Grasp the Gospel — Bible Comprehension Quizzes

Psalms 106 Study Notes: Israel's Rebellions and God's Mercy

After opening praise, the psalmist confesses that his generation has sinned like its ancestors and retells Israel's rebellions from the exodus through the wilderness to idol worship in Canaan. God judged and rescued them again and again, and the psalm closes pleading for regathering and blessing the LORD.

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General

What does Psalm 106:28 say Israel did in connection with Baal of Peor?

Answer: They joined themselves to him and ate sacrifices to dead gods

The psalm says Israel bound itself to the Baal worshiped at Peor, a Moabite god, and ate offerings made to gods that have no life (106:28). Their actions stirred the LORD's anger, and a plague spread among them (106:29). Numbers 25 tells how, while Israel was camped at Shittim, the men fell into sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to their gods' sacrificial feasts; the people ate, bowed to those gods, and joined in the worship of the Baal of that place (Numbers 25:1-3). Paul later points to this episode, and the many who died, as a warning (1 Corinthians 10:8).

  • Psalm 106:28-29 (BSB)
    “They yoked themselves to Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods. So they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them.”
    Israel joined in the worship of Baal of Peor, ate sacrifices to dead gods, and provoked a plague.
  • Numbers 25:1-3 (BSB)
    “While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab, who also invited them to the sacrifices for their gods. And the people ate and bowed down to these gods. So Israel joined in worshiping Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD burned against them.”
    At Shittim the Israelite men were drawn into immorality with Moabite women and joined in worshiping Baal of Peor.
  • 1 Corinthians 10:8 (BSB)
    “We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.”
    Paul cites the immorality of this episode and the many who died as a warning to the church.

Theological

According to Psalm 106:28, what was Israel's sin regarding Baal of Peor?

Answer: They joined themselves to him and ate sacrifices to dead gods

The psalm describes Israel yoking itself to the Moabite Baal and eating sacrificial meals honoring gods without life (106:28), which stirred the LORD's anger and brought a plague (106:29). The narrative is Numbers 25:1-3: at Shittim, immorality with Moabite women led to participation in their sacrificial meals and worship of Baal of Peor. Paul cites the same episode as a warning to the church against immorality (1 Corinthians 10:8).

  • Psalm 106:28-29 (BSB)
    “They yoked themselves to Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods. So they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them.”
    Israel joined in the worship of Baal of Peor, ate sacrifices to dead gods, and provoked a plague.
  • Numbers 25:1-3 (BSB)
    “While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab, who also invited them to the sacrifices for their gods. And the people ate and bowed down to these gods. So Israel joined in worshiping Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD burned against them.”
    At Shittim the Israelite men were drawn into immorality with Moabite women and joined in worshiping Baal of Peor.
  • 1 Corinthians 10:8 (BSB)
    “We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.”
    Paul cites the immorality of this episode and the many who died as a warning to the church.

General

True or False: In Psalm 106:6, the psalmist sets his own generation apart as innocent of the sins of their fathers.

Answer: False

This is false. Before he tells the story of Israel's past rebellions, the psalmist confesses that his own generation has sinned just as their fathers did, doing wrong and acting wickedly (106:6). He does not stand above the past as a judge; he includes himself and his people in the same guilt. This kind of confession appears in other prayers of Israel as well (Daniel 9:5; Nehemiah 9:16-17). God had promised that when His people confessed both their own sin and their fathers' sin, He would remember His covenant (Leviticus 26:40-45), and the psalm later says that He did remember it (106:45).

  • Psalm 106:6 (BSB)
    “We have sinned like our fathers; we have done wrong and acted wickedly.”
    The psalmist confesses that his own generation has sinned just as the earlier generations did.
  • Daniel 9:5 (BSB)
    “we have sinned and done wrong. We have acted wickedly and rebelled. We have turned away from Your commandments and ordinances.”
    Daniel's prayer uses the same kind of confession, owning the people's sin in the first person.
  • Nehemiah 9:16-17 (BSB)
    “But they and our fathers became arrogant and stiff-necked and did not obey Your commandments. They refused to listen and failed to remember the wonders You performed among them. They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return them to their bondage in Egypt. But You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in loving devotion, and You did not forsake them.”
    The Levites' prayer likewise recounts the fathers' stubbornness while praising God as forgiving and rich in loving devotion.
  • Leviticus 26:40-45 (BSB)
    “But if they will confess their iniquity and that of their fathers in the unfaithfulness that they practiced against Me, by which they have also walked in hostility toward Me— and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—and if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled and they will make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember My covenant with Jacob and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. For the land will be abandoned by them, and it will enjoy its Sabbaths by lying desolate without them. And they will pay the penalty for their iniquity, because they rejected My ordinances and abhorred My statutes. Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject or despise them so as to destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their fathers, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the LORD.””
    God had promised to remember His covenant when His people confessed their own iniquity and that of their fathers.

