06/13/2024
Or now, the next day. And today we reopen the first paragraph of Psalm 80 with the last phrase of verse two: “Before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might; come and save us.” The first thing I see is that this doesn’t make sense. Or does it? Taken by itself, No! But let’s see what Asaph is saying in spite of the fractured way our translations have gone.
The entire sentence is “You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might; come and save us.” We are going to take this section by itself, but in reality, it takes verse three to make any sense as the Enduring Word Commentary opines in a lengthy explanation:
“You who sit enthroned between the cherubim.”
“Sshine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.”
“Awaken your might; come and save us.”
We are going to take this section by itself, but in reality, it takes verse three to make any sense as the Enduring Word Commentary opines in a lengthy explanation:
This refers to two aspects. The lesser aspect is the presence of God as connected with the ark of the covenant and the institution of the tabernacle/temple. The greater aspect is the recognition that in heaven and its reality, God does dwell between the cherubim.
c. You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth: Asaph asked that the God of this majesty and glory would shine forth on behalf of His people. When God does shine forth, darkness and gloom vanish and He is magnified.
d. Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh: In the order of arrangement around the tabernacle and in the order of march, these three tribes were grouped together on the west side of the tabernacle (Numbers 2 and 10).
i. “These three tribes went next after the ark, when it removed, Numbers 2:18-24; Numbers 10:22-24.” (Trapp)
e. Stir up Your strength, and come and save us: The God mighty enough to shepherd Israel and bring the people from Egypt to Canaan was strong enough to deliver them in their present crisis – if His strength was stirred. This was a prayer of faith, understanding, and dependence.
f. Restore us, O God: This begins a refrain that is repeated three times in this psalm (Psalm 80:3, 7, and 19). It expressed trust and dependence upon God, and confidence that His favor (shown by His shining face) was all that was needed for Israel’s restoration and blessing.
i. “It is not so much said, ‘turn our captivity’ but turn ‘us.’ All will come right if we are right. The best turn is not that of circumstances but of character. When the Lord turns his people he will soon turn their condition.” (Spurgeon)
ii. Spurgeon saw in this line and the following a description of the factors in revival. First there is the restoration or turning of the people to God, and then there is the radiant face of God, shining in all the goodness of His presence. In those two combined we see the work of true revival happen.
iii. “I want to see those times again, when first the refreshing showers came down from heaven. Have you never heard that under one of Whitfield’s sermons there have been as many as two thousand saved? He was a great man; but God can use the little, as well as the great to produce the same effect; and why should there not be souls saved here, beyond all our dreams?” (Spurgeon)
g. Cause Your face to shine: This goes back to the blessing the priests were commanded to proclaim to the people of Israel (Numbers 6:24-26). It has the idea of God’s presence, pleasure, and favor.
i. “The psalmist must have heard this blessing a thousand times. So he prays here, ‘Make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.’” (Boice)
ii. “Our greatest dread is the withdrawal of the Lord’s presence, and our brightest hope is the prospect of his return. In the darkest times of Israel, the light of her Shepherd’s countenance is all she needs.” (Spurgeon)
iii. We shall be saved: “To be ‘saved’ means here to be rescued from the assaults of hostile nations. The poet was sure that Israel’s sole defence was God, and that one gleam of His face would shrivel up the strongest foes.” (Maclaren)
We could stop here and send it to Facebook, but we won’t!
“Shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.” From the Cambridge Bible comes more information for us to understand:
Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh were united by the tie of common descent from Jacob’s beloved wife Rachel, who is regarded by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:15) as the mother of the Northern Kingdom, and they are named as representatives of that Kingdom. According to Numbers 2:17 ff. these tribes encamped to the West of the Tabernacle, and marched immediately behind it (Numbers 2:24). Before Ephraim &c. therefore means, ‘placing Thyself at their head as a victorious leader, as Thou didst go before them of old in the journeyings of the wilderness.’ At first sight it may seem strange that Benjamin is reckoned among the Northern tribes, for partially at any rate it sided with Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:21; 2 Chronicles 11:3; 2 Chronicles 11:23; 2 Chronicles 15:8-9); but the one tribe remaining to David was Judah (1 Kings 11:13; 1 Kings 11:32; 1 Kings 11:36), and Benjamin must be reckoned to the Northern Kingdom to make up Ten tribes, for Simeon had become merged in Judah and is not counted. The principal Benjamite towns of Bethel, Gilgal, and Jericho belonged to the Northern Kingdom. [Underscoring, mine.]
