Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven,
Psalm 78 is a song given to Israel to hold in mind through the wilderness journey, setting forth lessons from God's dealings with His people and calling for careful reading and faithful remembrance. It recounts the rich blessings God bestowed on His people and their poor return for all His benefits. The verse shows that God commanded the clouds above and opened heaven to provide food for Israel in the wilderness, giving simple, wholesome food as His gift and proving Himself the source of their strength. In this record Israel worked constantly against a good God, and by disobedience brought upon themselves the condition that was the sure result of their own course, repenting under rebuke and chastisement but falling again under temptation through self-indulgence and self-gratification.
The people rejected God's gift when they indulged appetite instead of accepting the provision He supplied. Even after this heavenly provision they forgot the source of their strength and gave themselves to complaining when trials came, and such complaining showed that they had forgotten Him. In contrast, those who have Bible religion, with Christ abiding in them and them in Him, stay connected to the source of all wisdom and power, keep advancing in the divine life, become strong in Christ and sanctified through heavenly truth, and do not complain in trial as Israel did.
Psalm 78 is a song given to Israel to hold in mind through the wilderness journey, setting forth lessons from God's dealings with His people and calling for careful reading and faithful remembrance. It recounts the rich blessings God bestowed on His people and their poor return for all His benefits. The verse shows that God commanded the clouds above and opened heaven to provide food for Israel in the wilderness, giving simple, wholesome food as His gift and proving Himself the source of their strength. In this record Israel worked constantly against a good God, and by disobedience brought upon themselves the condition that was the sure result of their own course, repenting under rebuke and chastisement but falling again under temptation through self-indulgence and self-gratification.
The people rejected God's gift when they indulged appetite instead of accepting the provision He supplied. Even after this heavenly provision they forgot the source of their strength and gave themselves to complaining when trials came, and such complaining showed that they had forgotten Him. In contrast, those who have Bible religion, with Christ abiding in them and them in Him, stay connected to the source of all wisdom and power, keep advancing in the divine life, become strong in Christ and sanctified through heavenly truth, and do not complain in trial as Israel did.