Ps. 78.57 (liturgical rebellion)

They turned aside / and acted faithlessly / like their fathers
and they failed / like treacherous bow. 

What we are coming to see in this verse is that Israel-in-the-land is becoming the summation of Israel-in-rebellion. Just as the previous gathered the language of Israel’s rebellion during the time the exodus and the wanderings, so to now does the psalmist look back to the time of “Ephraim’s sons…” that launched the entire story. Verses 9-10 read, “The sons of Ephraim, well-equipped bowmen, turned back on the day of battle. They did not keep the covenant of God, and refused to obey his instruction.” Just as these sons are ‘excellent bowmen’ who fail at the precise time when they should obtain victory, so too is Israel as a whole now described as a ‘treacherous bow’ that fails. As Erphaim’s sons were to be the weapon of battle, so Israel-in-the-land was to be the liturgical weapon of God within the world; we will see in upcoming verses that this ‘treacherous failure’ is not in military conquest but in liturgical failure (idolatry). In this mission, they, like the sons, turn aside. This phrase is often used to describe ‘turning aside’ to idols and is probably what is referred to hear. So whereas Ephraim’s sons turned from the enemy, Israel turns aside from God and toward idols. Both acts are profoundly problematic. Israel-in-the-land was not simply Israel-for-itself. Rather, it was to be the liturgical empire of God. Now, we see that immediately upon their entrance into the land, they not only fail but actually begin a desecration of the land. They become the opposite (idolaters) of what they were missioned to be (liturgical empire).