Parable means “to throw alongside,” where we use concrete examples to illuminate abstract truth.
Psalm 78 must be Asaph’s magnum opus, containing 76 verses. Why so long? For the same reason Mephibosheth lived the longest life and Jeremiah wrote the longest book. They are expressions of the longsuffering grace of God. It is a Maschil psalm, meaning it is didactic or instructive. In other words, it isn’t just designed to stir our hearts but to exercise our minds. Verses 1-8 are his introduction, explaining his purpose. “Give ear, O my people, to my law; incline your ears to the words of my mouth” (v 1). He wants his hearers to lean in and to take in what he is about to say. He correctly sees the history of Israel, his subject in this psalm, as a great parable (v 2) from which we may all draw important lessons (see Rom 15:4). Much of what he will “utter” (Heb, nâba, “to gush forth or bubble up”) will seem to be in riddles, with difficult questions to be answered, the meaning behind the words, “dark sayings.” Asaph stresses the importance of communicating to our offspring the lessons of our dealings with God and of history itself (vv 3-8). The grand objective? “Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done” (v 4). How blessed is the family, the community, the local church, the nation, that sees behind the seemingly capricious actions of men and demons “His wonderful works that He has done.” Read Joseph and Daniel, Hannah and Esther, John and Paul. In the midst of life’s seeming chaos, they all point heavenward, and in much more exalting language say, “He’s got this!” We are about to have a drone view of the saga of the Israelites’ journey from labor camp slaves to the height of David’s kingdom—learning vital lessons along the way.