these God-fearing guys and gals were to drive, in who the kid would see with his or her own eyes what it means to be authentically committed to be wholeheartedly obedient to God’s expectations. The Asaphite Levi tribal clan guy who scribed this psalm poem comes across to your grandpaa as having been himself historically underpinned through the teachings of guys and gals who were God-fearing with foundational facts and essential truths that were relevant only to his people group. The Asaphite Levi tribal clan guy who scribed this psalm poem may have been through his referencing the outcome of the northern tribal clans’ sinful lifestyle – with Ephraim tribal clan becoming the prototype sin model, a witness to the decimation that was caused when the Israelite northern kingdom’s tribal clans – because of their constant disobedient, belligerent lifestyles against God, were conquered in 722 B.C by the Assyrian people group’s army.
How much to you know about the history of your Christ-follower faith? Why do you think that it might be important to you to know the history of your Christ-follower faith? Do you think that knowing the history of your Christ-follower faith might be significant to you today? Why do you think that it might be relevant for you to know that you had and have Christ-follower great-great grandparents, great grandparents, grandparents and a dad and ma who had and who have a knowledge based, intellectual understanding and a wisdom centered, heart comprehension of God through Himself as the embedded gift-giving, sanctifying Holy Spirit, through the continual imbuing of Himself through His Living Word and through the ongoing, unwavering testimonials of Himself through the lives of guys and gals whose lives were and who are always being allowed to be driven by Him? How important is it to you to tell other kids – as well as to tell guys and gals, about the ongoing, fulfilling relationship that God is driving with you? How important is it to you to use each moment of each day to rejoice in the intimate relationship that God has chosen to have with you because He wants to take pleasure in your unabashed thankfulness for His unmerited grace and unbounded mercy despite your sin marred DNA?
Your grandpaa is concerned how Christ-follower guys, gals and kids today are being indoctrinated and/or conditioned as Christ-followers. A concern that your grandpaa has is that there is seemingly more of a focus on the promotion of the use of manifestation gifts – using the outcome of a supernatural manifested event as something that a Christ-follower guy or gal personally drove with his or her power/ability versus something that had been entirely driven by God – as God the Spirit, instead of an intentional focus on having each Christ-follower guy, gal or kid purposely pursuing divine knowledge which will take place through systematic teaching venues that should be found in homes, churches, Sunday school classes, Christian schools, Bible schools/seminaries, etc. as well as through a personal – in a disciplined way, the reading of and the studying through God’s Living Word – the Bible, over and over again. Your grandpaa is concerned with Christ-follower guys and gals who are purposely making themselves seen in Sunday morning church services, who articulate a reputed correct Christianese language and who believe that they are the church’s consciences and judges but whose daily lives are never lived as being humble, proactive Asaphite Levi tribal clan poets. What are you doing today that is leading you to be a Asaphite Levi tribal clan poet?
Psalm 78 (1170)