And he rejected the tent of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim,
Psalm 78 retells Israel's whole story, and by this point enemies have carried off the ark and Shiloh lies abandoned. This verse names what God did next: He set aside the tribe that had held the leading place, and the question is why.
Joseph and Ephraim were not minor names. The right of the firstborn had passed to them, and God's sanctuary stood on their ground at Shiloh.
After that, Shiloh lost the standing among the tribes that it had held since the days of Joshua — more than three hundred years. Jacob had given Ephraim the place of firstborn over his brother Manasseh — the place of privilege. But the tribe failed, so God's sanctuary left Ephraim's territory, where it had stood, and settled at last in Judah's inheritance, at Jerusalem. "Our Lord was descended from Judah." Here we see a truth found everywhere in Scripture. When the first man fails, and everything trusted to him falls into ruin, God steps in and brings in Christ, "the second Man." Under His headship, and in His hands, everything is secured for ever.
Ephraim had turned back in battle. Nothing was missing on God's side.
They were equipped, and so they could have stood. God had not failed them. Circumstances were not too strong for them. They had every assurance of success. They stood on ground that God's own promise had secured for them: "Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours." Yet despite all this, they turned back. This was no small slip: "they did not keep God's covenant, but refused to walk according to His law. They forgot His works and the wonders that He had shown them."
God did not repair the old arrangement. That is the force of "chose not."
But new grace must come with new experience. We must see that this is not a return to the old conditions. Once again God sets aside the firstborn, nature's own first place. The tent of Joseph is not restored. Taking up the tribe of Ephraim again as His dwelling would not display God's sovereign choice. His new relation rests on one thing only: the love in His own heart. So Zion becomes the unchanging seat appointed for His kingdom on earth, and Judah the tribe linked with it.
The names of the two tribes carry the contrast, and the same setting aside runs back through the family.
Ephraim's name speaks of the fruits of the life. Judah is the contrast: our Lord came from that tribe, and its name, "praise," points to the one thing God can dwell in: "You are enthroned on the praises of Israel." Praise for Christ is the only atmosphere in which God can stay. See how everything stresses the refusal of the flesh! Joseph himself displaced Reuben the firstborn. Ephraim, the younger brother, was chosen before Manasseh. So now again the tribe that had held the headship must be set aside — the tribe the nation's great leader Joshua came from. "The Lion of the tribe of Judah" is the only One who can prevail. All these changes press home a fact God has written all over His word: man cannot be relied on, the flesh is of no use, Christ is all.
The refusal of Ephraim comes with a choice — of a tribe, a mountain, and a man.
He refuses Ephraim and the strength of nature. He acts according to His own sovereign choice. In sovereignty He "chose" the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion for His sanctuary, and David to feed His people. So Zion becomes the symbol of grace, and David a picture of Christ, the One through whom all the grace comes to us.
If Ephraim lost the place by failing, one might assume Judah earned it. The record says otherwise.
Joseph and his son Ephraim (for whom the ten tribes were named) are displaced by Judah (vv. 67-68). Is this because of Judah's faithfulness? No indeed. Judah had been deeply guilty in selling Joseph into captivity. So he shows the total failure of the flesh. But later Judah broke down completely in repentance when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers. This shows that Israel can be blessed only when they give Christ His place of total authority and are humbled in broken repentance before Him.
- Privilege — Ephraim held the firstborn's place, and God's sanctuary stood at Shiloh on his ground. No tribe began with more.
- Failure — They were equipped and had God's promise. He never failed them. Still they turned back and forgot His works.
- Refusal — God did not rebuild the old order. He set nature's first claim aside; He did not repair it.
- Choice — God took up Judah and Zion, not for merit, but out of the love in His own heart. Zion becomes the symbol of grace.
- Christ — Where the first man fails, God brings in the second Man. The Lion of Judah alone prevails, and in His hands everything is secure.
But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved;
Psalm 78 has just told a long story of failure. Shiloh lost its place, the Philistines took the ark, and Israel's king and his sons were killed. Then, in one verse, everything turns on what God Himself chooses. Why did He pass by Ephraim, the tribe that held the birthright, and settle on Judah and on one hill He loved?
Here God starts again on a new basis, after the old one had collapsed.
Up to this point, God had dealt with Israel on the basis of their own works. But when they had brought themselves into complete ruin, He falls back on His sovereignty and acts on His own initiative for their blessing. So we read that He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loves, and again, that He chose David. This is the sovereignty of divine mercy, making a sovereign choice for the blessing of man. A mountain is a symbol of power. Mount Zion is a symbol of mighty power used in sovereign grace.
Jacob gave Ephraim the place of the firstborn, and the tabernacle stood in Ephraim's land at Shiloh for centuries. Then the tribe failed, and God moved His sanctuary south.
