Study Desk

The sons of Ephraim ^(F1)were ^(C1)archers equipped with bows, Yet ^(C2)they turned back on the day of battle.

They ^(C1)did not keep the covenant of God And refused to ^(C2)walk in His Law;

They ^(C1)forgot His deeds And His ^(F1)miracles that He had shown them.

^(C1)He performed wonders before their fathers In the land of Egypt, in the ^(C2)field of Zoan.

He ^(C1)divided the sea and caused them to pass through, And He made the waters stand ^(C2)up like a heap.

Then He led them with the cloud by ^(C1)day And all the night with a ^(C2)light of fire.

He ^(C1)split the rocks in the wilderness And gave them plenty to drink like the ocean depths.

He ^(C1)brought forth streams from the rock And made waters run down like rivers.

Yet they still continued to sin against Him, To ^(C1)rebel against the Most High in the desert.

And in their heart they ^(C1)put God to the test By asking for ^(C2)food ^(F1)that suited their taste.

Then they spoke against God; They said, "^(C1)Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?

-"Behold, He ^(C1)struck the rock so that waters gushed out, And streams were overflowing; Can He also provide bread? Will He prepare ^(C2)meat for His people?"

Therefore the LORD heard and ^(F1)was ^(C1)full of wrath; And a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also mounted against Israel,

Because they ^(C1)did not believe in God And did not trust in His salvation.

Yet He commanded the clouds above And ^(C1)opened the doors of heaven;

He ^(C1)rained down manna upon them to eat, And gave them ^(F1)(C2)food from heaven.

Man ate the bread of ^(F1)angels; He sent them ^(F2)food ^(F3)(C1)in abundance.

He ^(C1)made the east wind blow in the sky And by His ^(F1)power He directed the south wind.

When He rained meat upon them like the dust, Even ^(C1)winged fowl like the sand of the seas,

He let them fall in the midst of ^(F1)their camp, All around their dwellings.

So they ^(C1)ate and were well filled, And He ^(F1)satisfied their longing.

^(F1)Yet before they had abandoned their longing, ^(C1)While their food was in their mouths,

The ^(C1)anger of God rose against them And killed ^(F1)some of their ^(C2)strongest ones, And ^(F2)subdued the choice men of Israel.

In spite of all this they still sinned And ^(C2)did not believe in His wonderful works.

So He brought ^(C1)their days to an end in futility, And their years to an end in sudden terror.

When He killed them, then they ^(C1)sought Him, And they returned and searched ^(C2)diligently for God;

And they remembered that God was their ^(C1)rock, And the Most High God their ^(C2)Redeemer.

But they ^(C1)flattered Him with their mouth And ^(C2)lied to Him with their tongue.

For their heart was not ^(C1)steadfast toward Him, Nor were they faithful with His covenant.

But He, being ^(C1)compassionate, ^(F1)(C2)forgave their wrongdoing and did not destroy them; And often He ^(F2)(C3)restrained His anger And did not stir up all His wrath.

So ^(C1)He remembered that they were only ^(C2)flesh, A ^(F1)(C3)wind that passes and does not return.

How often they ^(C1)rebelled against Him in the wilderness And ^(C2)grieved Him in the ^(C3)desert!

Again and again they ^(F1)(C1)tempted God, And pained the ^(C2)Holy One of Israel.

They ^(C1)did not remember ^(C2)His ^(F1)power, The day when He ^(C3)redeemed them from the enemy,

When He performed His ^(C1)signs in Egypt And His ^(C2)marvels in the field of Zoan,

And ^(C1)turned their rivers to blood, And their streams, so that they could not drink.

He sent swarms of ^(C1)flies among them that devoured them, And ^(C2)frogs that destroyed them.

He also gave their crops to the ^(C1)grasshopper And the product of their labor to the ^(C2)locust.

He ^(F1)destroyed their vines with ^(C1)hailstones And their sycamore trees with frost.

He also turned their ^(C1)cattle over to the hailstones, And their herds to bolts of lightning.

He ^(C1)sent His burning anger upon them, Fury and indignation and trouble, A band of ^(F1)destroying angels.

He leveled a path for His anger; He did not spare their souls from death, But ^(C1)turned their lives over to the plague,

And ^(C1)struck all the firstborn in Egypt, The ^(C2)first and best of their vigor in the tents of ^(C3)Ham.

But He ^(C1)led His own people out like sheep, And guided them in the wilderness ^(C2)like a flock;

He led them ^(C1)safely, so that they did not fear; But ^(C2)the sea engulfed their enemies.

So ^(C1)He brought them to His holy ^(F1)land, To this ^(F2)(C2)hill country ^(C3)which His right hand had gained.

He also ^(C1)drove out the nations from them And ^(C2)apportioned them as an inheritance by measurement, And had the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.

Yet they ^(F1)(C1)tempted and ^(C2)rebelled against the Most High God And did not keep His testimonies,

But turned back and ^(C1)acted treacherously like their fathers; They ^(C2)turned aside like a treacherous bow.

For they ^(C1)provoked Him with their ^(C2)high places And ^(C3)moved Him to jealousy with their ^(C4)carved images.

When God heard them, He ^(F1)was filled with ^(C1)wrath And He utterly ^(C2)rejected Israel;

So that He ^(C1)abandoned the ^(C2)dwelling place at Shiloh, The tent ^(F1)which He had pitched among people,

And He gave up His ^(C1)strength to captivity And His glory ^(C2)into the hand of the enemy.

He also ^(C1)turned His people over to the sword, And ^(F1)was filled with wrath at His inheritance.

^(C1)Fire devoured ^(F1)His young men, And ^(F1)His ^(C2)virgins had no wedding songs.

^(F1)His ^(C1)priests fell by the sword, And ^(F1)His ^(C2)widows could not weep.

Then the Lord ^(C1)awoke as if from sleep, Like a ^(C2)warrior ^(F1)overcome by wine.

He ^(F1)(C1)drove His adversaries backward; He put on them an everlasting disgrace.

He also ^(C1)rejected the tent of Joseph, And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,

But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount ^(C1)Zion, which He loved.

And He ^(C1)built His sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which He has established forever.

He also ^(C1)chose His servant David And took him from the sheepfolds;

From ^(F1)(C1)the care of the ^(F2)ewes ^(C2)with nursing lambs He brought him To ^(C3)shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel ^(C4)His inheritance.

So he shepherded them according to the ^(C1)integrity of his heart, And guided them with his skillful hands.