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Psalm 78:17

Yet they still went on to sin against him, to rebel against the Most High in the desert.

15He split rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink abundantly as out of the depths.
16He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.
17Yet they still went on to sin against him, to rebel against the Most High in the desert.
18They tempted God in their heart by asking food according to their desire.
19Yes, they spoke against God. They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
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← Psalm 78:16Psalm 78:18 →
Notice

“Yet” marks the hard turn from water flowing out of rock to continued rebellion, exposing the gap between receiving God's provision and obeying him.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

How does the water from the rock shape your reading of “Yet they still went on”?

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What does the title “Most High” add to your understanding of the rebellion described here?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

8 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Isaiah 63:10But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. Therefore he turned and became their enemy, and he himself fought against them.Both passages name rebellion against God; Isaiah also describes the grief it caused his Holy Spirit and God's response.
Hebrews 3:16For who, when they heard, rebelled? Wasn’t it all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?Both recall Israel's rebellion, with Hebrews identifying the rebels as those who came out of Egypt under Moses.
Deuteronomy 9:8Also in Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath, and the LORD was angry with you to destroy you.Both recount Israel's resistance to God, while Deuteronomy names Horeb and describes the wrath their actions provoked.
Deuteronomy 9:12–22The LORD said to me, “Arise, get down quickly from here; for your people whom you have brought out of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They have quickly turned …Both describe Israel turning against God; Deuteronomy specifies their departure from his command through making a molten image.
Psalm 95:8–10Don’t harden your heart, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness,Both look back to resistance against God in the wilderness; Psalm 95 warns its hearers against hardening their hearts.
Psalm 106:13–32They soon forgot his works. They didn’t wait for his counsel,Both recount Israel's failure to heed God after his works, with Psalm 106 naming forgetfulness and refusal to wait for his counsel.
Psalm 78:40How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, and grieved him in the desert!Both describe repeated rebellion against God in the desert, and verse 40 also names the grief it caused him.
Psalm 78:32For all this they still sinned, and didn’t believe in his wondrous works.Both emphasize that the people still sinned despite God's works; verse 32 also names their unbelief.
Where this verse fits

Guilt and confession. temptation. sermon or Bible study notes.

What the Bible says about guilt →What the Bible says about temptation →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Read verses 15–17 and mark the contrast

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Encouragement

The warning deserves a sober reading: receiving God's help does not make obedience automatic, and the giver of water remains the Most High.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 78:17. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 78 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).