ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Psalms 106

Psalm Ps. 106. This historical psalm (see notes on Psalms 78 and 105) retells a series of events from Israel’s history to illustrate God’s steadfast love in the face of Israel’s rebellion and unfaithfulness. The events occurred during Israel’s time in the wilderness (Exodus and Numbers) and when Israel repeatedly rebelled against the Lord after Joshua’s death (Judges). All of the episodes are instances of the whole people being unfaithful. In each instance God continues to maintain this people and to create conditions in which holiness can flourish. The focus is therefore on corporate unfaithfulness and forgiveness. The psalm begins by calling on the people to give thanks and praise to God (Ps. 106:1–3). It ends in a prayer that the God who has shown such patience will once again deliver his people, apparently this time from exile (v. 47). In view of the ending, it is best to call this psalm a community lament.

Ps. 106:1–3 The psalm begins by calling God’s people to give thanks and to reflect on his mighty deeds. Observe justice and do righteousness at all times remind the singing congregation that their actions should reflect their faith in God.

Ps. 106:4–5 This section looks to the future, when God so blesses his faithful people (v. 3) that the Gentiles are drawn into the light (when you show favor to your people).

Ps. 106:6–46 This is a list of incidents that begins at the shore of the Red Sea (vv. 7–12) and ends during the time of the judges (vv. 34–46).

Ps. 106:6 Both we and our fathers have sinned. This verse is the theme of the incidents. The psalm presents the current generation as having been part of their ancestors’ sin (see note on Deut. 1:20–21; see Ezra 9:6–15; Neh. 1:5–11; Dan. 9:4–19).

Ps. 106:7–12 The first incident is from the shore of the Red Sea (Ex. 14:10–31), when the people of Israel who had followed Moses saw the pursuing army of Egypt. Their reaction was evidence of unbelieving hearts, because they did not consider God’s wondrous works and they rebelled. Nevertheless the Lord saved them for his name’s sake, so that he might make known his mighty power.

Ps. 106:13–15 Sadly, the people of Israel soon forgot God’s works and slipped back into unfaithfulness (see v. 7). They put God to the test in the desert (see Num. 14:22). The specific incident in view is Israel’s wanton craving at Kibroth-hattaavah (Num. 11:4, 31–35).

Ps. 106:16–18 The next event is the rebellion led by Dathan and Abiram (Num. 16:1–40). They apparently enlisted the Levite Korah to speak out against Moses and Aaron.

Ps. 106:19–23 The psalm moves on to the calf in Horeb, the “golden calf” (Ex. 32:1–14). They worshiped this idol because they were unfaithful (Ps. 106:21; see vv. 7, 13). Moses stood in the breach before God (an image taken from risking one’s own life to close up a gap broken in a wall; see Neh. 6:1; Ezek. 13:5), to turn away God’s wrath from destroying the Israelites (Ex. 32:11–14).

Ps. 106:24–27 The sad list now moves to what happened when the 12 spies returned from their mission to scout out the land that God had promised (Num. 13:32–14:38). Ten of them gave a bad report, which led Israel to give in to fear. As a result, they refused God’s command to enter the land to conquer it (Ps. 106:24). This section closes with a worrying indication about the singers’ current situation: just as God made the Israelites fall in the wilderness, so he would make their offspring fall among the nations, scattering them among the lands (see v. 47).

Ps. 106:28–31 Next is the time when the Israelites yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor (Num. 25:1–15). It took the prompt and drastic action of Phinehas to stop the plague that broke out among the Israelites as a result of God’s anger (see note on Num. 25:7–8). counted to him as righteousness. God considered Phinehas’s deed as an act of covenant faithfulness.

Ps. 106:32–33 At the waters of Meribah the people complained about lack of water and accused Moses of bringing them out of Egypt to die. Their unbelief led Moses to speak rashly (that is, to become careless about acting by faith). He lost his right to enter the Promised Land because of it.

Ps. 106:34–46 The psalmist refers to the recurring pattern in Judg. 2:11–3:6, in which the people of Israel did not destroy the peoples in Canaan (disobeying what the Lord commanded them). Instead they mixed with the nations (especially by intermarriage, Judg. 3:6; see Ezra 9:2) and learned to do as they did (Ps. 106:34–35). Hence the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people, and he gave them into the hand of the nations (vv. 40–41; see Judg. 2:14). The stunning thing about the period of the judges is the opposing themes: many times he delivered them while yet they were rebellious in their purposes (Ps. 106:43). Nevertheless God looked upon their distress (v. 44) and kept coming to their aid. The expressions remembered his covenant and the abundance of his steadfast love (v. 45, a reference to Ex. 34:6) look back to Ps. 106:7. This puts the faithful Lord in stark contrast with the unfaithful people. In keeping with Solomon’s prayer (1 Kings 8:50), God caused his repentant people to be pitied by all those who held them captive (Ps. 106:46), and he restored them.

Ps. 106:48 This doxology closes Book 4 of the Psalms. Praise the Lord! echoes the opening phrase of 106:1. In view of what this list of events establishes about God’s faithfulness, blessed be the Lord indeed. All the people should say, “Amen!”