Psalm 106--Israel’s Unfaithfulness to God

Psalm 106
 World English Bible

106 Praise Yahweh!
    Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,
    for his loving kindness endures forever.
2 Who can utter the mighty acts of Yahweh,
    or fully declare all his praise?
3 Blessed are those who keep justice.
    Blessed is one who does what is right at all times.
4 Remember me, Yahweh, with the favor that you show to your people.
    Visit me with your salvation,
5 that I may see the prosperity of your chosen,
    that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
    that I may glory with your inheritance.

6 We have sinned with our fathers.
    We have committed iniquity.
    We have done wickedly.
7 Our fathers didn’t understand your wonders in Egypt.
    They didn’t remember the multitude of your loving kindnesses,
    but were rebellious at the sea, even at the Red Sea.
8 Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake,
    that he might make his mighty power known.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up;
    so he led them through the depths, as through a desert.
10 He saved them from the hand of him who hated them,
    and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11 The waters covered their adversaries.
    There was not one of them left.
12 Then they believed his words.
    They sang his praise.

13 They soon forgot his works.
    They didn’t wait for his counsel,
14     but gave in to craving in the desert,
    and tested God in the wasteland.
15 He gave them their request,
    but sent leanness into their soul.
16 They envied Moses also in the camp,
    and Aaron, Yahweh’s saint.
17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
    and covered the company of Abiram.
18 A fire was kindled in their company.
    The flame burned up the wicked.
19 They made a calf in Horeb,
    and worshiped a molten image.
20 Thus they exchanged their glory
    for an image of a bull that eats grass.
21 They forgot God, their Savior,
    who had done great things in Egypt,
22     wondrous works in the land of Ham,
    and awesome things by the Red Sea.
23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them,
    had Moses, his chosen, not stood before him in the breach,
    to turn away his wrath, so that he wouldn’t destroy them.
24 Yes, they despised the pleasant land.
    They didn’t believe his word,
25     but murmured in their tents,
    and didn’t listen to Yahweh’s voice.
26 Therefore he swore to them
    that he would overthrow them in the wilderness,
27     that he would overthrow their offspring among the nations,
    and scatter them in the lands.
28 They joined themselves also to Baal Peor,
    and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their deeds.
    The plague broke in on them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and executed judgment,
    so the plague was stopped.
31 That was credited to him for righteousness,
    for all generations to come.
32 They angered him also at the waters of Meribah,
    so that Moses was troubled for their sakes;
33 because they were rebellious against his spirit,
    he spoke rashly with his lips.
34 They didn’t destroy the peoples,
    as Yahweh commanded them,
35     but mixed themselves with the nations,
    and learned their works.
36 They served their idols,
    which became a snare to them.
37 Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
38     They shed innocent blood,
    even the blood of their sons and of their daughters,
    whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.
    The land was polluted with blood.
39 Thus they were defiled with their works,
    and prostituted themselves in their deeds.
40 Therefore Yahweh burned with anger against his people.
    He abhorred his inheritance.
41 He gave them into the hand of the nations.
    Those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies also oppressed them.
    They were brought into subjection under their hand.
43 He rescued them many times,
    but they were rebellious in their counsel,
    and were brought low in their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless he regarded their distress,
    when he heard their cry.
45 He remembered for them his covenant,
    and repented according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses.
46 He made them also to be pitied
    by all those who carried them captive.

47 Save us, Yahweh, our God,
    gather us from among the nations,
    to give thanks to your holy name,
    to triumph in your praise!

48 Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting even to everlasting!
Let all the people say, “Amen.”
    Praise Yah!

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God was good to His people--we see a refrain in Psalm 106 that is throughout the Psalms--"His love endures forever!"  However, we quickly move to a time of confession about how sinful and rebellious His people have been.  When they were being redeemed from their slavery in Egypt, they did not understand the significance of what was going on--that this was all about their sins and wanting to free them from their slavery to sin and breaking the Curse of the Law and bringing them from Death to Life.  Even so, He saved them, though they in no way wanted or deserved His salvation.  He did so for the sake of His Name and because that is who He is and what He does.  He is in the business of redeeming and saving people who aren't even looking for (and maybe even are actively resisting) salvation.

Even with so great a salvation, the people of God soon forgot about Him and turned to other gods.  They desired to be just like all the other nations around them instead of being called apart to be separate and holy--the LORD's treasured people that He chose for His very own.  He would be their God and they would be His People.  They would bear His Name and be his ambassadors to the world.  That was the plan, but they despised that plan and desired to give into their sinful lusts and passions.  If it were not for Moses constantly interceding for them, the LORD certainly would have destroyed them all, and it was the zeal of Phineas that saved them from destruction as they were on the border of Canaan.  They were within eyesight of the Promised Land and gave into idolatry and sexual immorality so that the LORD's anger burned against them and He was ready to destroy them.

They sacrificed their sons and daughter to the demons (idols and false gods), they called evil good and good evil, and though the LORD rescued them from the consequences of their sins many times, they continued to rebel.  They wanted His blessing and protection, but did not want His Law or a relationship with Him beyond that they wanted Him to serve them and give them everything they wanted (even things that were not good for them).  They wanted a "god" they controlled.  This led to them being taken into Exile.  Even then, the LORD remembered His covenant with them and did not destroy all of them, and He allowed them to return.  Yet, they are still the same wicked people.

The Psalmist cries out for the LORD to save them from themselves because they are their own worst enemy.  Only the LORD can gather all His people from where they were scattered among the nations and turn them into the people He wants them to be.  The LORD will do this and all His people--people from every tribe, tongue and nation--will praise Him for it forever and ever.  May the Name of the LORD be praised both now and forevermore!