Theological

True or False: In Psalm 106:6, the psalmist distinguishes his own generation as innocent of the sins of their fathers.

Answer: False

This is false. The psalmist opens the historical recital with a first-person confession that places his generation in solidarity with the fathers' guilt (106:6). The recital that follows is therefore not detached history but a confession of a shared, inherited pattern of sin, like the penitential prayers of Daniel 9:5 and Nehemiah 9:16-17. God had pledged to remember His covenant when His people confessed their own iniquity and their fathers' (Leviticus 26:40-45), and the psalm later records that He remembered it (106:45).

  • Psalm 106:6 (BSB)
    “We have sinned like our fathers; we have done wrong and acted wickedly.”
    The psalmist confesses that his own generation has sinned just as the earlier generations did.
  • Daniel 9:5 (BSB)
    “we have sinned and done wrong. We have acted wickedly and rebelled. We have turned away from Your commandments and ordinances.”
    Daniel's prayer uses the same kind of confession, owning the people's sin in the first person.
  • Nehemiah 9:16-17 (BSB)
    “But they and our fathers became arrogant and stiff-necked and did not obey Your commandments. They refused to listen and failed to remember the wonders You performed among them. They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return them to their bondage in Egypt. But You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in loving devotion, and You did not forsake them.”
    The Levites' prayer likewise recounts the fathers' stubbornness while praising God as forgiving and rich in loving devotion.
  • Leviticus 26:40-45 (BSB)
    “But if they will confess their iniquity and that of their fathers in the unfaithfulness that they practiced against Me, by which they have also walked in hostility toward Me— and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—and if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled and they will make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember My covenant with Jacob and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. For the land will be abandoned by them, and it will enjoy its Sabbaths by lying desolate without them. And they will pay the penalty for their iniquity, because they rejected My ordinances and abhorred My statutes. Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject or despise them so as to destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their fathers, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the LORD.””
    God had promised to remember His covenant when His people confessed their own iniquity and that of their fathers.

General

According to Psalm 106:13-15, what happened when the people craved food in the desert and put God to the test?

Answer: He gave them what they asked along with a wasting illness

Soon after singing at the sea, the people forgot God's works and would not wait for His plan (106:13). They gave way to intense craving in the desert and put God to the test (106:14), so He gave them what they demanded along with a disease that wasted them (106:15). This recalls Numbers 11, where the people wept for meat (Numbers 11:4). God sent quail, but before they had finished eating it He sent a heavy plague, and the place was named for the burial of those who had craved (11:31-34). Paul later says these events happened as examples for believers, so that they would not set their hearts on evil the way Israel did (1 Corinthians 10:6).

  • Psalm 106:13-15 (BSB)
    “Yet they soon forgot His works and failed to wait for His counsel. They craved intensely in the wilderness and tested God in the desert. So He granted their request, but sent a wasting disease upon them.”
    The people quickly forgot God's works, gave in to craving, tested Him, and received what they asked for along with a wasting disease.
  • Numbers 11:4 (BSB)
    “Meanwhile, the rabble among them had a strong craving for other food, and again the Israelites wept and said, “Who will feed us meat?”
    The rabble began craving other food, and the Israelites wept and asked for meat.
  • Numbers 11:31-34 (BSB)
    “Now a wind sent by the LORD came up, drove in quail from the sea, and brought them near the camp, about two cubits above the surface of the ground, for a day’s journey in every direction around the camp. All that day and night, and all the next day, the people stayed up gathering the quail. No one gathered less than ten homers, and they spread them out all around the camp. But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and the LORD struck them with a severe plague. So they called that place Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food.”
    God sent quail, but while the meat was still in their mouths He struck them with a severe plague, and the place was named for those who craved.
  • 1 Corinthians 10:6 (BSB)
    “These things took place as examples to keep us from craving evil things as they did.”
    Paul points to this wilderness history as an example so that believers will not crave evil things as Israel did.

Theological

What outcome does Psalm 106:13-15 describe for Israel's wilderness craving?

Answer: He gave them what they asked along with a wasting illness

The recital moves from the song at the sea to rapid forgetfulness and impatience with God's counsel (106:13), then to craving and testing God in the barren land (106:14). God granted the request yet sent a disease that wasted them (106:15), a judgment that answers the people's desire with its own consequences. The episode is Numbers 11: the rabble's craving and Israel's demand for meat (11:4), followed by the quail and the severe plague at Kibroth-hattaavah (11:31-34). Paul reads this as a warning against craving evil (1 Corinthians 10:6).

