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Psalm 78:59
When God heard this, he was angry, and greatly abhorred Israel,
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.
59When God heard this, he was angry, and greatly abhorred Israel,
60so that he abandoned the tent of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men,
61and delivered his strength into captivity, his glory into the adversary’s hand.
Notice
The words “greatly abhorred Israel” confront a reader with the severity of God's response to his own people's worship of engraved images.
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What do the high places and engraved images clarify about God's anger here?
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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
Psalm 106:40Therefore the LORD burned with anger against his people. He abhorred his inheritance.Both passages name God's anger and abhorrence toward his own people, whom Psalm 106 describes as his inheritance.
Psalm 55:19God, who is enthroned forever, will hear and answer them. Selah. They never change and don’t fear God.Both passages portray God hearing human conduct; Psalm 55 names a refusal to change or fear him.
Lamentations 2:7The Lord has cast off his altar. He has abhorred his sanctuary. He has given the walls of her palaces into the hand of the enemy. They have made a noise in the …Both passages link God's abhorrence with the loss of a sanctuary and defeat at an enemy's hands.
Ezekiel 23:18So she uncovered her prostitution and uncovered her nakedness. Then my soul was alienated from her, just like my soul was alienated from her sister.Both describe God's rejection of people, using the language of abhorrence in the psalm and alienation in Ezekiel.
Deuteronomy 32:19The LORD saw and abhorred, because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.Both passages describe God perceiving his people's provocation and responding with abhorrence toward those who belong to him.
Jeremiah 14:19Have you utterly rejected Judah? Has your soul loathed Zion? Why have you struck us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but no good came; and …The psalm states God's abhorrence of Israel; Jeremiah asks whether God has rejected Judah and loathed Zion.
Leviticus 20:23You shall not walk in the customs of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they did all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.Both use abhorrence to describe God's response to people's conduct, whether Israel or the nation being cast out.
Numbers 11:10Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, every man at the door of his tent; and the LORD’s anger burned greatly; and Moses was displeased.Both accounts describe God's anger toward his people; Numbers places that anger amid weeping heard by Moses.
Genesis 18:20–21The LORD said, “Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous,Both depict God taking account of human wrongdoing, though Genesis names Sodom and Gomorrah rather than Israel.
Psalm 11:4The LORD is in his holy temple. The LORD is on his throne in heaven. His eyes observe. His eyes examine the children of men.Both portray God as aware of human conduct: Psalm 78 speaks of hearing, while Psalm 11 speaks of observing.
Psalm 14:2–5The LORD looked down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there were any who understood, who sought after God.Both portray God attending to human conduct; Psalm 14 describes his search for people who understand and seek him.
Leviticus 26:44Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly and to break my …The psalm names God's abhorrence of Israel; Leviticus promises that God will not reject them to destroy them and break his covenant.
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One step
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Encouragement
These words concern Israel's worship of engraved images. Their setting matters, and their severity deserves care. Belonging to God does not make idolatry harmless.
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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).