We continue reading through Psalm 106, a psalm that recounts the many rebellions of the people of Israel against God and records, still, His incredible grace and forgiveness.
Psalm 106:19-23, Golden calf
At Horeb they made a calf
and worshiped an idol cast from metal.
They exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull,
which eats grass.
They forgot the God who saved them,
who had done great things in Egypt,
miracles in the land of Ham
and awesome deeds by the RedSea.
So he said he would destroy them--
had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him
to keep his wrath from destroying them.
The infamous story of the golden calf idol is in Exodus 32. There Moses argues with YHWH and defends his people.
Psalm 106:24-27, Refused to enter Canaan
Then they despised the pleasant land;
they did not believe his promise.
They grumbled in their tents
and did not obey the LORD.
So he swore to them with uplifted hand
that he would make them fall in the desert,
make their descendants fall among the nations
and scatter them throughout the lands.
After twelve spies are sent into Canaan, the Israelites believe the report of ten of them and refuse to enter the Promised Land. (See Numbers 14.)
In order to move relatively quickly through the introductory books of the Old Testament in 2023, I skipped Leviticus and Numbers and saved them for late 2025. For this reason, many of the stories reported in this psalm have not yet been covered in this blog!
Psalm 106:28-31, Baal Peor
They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor
and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods;
they provoked the LORD to anger by their wicked deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.
But Phinehas stood up and intervened,
and the plague was checked.
This was credited to him as righteousness
for endless generations to come.
The sacrifices to Baal Peor, and the sexual immorality which went with it, are described in Numbers 25. This includes the actions of the priest Phinehas, who kills an Israelite man and a Moabite woman who go together into a tent even while Moses and Israelites are watching. (Numbers 25:6-8.)
Psalm 106:32-33, Meribah
By the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD,
and trouble came to Moses because of them;
for they rebelled against the Spirit of God,
and rash words came from Moses' lips.
The conflict at Meribah, and Moses's reaction to the insults is covered in Exodus 17 and repeated in Numbers 20,
Psalm 106:34-39, Mingled with the nations
They did not destroy the peoples as the LORD had commanded them,
but they mingled with the nations
and adopted their customs.
They worshiped their idols,
which became a snare to them.
They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
and the land was desecrated by their blood.
They defiled themselves by what they did;
by their deeds they prostituted themselves.
The many sins described in the scrolls of Kings and Chronicles, the gross idolatry and murderous acts that that involved, were due, says the psalmist, to the Israelites refuse to drive out the people of the land.
Psalm 106:40-43, And so handed over
Therefore the LORD was angry with his people
and abhorred his inheritance.
He handed them over to the nations,
and their foes ruled over them.
Their enemies oppressed them
and subjected them to their power.
Many times he delivered them,
but they were bent on rebellion
and they wasted away in their sin.
As a result of their rebellion, the Israelites were conquered by pagan nations. Thus was allowed by YHWH as punishment for their idolatry and unfaithfulness.
Psalm 106:44-46, Pitied
But he took note of their distress when he heard their cry;
for their sake he remembered his covenant
and out of his great love he relented.
He caused them to be pitied by all who held them captive.
Despite the repeated stubbornness of the people of Israel, God still remembers His love for them and brings them back into His embrace. In the last line, He is described as getting the oppressors to have pity on captive Israelites. It is not clear if there is a historical event described here; it is possible that this psalm was written after the Babylonian exile.
Psalm 106:47-48a, Save us and gather us!
Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise.
Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Let all the people say, "Amen!"
Unlike the previous psalm, which praises YHWH for His mighty works, this one admires His mighty works but praises YHWH for His incredible love and grace to the stubborn people of Israel.
The first verse and the last two verses appears in 1 Chronicles 16: 34-36, as part of the praise offered when the ark is brought to Jerusalem.
Psalm 106:48b, Hallelujah!
Each of the five books of Psalms end with a simple praise chorus that might be separate from the main text of the psalm, acting as a conclusion for the entire book. See Psalm 41:13, Psalm 72:18-20, and Psalm 106:48, and Psalm 150:6.
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