From that hour Shiloh lost the standing among the tribes that it had held since the days of Joshua — more than three hundred years… Jacob gave Ephraim the place of firstborn over his brother Manasseh — the place of privilege. But the failure of the tribe moved God's sanctuary out of Ephraim's territory, where it had been, and settled it at last in the inheritance of Judah, at Jerusalem. "Our Lord was descended from Judah." Here we see a truth found everywhere in Scripture. When the first man fails, and everything entrusted to him falls into ruin, God comes in and brings in Christ, "the second Man." Under His headship and in His hands everything is secured beyond change.
Psalm 78 keeps repeating one verb: God chose. That choice sets aside the rights that birth would have given.
After describing the ruin of Israel, Psalm 78 shows us Jehovah awaking. But it sets aside all rights of inheritance, and all witness to His earlier dealings with Israel. For, as 1 Chronicles 5 records, the birthright was Joseph's — yet He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loves. He chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds.
Judah's own history rules out any thought of merit. It also shows the one thing God waits for before He blesses:
Is this because Judah was faithful? No indeed, for Judah had been badly guilty in selling Joseph into slavery. So Judah illustrates the total failure of the flesh. But Judah later broke down completely in repentance when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. This shows that Israel can be blessed only after they give Christ His place of total authority, humbled in broken repentance before Him. God loves Mount Zion because it stands for the pure blessing He will finally give His people Israel in the millennium.
The verse gives no reason for Zion beyond God's love for it.
What reason did God have to interest Himself in this place more than in another? There was no reason whatsoever except that He loved this city which had been under the power of the Jebusites, the enemies of Jehovah and of His anointed. His heart was attached to this place, because this is where He wanted to set up the throne of His grace on earth for good. "For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place: This is My resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it" (Ps. 132:13-14).
Scripture sets two mountains against each other.
No mountain in the Old Testament stood in such direct contrast with Sinai as Zion. The one was the unforgettable scene of the nation's responsibility to the law. The other was Jehovah stepping in with grace for His king when everything was in ruins. People and priests alike were wicked. The Philistines had taken the ark. Israel had said "Ichabod" — the glory has departed. Israel's king and his sons were killed. The Jebusites held the centre and stronghold of Jerusalem, and they were defiant and insulting. It was then that Jehovah, just as He chose David, also chose Mount Zion which He loved.
The choice of David points beyond David.
The crowning fact is His sovereign grace in choosing Judah, Mount Zion which He loved. Here we may well think of the Son of David, God's Anointed. In Him God makes His sovereign grace known, and He will yet feed Jacob and Israel His inheritance.
- Ruin first. Shiloh lost its place and the ark went to the enemy first. God chooses at the point where everything trusted to man has collapsed.
- Choice, not claim. Ephraim held the birthright and lost it; Judah had no better record. The verb "chose" cancels every natural right.
- Love as the reason. Nothing in Zion explains the choice. God loved it, desired it for His dwelling, and made it stand for the blessing He will yet give Israel.
- Zion against Sinai. Sinai stands for Israel's responsibility under law. Zion stands for God stepping in with grace after that failed.
- David, then David's Son. The choice of Judah and Zion prepares for the King who will yet feed Jacob as His inheritance.
And he built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he hath founded for ever.
Psalm 78 has just told of a nation that failed again and again, of a God who left His tent at Shiloh, and of His glory falling into enemy hands. Verse 69 is the turn: God refuses Ephraim, chooses Judah and Mount Zion, and builds something meant to last as long as the earth.
The building described here does not happen at a high point in Israel's history. It happens at the lowest.
When David set up his throne on Mount Zion, Israel could hardly have been in worse confusion and ruin. Both the royal side and the priestly side of the nation were in great disorder. The sanctuary was defiled and the priesthood corrupted. The ark of God was in captivity. "Ichabod" stood written over the whole scene — the glory had departed. For this terrible state of things there was no hope, no resource, in Israel. But God in mercy steps in.
Nothing on Israel's side explains the choice of Judah, Zion, or David. The reason lies in God.
The Lord awakens as one out of sleep. The picture of a mighty man expresses the energy with which the Lord deals with all His enemies. He also refuses Ephraim and the strength of nature, and acts according to His sovereign choice. In sovereignty He "chose" the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion for His sanctuary, and David to feed His people. So Zion becomes the symbol of grace, and David a picture of Christ, the One through whom all the grace comes.
Zion stands for more than David's rule.
Zion is not only identified in Scripture with David and his sovereignty, but very plainly with the sovereign grace of God. In Israel everything entrusted to man had failed. The priesthood had broken down, and the ark had gone into captivity in the enemy's land... All might seem to have gone, but it was not so.
Translations differ here. Some read "like the high heavens"; others read "like the heights." Israel had its own "high places," and the comparison in this verse is with a height of another kind.
"Like the heights" speaks of what is superior to Israel's "high places," above the natural level, where yet He may dwell among His people. So it is like the land (Israel) which He has established forever. Of course, this is prophetic.
God does not restart the old arrangement. The move from a tent to a permanent building marks a change in the relationship behind it.