Benson provides even more:
These three, indeed, in some sense included the whole, Benjamin being incorporated with Judah, and the greatest part of Jerusalem, and the temple being in its lot, Manasseh comprehending the country beyond Jordan; and Ephraim, which was the head of the ten tribes, including all the rest. Some think, however, that these three are named in allusion to their ancient situation in the wilderness, where these tribes were placed on the west side of the tabernacle, in which the ark was, which, consequently, was before them: and they followed it immediately in their marches. So that, as before them the ark of God’s strength arose to scatter their enemies, with a reference thereto, the sense here is, O thou who didst of old go forth before those tribes, do so again at this time. Perhaps, also, these tribes had a greater share of the calamities here referred to than the others, though this be not mentioned in the sacred history: and therefore the psalmist prays that God would appear particularly on their behalf.
Having important commentaries before us is important for our understanding; other- wise we would easily gloss over this phrase and move on. I am trying to share “study habits” with you as well as content.
The Pulpit Commentary add its bit:
"Ephraim" and "Manasseh" form a natural expansion of the "Joseph" of the preceding verse; but it is difficult to understand the mention of "Benjamin" here. Hengstenberg suggests, and both Canon Cook and Professor Cheyne seem to accept the suggestion, that it was only a small portion of Benjamin which adhered to Judah at the division of the kingdoms, the greater part attaching itself to the rival power.
Amazingly, Barnes provides another lengthy explanation:
Ephraim and Manasseh were the two sons of Joseph, and their names were given to two of the tribes of Israel. See the notes at Psalm 78:67. They seem to have been particularly mentioned here, because Joseph, their father, had been referred to in the previous verse; and it was natural, in speaking of the people, to mention his sons. Benjamin is mentioned because, in the encampment and march through the wilderness, these three tribes always went together, as the descendants of the same mother. Genesis 46:19-20; Numbers 2:18-24; Numbers 10:22-24. It is probable that they were always especially united in the great operations of the Hebrew people, and that when one was mentioned it was customary to mention the others, as being of the same family, or descended from the same mother. There does not appear, from the psalm itself, any particular reason why the prayer is offered that God would manifest himself especially to these three tribes; and nothing in regard to the occasion on which the psalm was composed, can be argued from the fact that they are thus mentioned.
Hengstenberg indeed supposes that the common idea that the tribe of Benjamin adhered to Judah in the revolt of the ten tribes is erroneous, and that Benjamin was one of the ten tribes which revolted; and that Simeon was not included in the number because he had no separate territory, but only certain towns and places within the limits of the tribe of Judah. Prof. Alexander, embracing this opinion, supposes that the psalm refers to the calamities which came upon the ten tribes at the time of their captivity. But this supposition seems to me to be improbable. The obvious and fair interpretation of the narrative on the subject is, that the tribe of Benjamin adhered to that of Judah at the time of the revolt, for it is said 1 Kings 12:21 that "when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to right against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon." Besides, even on the supposition that Benjamin was one of the ten revolted tribes, the fact that these three tribes are particularly mentioned together would not prove that the psalm referred to the carrying away of the ten tribes into Assyria, for still the question would arise why these are particularly mentioned rather than any other of the ten. It seems to me, therefore, that the fact that these are specified can be explained on the suppositions above suggested.
I regard the psalm, therefore, as referring to the entire Hebrew people, and the names of these three tribes as representatives of the whole nation. The prayer is, that God would manifest; himself in the presence of his people. [Underscoring mine.]
Translators of God’s Word can sometimes appear like sheep, following each other in previous verse separations instead of looking at the thrust of the paragraph. This is not a criticism, but my own observation.
“Awaken your might; come and save us.” The Cambridge Bible says,
Put in action thy might (Psalm 20:6) which seems to be dormant. come and save us] R.V., come to save us: lit. come for salvation or deliverance for us.
Barnes adds, “Margin, as in Hebrew, come for salvation to us. That is, Come and deliver us from our enemies and our dangers.”
And Matthew Poole comments, “which seems now to be asleep, or idle and useless.”
From a seemingly innocuous appendage, i.e., verse two, comes much information to add to our understandings!
