Yes,
they spoke against God. They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
Psalm 78:19
He split rocks in the wilderness,
and gave them drink abundantly as out of the depths.
He brought streams also out of the rock,
and caused waters to run down like rivers.
Yet they still went on to sin against him,
to rebel against the Most High in the desert.
They tempted God in their heart
by asking food according to their desire.
Yes, they spoke against God.
They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
Psalm 78 [20.] Behold, he struck the rock, so that waters gushed out,
and streams overflowed.
Can he give bread also?
Will he provide flesh for his people?”
Meaning:
Psalm 78 is a long teaching psalm by Asaph that retells Israel’s history so that the next generation will trust God and not repeat their fathers’ mistakes. Verse 19 captures one of Israel’s worst moments in the wilderness. Having seen God split the sea and bring water from the rock, the people still doubted him and asked mockingly, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?” Their question was not honest seeking but unbelief dressed up as realism.
- Remembering the Wilderness
After the exodus, Israel travelled through the Sinai desert, a land of rock and sand where food and water were scarce. God had already worked wonder after wonder. He split rocks and gave them abundant water (Psalm 78:15). Yet when hunger came, they complained against Moses and against God, craving the food of Egypt.
The psalmist calls this “tempting God”. They put God to the test, demanding that he prove himself on their terms, as if all his past faithfulness counted for nothing.
- “Can God Prepare a Table?”
In the ancient Near East a prepared table meant hospitality and abundance: a host who spread a table for guests was promising to care for them fully. Israel’s question implied that God might be able to do a few dramatic miracles but could not be trusted to provide daily food in a barren land. It was a slander against his goodness.
God answered by doing exactly what they doubted. “He rained down manna on them to eat, and gave them food from the sky” (Psalm 78:24-25). When the Israelites first saw it they asked, “What is it?” and Moses replied that it was the bread Yahweh had given them (Exodus 16:15).
- A Warning Repeated
The New Testament uses Israel’s wilderness unbelief as a warning: “don’t harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, like as in the day of the trial in the wilderness” (Hebrews 3:7-8). The danger is not ignorance of God’s power but forgetting it when a new difficulty arises.
The Significance of Psalm 78:19
- Jesus Prepares a Table in the Wilderness
Centuries later, in a deserted place near the Sea of Galilee, Jesus’ disciples faced the same question. Thousands of hungry people had nothing to eat, and the disciples urged Jesus to send them away (Mark 6:35-36). Jesus made the people sit down on the green grass, blessed five loaves and two fish, and “They all ate, and were filled” (Mark 6:39-44). The answer to Psalm 78:19 is yes: God can and does prepare a table in the wilderness, and Jesus himself is the bread of life (John 6:35).
- Trust Instead of Complaint
Believers today face their own wildernesses of need, illness or uncertainty. Remembering God’s past faithfulness guards against grumbling unbelief. “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
Cross-References:
Psalm 78:24-25: "He rained down manna on them to eat, and gave them food from the sky. Man ate the bread of angels. He sent them food to the full." God answered Israel’s doubt with daily bread from heaven.
Exodus 16:15: When the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they didn’t know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat.” The manna was God’s table in the wilderness.
Mark 6:42: "They all ate, and were filled." Jesus fed thousands in a deserted place, answering Israel’s old question.
Philippians 4:19: "My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." God’s provision for his people continues in Christ.
Conclusion: Psalm 78:19 records a question born of unbelief: can God prepare a table in the wilderness? Israel’s history, and the feeding of the five thousand, answer with a resounding yes. The verse warns us against forgetting God’s past goodness when new needs arise, and invites us to trust the One who still spreads a table for his people.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible