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Psalm 81 Bible study: Oh that my people would listen
Psalm 81 begins as a feast-day song and becomes the LORD speaking to his people. One Hebrew verb runs through it five times, hear and listen, and the God who says "I tested you at the waters of Meribah" (81:7) says "Oh that my people would listen to me" (81:13), and ends with "I will satisfy you with honey out of the rock" (81:16).
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“I am the LORD, your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“In Psalm 81, God says, "I tested you at the waters of Meribah."”
Is that in Psalm 81, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
A call to a feast day
The WEB prints the title at the start of the first verse: "For the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. By Asaph." (81:1). The titles of Psalm 8 and Psalm 84 have the same words about Gath (Psalm 8:1, 84:1), and the title doesn't explain them. Then the psalm calls a whole people to worship, in the plural: "Sing aloud to God, our strength! Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob!" (81:1). "Raise a song, and bring here the tambourine, the pleasant lyre with the harp" (81:2). "Blow the trumpet at the New Moon, at the full moon, on our feast day" (81:3) (tap trumpet, full moon). And it gives the reason: "For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob" (81:4). "He appointed it in Joseph for a covenant, when he went out over the land of Egypt" (81:5) (tap covenant).
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Psalm 81
- The title says "By Asaph" (81:1). Who is Asaph?
- Who says "I heard a language that I didn’t know" (81:5), and where do God's words begin?
- "Blow the trumpet at the New Moon, at the full moon, on our feast day" (81:3). Which feast is it?
- "So I let them go after the stubbornness of their hearts" (81:12). Does God give up on his people here?
That was a taste
The rest of Psalm 81 is waiting in Favor
- Then God speaks
- Hear, and listen: one verb, five times
- Beside the words at Sinai
- Words in the song of Moses
- "Listen to my voice", in Jeremiah
- "Oh that", elsewhere
- 6 questions as you read
- 13 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Psalm 81 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
שָׁמַעshamasay sha-MA
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "hear". Strong's: "to hear intelligently". The psalm has it five times in Hebrew: "I heard" (81:5), "Hear, my people" and "if you would listen to me" (81:8), "But my people didn’t listen to my voice" (81:11), and "Oh that my people would listen to me" (81:13). The WEB gives it as heard, Hear and listen, but it is one verb. Jeremiah has it with the same words for my voice: "Listen to my voice, and I will be your God" (Jeremiah 7:23).
For your group
Psalm 81 Bible study questions
- 1"Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it" (81:10). What would it look like for you to open wide to God this week?
- 2"Oh that my people would listen to me" (81:13). What makes it hard for you to listen to God, and when has it been easiest?
- 3The psalm calls people to sing and blow the trumpet on a feast day, then God himself recalls what he did: "You called in trouble, and I delivered you" (81:7). What has God done for you that you'd want to remember out loud with others?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Psalm 81 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Your first week is free. After that it's $10 a month per person, the same for everyone, including groups and churches. There are no tiers and nothing extra to unlock.
Can I read Psalm 81 straight away?
Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Psalm 81 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
Do I need a group?
No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
I've never really read the Bible. Is this for me?
Yes. Favor starts where you are and explains as it goes. The questions along the way aren't marked right or wrong: you answer, then see what the text shows.
Which Bible does Favor use?
The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
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No. Favor is non-denominational. Where Christians read a passage differently, it shows the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home