But the new grace must have new experience. We must see that this is not a return to the old conditions... His new relation depends only on the love in His own heart. So Zion becomes, for good, the appointed seat of His earthly kingdom, and Judah the tribe tied to it. In the same way, the "tent" now gives place to a permanent dwelling. He builds as for eternity.
Because the choice rests on God's own love, He will never reverse it:
This was no temporary choice. A later psalm adds: "The Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place: 'This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it'" (Ps. 132:13-14).
God's building has a purpose: worship. And worship has its own conditions.
Yet the Lord Himself would deliver them. He would carry out His purposes: royalty in David, and worship in the temple built by David's son... David himself had to pass through experience like the nation's, as many Psalms clearly show. The same was true of the One whom David pictured in a remarkable way. To bring God acceptable worship, a person must know blessing, and must know the Blesser. God has been pleased to reveal Himself as a Saviour God, and we must know Him in this way for the spirit of worship to awaken.
- Ruin first. God builds at the lowest point — sanctuary defiled, priesthood corrupted, ark captive, no resource left in Israel.
- Choice next. He refuses Ephraim and the strength of nature. He chooses Judah, Zion and David — so Zion becomes the symbol of grace.
- Higher ground. "Like the heights" marks a dwelling above the natural level, higher than Israel's own high places.
- Permanent. The tent gives way to a permanent dwelling. He builds as for eternity, on a relation that rests only on the love in His own heart.
- Worship. A lasting sanctuary exists for a worshipping people. Worship needs known blessing and a known Blesser — the God who reveals Himself as Saviour.
And he chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds
Psalm 78 looks back over Israel's history. Most of it records failure: a people who forgot what God had done and turned away again and again. Verse 70 is where the story turns: God makes a choice, and the choice falls on a young shepherd.
God's choice of David did not come at a high point in Israel's life. It came when the nation had nothing left.
Raising David to be king marked a distinct stage in God's dealings with Israel. The nation had turned away from God and lost everything. His grace in raising David up was extraordinary. This divine action is like a giant waking from sleep, powerfully stirred. The Philistines had carried off the ark. But "He chose David also, His servant," and through him God rolled back the tide of disaster. His people had safety, food, and guidance. That intervention of about three thousand years ago pictures the far greater intervention of God, through Christ, which is still to come.
The verse says God chose. That word matters. By the ordinary rules of inheritance, the honour belonged to Joseph's line.
After describing the ruin of Israel, Psalm 78 shows us Jehovah waking up. But it sets aside all rights of inheritance, and all testimony to His earlier dealings with Israel. For the birthright was Joseph's — yet "He CHOSE the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which He loved. He CHOSE David His servant." This psalm reaches further than the history we are looking at. Still, it applies election to David and to Zion.
Samuel had to learn this. At Jesse's house he first looked at David's older brother Eliab.
Samuel, deceived by appearances, thought Eliab was suited for the service of the Lord, the chosen ruler over God's inheritance. But he left Eliab where the Lord left him — "refused" — and the rest of Jesse's sons too. Then, at the Lord's command, they brought David in from the sheepfolds. His own family thought little of him and had not even called him to the sacrifice. God must be sovereign, or ruin would be universal and beyond remedy. God refuses, and God chooses, and there is no unrighteousness with Him. This was Samuel's lesson, and it is ours.
Each phrase carries weight: who chooses, what God calls David, and where God took him from.
"He chose David" — the Lord chooses the shepherds; they are not appointed by men. "David … His servant" — shepherds are servants of God. Christians talk a lot about "leadership" or even "servant-leadership". Scripture simply speaks about servants. "And took him from the sheepfolds" — the Lord found David where he was. Let us not forget where we came from, where the Lord has found us.
David's family gave him the job they valued least. God used it to prepare him.
The family treated minding the sheep as fit work for the youngest son. It was not even a large flock, but because he was "faithful in that which is least," God would entrust him with greater matters. Look at this young lad following his father's flock with a watchful, gentle eye on them. This marked him out as a man especially suited to be the "shepherd of Israel," a fitting picture of Him who was to be "the Shepherd of the sheep."
Because God took His king from a flock, the verse also tells us what kind of rule God approves of.
God's ideal king is neither selfish nor a tyrant. He is a wise shepherd of the people. He serves knowing that the people belong to God, and that he — the king — is only God's honoured servant in rule.
God's choice of David looks forward. The king He took from the sheepfolds was not the last word.
These passages show that God raised David to the rank of king by a special act of divine power. They also show that David was only an imperfect forecast of the infinitely greater One who was to come from his line as a man.
- Ruin first. God chose David after the nation had failed. The choice was pure grace, not a reward.
- Choice, not claim. The birthright belonged to Joseph's line. God set inheritance rights aside. He refuses and He chooses, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
- Sheepfold, not palace. The Lord found David doing the job his family valued least. God trusts the faithful in the least with more.
- Servant, not ruler. Shepherds are God's servants. The king is God's honoured servant in rule. The people belong to God, not to him.
- David, then Christ. The shepherd-king is only an imperfect forecast of the far greater One from his line — the true Shepherd of the sheep.