FAILURE-Psalm 106
Man‘s Sin and God‘s Unfailing Love (ḥeseḏ/חֶסֶד). [We have sinned like our ancestors (Ps 106:6).] “We have sinned, even as our ancestors did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly.” “Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, to make his mighty power known.” “They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt” (Psalm 106:6, 8, 21).
In Psalm 105 God was faithful to the COVENANT he made with Abraham, but in Psalm 106, the people repeatedly failed to be faithful to God. The psalmist living in the time of exile, knows that his generation is like earlier generations of Israelites who sinned and rebelled against God repeatedly. He looks back and sees that God is faithful to his covenant and will save them again as he did in the past when he delivered them from slavery in Egypt. It should help us Christians to remember God’s grace in spite of all of our sins, and enable us to “act justly” and “always do what is right” (Ps 106:3; Mic 6:8).
- Why does the psalmist praise and thank God (Ps 106:1; 136:1-26)?
- Can anyone fully and adequately praise God (Ps 106:2)?
- Who are the blessed (Ps 106:3; Mic 6:8; 1 Pet 1:22; 4:17)?
- Why does the psalmist ask God to remember him (Ps 106:4-5)?
- How did the Israelites respond to God in Egypt and the Red Sea (Ps 106:6-7; Exo 15:22-27)? Despite their sin, what did God do and why (Ps 106:8, 9-12)?
- What did the Israelites do soon after witnessing God’s deliverance (Ps 106:13-14)? What did God do (Ps 106:15; Num 11:33-34)?
- In the rebellion of Korah, what happened to those who opposed Moses and Aaron’s leadership (Ps 106:16-18; Num 16:16-18)?
- What sin did the Israelites commit at Horeb/Sinai (Ps 106:19-22; Rom 1:23; Exodus 32)? How did Moses intervene (Ps 106:23; Exo 32:11-14)?
- How did the Israelites respond to God’s promise of the Promised Land, and what was God’s reaction (Ps 106:24-27; Numbers 13-14)?
- At Baal Peor, what sin did the Israelites commit, and who intervened to make atonement (Ps 106:28-29; 30-31; Num 25:6-9)? Where else did they rebel, and what happened (Ps 106:32-33; Num 20:1-13)?
- How did they disobey God’s command after entering the promised land (Ps 106:34-39; Dt 18:10; 2 Ki 16:3; Jer 7:30-31; Eze 20:31; 1 Cor 10:20)?
- How did God respond to their repeated rebellion (Ps 106:40-42)? How did He ultimately show mercy (Ps 106:43-46; Judg 2:10-3:6; 1 Ki 8:33-34)?
- What does the psalmist pray for at the end of the psalm and why (Ps 106:47)?[Psalm 106:48 is not the conclusion to the psalm but to Book 4.]
- What lessons or principles can you learn from this psalm about the nature of God and the importance of obedience and faithfulness?
- How does this psalm point to the need for a Savior and the promise of redemption through Jesus Christ?
I. Praise and Prayer for God’s Salvation (1-5).
1 Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
2 Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord or fully declare his praise?
3 Blessed are those who act justly,
who always do what is right.
4 Remember me, Lord, when you show favor to your people, come to my aid when you save them, 5 that I may enjoy the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may share in the joy of your nation and join your inheritance in giving praise.
II. Constant failure, unfailing constancy (6-46).
1. Egypt to the Red Sea (6-12): Unbelief/A record of failure.
6 We have sinned, even as our ancestors did;
we have done wrong and acted wickedly.
7 When our ancestors were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.
8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, to make his mighty power known.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; he led them through the depths as through a desert. 10 He saved them from the hand of the foe; from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them. 11 The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them survived.
12 Then they believed his promises and sang his praise.
2. The wilderness (13-18): Discontent. Jealousy.
13 But they soon forgot what he had done
and did not wait for his plan to unfold.
14 In the desert they gave in to their craving;
in the wilderness they put God to the test.
15 So he gave them what they asked for,
but sent a wasting disease among them.
16 In the camp they grew envious of Moses
and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the Lord.
17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;
it buried the company of Abiram.
18 Fire blazed among their followers;
a flame consumed the wicked.
3. Sinai, the Golden Calf (19-23): Idolatry.
19 At Horeb they made a calf
and worshiped an idol cast from metal.
20 They exchanged their glorious God
for an image of a bull, which eats grass.
21 They forgot the God who saved them,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 miracles in the land of Ham
and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
23 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.
4. Refusal to obey, to listen (24-27): Drawing back.
24 Then they despised the pleasant land;
they did not believe his promise.
25 They grumbled in their tents
and did not obey the Lord.
26 So he swore to them with uplifted hand
that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
27 make their descendants fall among the nations
and scatter them throughout the lands.
5. Further wilderness rebellions (28-33): Apostasy.
28 They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods; 29 they aroused the Lord’s anger by their wicked deeds, and a plague broke out among them.
30 But Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was checked. 31 This was credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.
32 By the waters of Meribah they angered the Lord, and trouble came to Moses because of them;
33 for they rebelled against the Spirit of God,
and rash words came from Moses’ lips.
6. In Canaan (34-39): Paganization. Compromise.
34 They did not destroy the peoples as the Lord had commanded them, 35 but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs.
36 They worshiped their idols,
which became a snare to them.
37 They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to false gods.
38 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.
39 They defiled themselves by what they did;
by their deeds they prostituted themselves.
7. A tempered judgment (40-46).
40 Therefore the Lord was angry with his people
and abhorred his inheritance.
41 He gave them into the hands of the nations,
and their foes ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them
and subjected them to their power.
43 Many times he delivered them,
but they were bent on rebellion
and they wasted away in their sin.
44 Yet he took note of their distress
when he heard their cry;
45 for their sake he remembered his covenant
and out of his great love he relented.
46 He caused all who held them captive
to show them mercy.
III. Pleading and Praising (47-48). Cause for prayer and praise.
47 Save us, Lord our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.
48 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord.
