Psalm 81:  On Our Solemn Feast Day

There shall be no strange god among you; Nor shall you worship any strange god. I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.  Psalm 81:9, 10

On the Day of New Moon, When the Trumpet Sounds

 

A divine promise of restoration for Israel – when God’s people put away their idols and submit to him.  Tradition identifies this psalm with the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:33-43; Deut. 16:13-15).  Israel is to share the joyful celebration (81:1-2) decreed by God (vv. 3-5) at which His people recall His words to them (vv. 6-16).

81:3-5 The New Moon festival is mentioned in association with the Feast of Trampets (Num. 29:6).  Regulations for this festival can be found in the instructions to the Levites during the time of David (1 Chr. 23:31) and Solomon (2 Chr. 2:4).  This psalm seems to be a basic instruction on the festival.  A statute… A law… a testimony:  The language and regulations of this passage are as solemn as any in the Torah.  The basis for the New Moon festival was the salvation of Israel from EgyptA language:  As in 113:1, there is disdain for the history, culture, and the language of Egypt.

3  Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon, At the full moon, on our solemn feast day4  For this is a statute for Israel, A law of the God of Jacob. 5  This He established in Joseph as a testimony, When He went throughout the land of Egypt, Where I heard a language I did not understand.

81:6, 7 his shoulder.. His hands:  This is a poetic way of describing how God delivered His people from the Egyptian taskmasters (Ex. 1).  I answered you:  The Lord’s appearance to Moses on Mt. Sinai was God’s great revelation of Himself (Ex. 19; 20).

6  “I removed his shoulder from the burden; His hands were freed from the baskets. 7  You called in trouble, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah

81:8-10 The phrase translated I will admonish you is also found in 50:7, where it is translated “I will testify against you.”  The basic stipulation of the first commandment is repeated:  there must be no foreign god among the Israelites (Ex. 20:3).  God’s great description of His own saving work for the Israelites is quoted from Ex. 20:2.  Then the Lord invites His people to open their mouth so that He can meet their needs (v. 16).

8  “Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you! O Israel, if you will listen to Me! 9  There shall be no foreign god among you; Nor shall you worship any foreign god. 10  I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

81:11, 12 The people’s resistance to obeying God led to their punishment.  God identifies the root of the people’s problem as their own stubborn heart.  They wanted to follow their own ways and refused to listen to God.

11  “But My people would not heed My voice, And Israel would have none of Me. 12  So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, To walk in their own counsels.

13  “Oh, that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways! 14  I would soon subdue their enemies, And turn My hand against their adversaries. 15  The haters of the Lord would pretend submission to Him, But their fate would endure forever. 16  He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; And with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you.”

** “There shall be no strange god among you.”  The word “strange” in KJV (King James Version) is translated into “foreign” in other versions including the New King James Version.  “strange” is a more accurate translation.  When God characterizes gods and people “strange,” He is saying that they are “strangers” to Him who do not belong to Him.  “strangers” are not “foreigners” that is us non-Jews in a physical sense.  Soon, there will be a separation between God’s people and strangers who rejected God. 

 


81 1  To the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of Asaph. Sing aloud to God our strength; Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob. 2  Raise a song and strike the timbrel, The pleasant harp with the lute. 3  Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon, At the full moon, on our solemn feast day. 4  For this is a statute for Israel, A law of the God of Jacob. 5  This He established in Joseph as a testimony, When He went throughout the land of Egypt, Where I heard a language I did not understand. 6  “I removed his shoulder from the burden; His hands were freed from the baskets. 7  You called in trouble, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah

8  “Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you! O Israel, if you will listen to Me! 9  There shall be no foreign god among you; Nor shall you worship any foreign god. 10  I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. 11  “But My people would not heed My voice, And Israel would have none of Me. 12  So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, To walk in their own counsels. 13  “Oh, that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways! 14  I would soon subdue their enemies, And turn My hand against their adversaries. 15  The haters of the Lord would pretend submission to Him, But their fate would endure forever. 16  He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; And with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you.”