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Psalm 78:56
Yet they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God, and didn’t keep his testimonies,
54He brought them to the border of his sanctuary, to this mountain, which his right hand had taken.
55He also drove out the nations before them, allotted them for an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
56Yet they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God, and didn’t keep his testimonies,
57but turned back, and dealt treacherously like their fathers. They were twisted like a deceitful bow.
58For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their engraved images.
Notice
“Yet” marks the sharp turn from God giving Israel a home to Israel resisting him, exposing how receiving his gifts can coexist with refusing his commands.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
How does the word “Yet” change your reading of the land and homes described just before it?
Write on thisWhat does calling God “the Most High” bring into view about Israel’s refusal to keep his testimonies?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 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
Exodus 23:21Pay attention to him, and listen to his voice. Don’t provoke him, for he will not pardon your disobedience, for my name is in him.Exodus commands attention to the voice of the one bearing God’s name; the psalm records disobedience to God’s testimonies.
Matthew 4:7Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord, your God.’”Jesus states the command against testing God, while the psalm records Israel doing what that command forbids.
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 the people’s rebellion against God; Isaiah also describes the grief and judgment that followed.
1 Corinthians 10:9Let’s not test Christ, as some of them tested, and perished by the serpents.Both texts speak of testing divine authority; Corinthians warns against testing Christ and names the deadly consequences of an earlier test.
Judges 2:11–12The children of Israel did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, and served the Baals.Judges names Israel’s service to the Baals, while the psalm’s surrounding verses describe engraved images that provoked God.
Hebrews 3:8don’t harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of the trial in the wilderness,Hebrews warns against hardened hearts by recalling rebellion in the wilderness; the psalm records rebellion continuing after Israel received land.
Psalm 95:9when your fathers tempted me, tested me, and saw my work.Both psalms recall people testing God despite his works, with Psalm 78 placing rebellion after his gift of land.
Acts 5:9But Peter asked her, “How is it that you have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at …Peter’s charge of tempting the Spirit of the Lord shares the psalm’s concern with people testing God.
Exodus 17:2Therefore the people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?”Moses identifies the people’s quarrel over water as testing the LORD; the psalm also names testing God as part of Israel’s rebellion.
1 Kings 14:9but have done evil above all who were before you, and have gone and made for yourself other gods, molten images, to provoke me to anger, and have cast me …Kings condemns molten images that provoke God to anger, matching the engraved images described just after this verse.
Nehemiah 9:25–26They took fortified cities and a rich land, and possessed houses full of all good things, cisterns dug out, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in …Nehemiah describes the rich land and homes Israel received, sharing the setting of God’s provision immediately before the psalm’s charge of rebellion.
Psalm 78:40–41How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, and grieved him in the desert!Both verses name Israel’s rebellion against God, first in the wilderness and then after settlement in the land.
Where this verse fits
Sermon or Bible study notes. temptation. guilt and confession.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Take time with the warning before reaching for reassurance. God had given Israel a home, and his commands still mattered; his gifts did not diminish his authority.
Now put it in your words.
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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).