Ps. 78.56 (rebellion: old and new)

But / they tested / and rebelled / against God Most
and his requirements / they did not keep. 

We now begin the tragic repeating of Israel’s litany of rebellion. While this ‘testing and rebellion’ language is very reminiscent of Israel’s time in the wilderness there are important differences that highlight the fact that this is not mere repetition. Testing has been referred to previously (vs. 18) as has rebellion (vs. 40). In other places, the rebellion is formulated as a failure to “keep covenant” and a “refusal to obey his instruction” (vs. 10). What we have not seen, however, are “his requirements”. In this we catch something important not noted before. In Egypt, Israel has “signs and wonders”. In the wilderness they have “the covenant”. In the land, we now learn, they have “his instruction”.  This is key for several reasons. First, Israel rebels against every provision (signs/wonders, covenant and instruction), even though each of those provisions are, themselves, a type of prodigal blessing intended to provide life. Second, similarly, these ‘instructions’ reminds us of Moses command to Israel upon entering the Land: “obey these commandments so you may live long in the land and prosper…”. God’s ‘torah/instruction’ is particularly geared toward the life of the Land—just as the ‘signs and wonders’ were geared toward the exodus, and the covenant toward the wanderings. They are, in this way, as much a form of God’s prodigal blessing as his exodus power and his acts in the wilderness. The torah weds Israel to the Land, making of her a good spouse to the Land. Or, we might say, it makes Israel into Adam, the ‘tiller and protector’ of the garden. Third, the tragedy. As with all other acts of God on Israel’s behalf, this rebellion emerges at the single most deplorable instant—after God has completed his astonishing act of deliverance and blessing, finally “settling them in their tents and inheritance”. In the very midst of prodigal blessing, Israel rebels. It is without justification and without warning. It emerges “unawares”, Adam-like (and, just as when Israel is receiving the Torah at Sinai they are worshipping the golden calf). This explains yet another reason why the psalmist has constructed this portion of the psalm the way he has, removing the wilderness wandering section and downplaying any involvement of Israel in the settling of the Land. In essence, he has wanted to highlight two things: the awesome power and caring regard God has for Israel; the gravity of Israel’s response to that blessing. By sidelining Israel until this moment, the psalmist shows that her response to God is thoroughly rebellious