Psalm 78 · a question people ask
"He rejected the tent of Joseph, and didn’t choose the tribe of Ephraim" (78:67). What is the psalm saying about Ephraim?
The psalm sets two choices side by side. God "didn’t choose the tribe of Ephraim" (78:67), "But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which he loved" (78:68), and then he "chose David his servant" (78:70) (tap chose). Ephraim comes into the psalm near its start: "The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle" (78:9), and "They didn’t keep God’s covenant, and refused to walk in his law" (78:10). The psalm doesn't say which battle, and these notes don't guess. It tells that God "abandoned the tent of Shiloh" (78:60) before it says he "rejected the tent of Joseph" (78:67), and it doesn't say more about what 78:67 meant for Ephraim's people after that. Psalm 80, also titled by Asaph, still prays, "Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, stir up your might! Come to save us!" (Psalm 80:2). The psalm speaks of the tribes in its own story, and these notes apply its words to no people or group today.
The verses
“The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. They didn’t keep God’s covenant, and refused to walk in his law.”
“so that he abandoned the tent of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men,”
“Moreover he rejected the tent of Joseph, and didn’t choose the tribe of Ephraim, But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which he loved. He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he has established forever. He also chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds;”
“For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” A Psalm by Asaph. Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock, you who sit above the cherubim, shine out. Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, stir up your might! Come to save us!”