We live within a bigger story and it is that story that gives meaning to our lives. We are members of God’s people and we therefore stand within the story of that people. It is for this reason that we have psalms like Psalm 78, which poetically recite the story that defines us. This poem stretched from the Exodus to the time of David. It appears to fulfil a special explanatory function, showing why the twelve tribes were reduced to one: the tribe of Judah (two including Benjamin which was absorbed into Judah). The moral of the story is clear: Let’s not rebel against God like the northern tribes did (the northern Kingdom of Israel was often referred to as ‘Ephraim’) or the same fate will befall us. Biblical history will repeat itself in the life of every individual and who we are in the story depends on the choices we make. Will we wander away from God like Ephraim or will we remain true? It is no accident that the next psalm in the psalter (Psalm 79) laments the destruction of Judah. Those who originally sang this psalm did not learn from it and so the fate Judah followed that of Ephraim. The editors of the completed psalter in the post-exilic period obviously recognised this tragic irony. Judah, however, was restored after her fall, and this is the keynote in the story of the Bible: God will restore those who humble themselves before him. He will always show mercy to those who seek him with repentant hearts.
Commit yourself to God and ask forgiveness for your failures.
Read Psalm 78
