תהלים, פרק ע״ח, פסוק י׳

Turning away from a divine agreement and rejecting a deeply rooted tradition marks a profound spiritual failure. This breach of trust centers on a failure to uphold a sacred covenant. The primary approach among commentators is that this covenant refers directly to the pact made with the Israelites at Mount Sinai [רד״ק, אבן עזרא]. The people simply rejected the path laid out for them and had no desire to follow God's laws [מצודת ציון].

However, another perspective suggests that upholding the agreement was not about observing commandments, but about patience and anticipation. In this light, the covenant was the ancient promise to redeem the Israelites from Egypt after four hundred years. The tribe of Ephraim, relying on their own confidence, refused to wait for the appointed time and left Egypt thirty years early [אלשיך]. Their refusal to follow God's instruction was not a rejection of the Torah from Sinai, but a rejection of an inherited tradition. They had been taught that the true redeemer would identify himself using a specific, repeated phrase. Instead of heeding this tradition and waiting for Moses, they took matters into their own hands and departed alone [אלשיך].

The identity of those being criticized also varies. Some view the historical failure as a direct rebuke of the generation that wandered in the wilderness. Despite witnessing incredible events, they failed to keep God's covenant and did not learn a moral lesson from the tragic downfall of the Ephraimites [מצודת דוד]. Others understand the account as a broader condemnation for forgetting the miracles God performed for earlier generations. In this view, the criticism is specifically leveled at the kings of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. By highlighting their spiritual failures, this perspective serves to emphasize the contrasting spiritual greatness of the kings of Judah [מאירי].