Commentary on Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16

Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16 Page 694, BCP

Attendite, popule

1 Hear my teaching, O my people;

incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

2 I will open my mouth in a parable;

I will declare the mysteries of ancient times.

3 That which we have heard and known,
and what our forefathers have told us,

we will not hide from their children.

4 We will recount to generations to come
the praiseworthy deeds and the power of the LORD,

and the wonderful works he has done.

12 He worked marvels in the sight of their forefathers,

in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.

13 He split open the sea and let them pass through;

he made the waters stand up like walls.

14 He led them with a cloud by day,

and all the night through with a glow of fire.

15 He split the hard rocks in the wilderness

and gave them drink as from the great deep.

16 He brought streams out of the cliff,

and the waters gushed out like rivers.

This psalm has two main purposes: to praise and to instruct. When we tell stories about our past, both of these purposes can be accomplished. There has been a lot of hubbub in the education world this week about students walking out of class in Texas in response of attempts of some conservative school board members to forbid the criticism of American actions in the teaching of US history, in particular. Psalm 78 is an example of this kind of celebratory history: All the good bits of God’s help to Israel during the Exodus are here. But what is missing? Look back at our reading from Exodus. Yes, that’s right. All the complaining and kvetching and ingratitude of the Israelites is missing. And what is the result of this selective recounting of the very story we’ve been reading all these weeks compared to the one from Exodus?

It’s a completely different story, that’s what.

It’s not a different story about God, really, but it kind of loses the flavor of God providing for the people EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE ACTING LIKE UNGRATEFUL TODDLERS. God certainly is good in Psalm 78, but let’s face it, anyone who has spent time with a kid or a pet knows that being generous and compassionate even in the face of mulishness and constant demands is even more praise-worthy.

Verses 15-16 tell the part of the Exodus story we just read a few minutes ago.

In verse 12, there is a reference to the “field of Zoan.” The name “Zoan” means “place of departure,” and refers to the place where the Israelites left Egypt by crossing the Red Sea, although really Zoan is on the Tanitic branch of the Nile, so called because it is near the ancient city of Tanis.

Once again proving the danger of the internet to lead one down immensely pleasurable but nonetheless time-wasting rabbit holes, I discovered that, according to http://biblehub.com/topical/z/zoan.htm, this was the location of the ancient city of Tanis. Tanis… Tanis…. And suddenly, my weird encyclopedic knowledge of movie dialogue and song lyrics brought me to type these words into Google: “Indiana Jones Tanis” and hit return. Behold, friends! I give you this, from http://indianajones.wikia.com/wiki/Tanis!

Indiana Jones uses the correct length of staff to be able to find the Well of Souls in Tanis, which contained the Ark of the Covenant. So cool! The fact that he later got thrown into the Well of Souls to die is a mere trifle.

Yes, the fields of Zoan, AKA Tanis, was the city that Nazi-funded Rene Belloch and Indiana Jones both were searching to find the Lost Ark of the movie title. And if you do not know what I am talking about, please run, do not walk, to Netflix and watch Raiders of the Lost Ark, and then come back. You can thank me later.