  • Psalm 106:13-15 (BSB)
    “Yet they soon forgot His works and failed to wait for His counsel. They craved intensely in the wilderness and tested God in the desert. So He granted their request, but sent a wasting disease upon them.”
    The people quickly forgot God's works, gave in to craving, tested Him, and received what they asked for along with a wasting disease.
  • Numbers 11:4 (BSB)
    “Meanwhile, the rabble among them had a strong craving for other food, and again the Israelites wept and said, “Who will feed us meat?”
    The rabble began craving other food, and the Israelites wept and asked for meat.
  • Numbers 11:31-34 (BSB)
    “Now a wind sent by the LORD came up, drove in quail from the sea, and brought them near the camp, about two cubits above the surface of the ground, for a day’s journey in every direction around the camp. All that day and night, and all the next day, the people stayed up gathering the quail. No one gathered less than ten homers, and they spread them out all around the camp. But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and the LORD struck them with a severe plague. So they called that place Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food.”
    God sent quail, but while the meat was still in their mouths He struck them with a severe plague, and the place was named for those who craved.
  • 1 Corinthians 10:6 (BSB)
    “These things took place as examples to keep us from craving evil things as they did.”
    Paul points to this wilderness history as an example so that believers will not crave evil things as Israel did.

General

According to Psalm 106:40-43, how did Israel respond to God's repeated rescues after He gave them over to their enemies?

Answer: They kept on rebelling and sank lower in their sin

Because of these sins the LORD's anger blazed, and He handed His people over to the nations; their enemies became their masters and crushed them (106:40-42). Again and again He delivered them, yet they kept choosing rebellion and were brought low by their guilt (106:43). This is the pattern of the book of Judges: Israel worshiped other gods, God gave them over to enemies, He raised up judges to save them, and after each judge died they grew worse than before (Judges 2:11-19). The Levites' prayer in Nehemiah describes the same repeated cycle (Nehemiah 9:27-28).

  • Psalm 106:40-43 (BSB)
    “So the anger of the LORD burned against His people, and He abhorred His own inheritance. He delivered them into the hand of the nations, and those who hated them ruled over them. Their enemies oppressed them and subdued them under their hand. Many times He rescued them, but they were bent on rebellion and sank down in their iniquity.”
    God in anger hands His people over to the nations; He rescues them many times, but they keep rebelling.
  • Judges 2:11-19 (BSB)
    “And the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. Thus they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they followed after various gods of the peoples around them. They bowed down to them and provoked the LORD to anger, for they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of those who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. Wherever Israel marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them to bring calamity, just as He had sworn to them. So they were greatly distressed. Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them. Israel, however, did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted themselves with other gods and bowed down to them. They quickly turned from the way of their fathers, who had walked in obedience to the LORD’s commandments; they did not do as their fathers had done. Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for the Israelites, He was with that judge and saved them from the hands of their enemies while the judge was still alive; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning under those who oppressed them and afflicted them. But when the judge died, the Israelites became even more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods to serve them and bow down to them. They would not give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.”
    Judges describes the same repeated cycle of idolatry, oppression, deliverance through judges, and renewed corruption.
  • Nehemiah 9:27-28 (BSB)
    “So You delivered them into the hands of enemies who oppressed them, and in their time of distress they cried out to You. From heaven You heard them, and in Your great compassion You gave them deliverers who saved them from the hands of their enemies. But as soon as they had rest, they again did evil in Your sight. So You abandoned them to the hands of their enemies, who had dominion over them. When they cried out to You again, You heard from heaven, and You delivered them many times in Your compassion.”
    The Levites' prayer likewise recounts that God delivered Israel many times in His compassion, yet they returned to evil.

Theological

What response to God's repeated deliverances does Psalm 106:40-43 record?

Answer: They kept on rebelling and sank lower in their sin

The psalm summarizes a cycle: God's burning anger gives Israel over to hostile nations who dominate and oppress them (106:40-42), and though He delivered them again and again, they persisted in rebellious purpose and were brought low in their iniquity (106:43). This is the Judges cycle of apostasy, oppression, deliverance, and deeper corruption (Judges 2:11-19), which Nehemiah 9:27-28 also rehearses. The repetition exposes the depth of human sinfulness: repeated rescue did not by itself change the people's hearts.

  • Psalm 106:40-43 (BSB)
    “So the anger of the LORD burned against His people, and He abhorred His own inheritance. He delivered them into the hand of the nations, and those who hated them ruled over them. Their enemies oppressed them and subdued them under their hand. Many times He rescued them, but they were bent on rebellion and sank down in their iniquity.”
    God in anger hands His people over to the nations; He rescues them many times, but they keep rebelling.
  • Judges 2:11-19 (BSB)
    “And the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. Thus they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they followed after various gods of the peoples around them. They bowed down to them and provoked the LORD to anger, for they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of those who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. Wherever Israel marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them to bring calamity, just as He had sworn to them. So they were greatly distressed. Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them. Israel, however, did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted themselves with other gods and bowed down to them. They quickly turned from the way of their fathers, who had walked in obedience to the LORD’s commandments; they did not do as their fathers had done. Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for the Israelites, He was with that judge and saved them from the hands of their enemies while the judge was still alive; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning under those who oppressed them and afflicted them. But when the judge died, the Israelites became even more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods to serve them and bow down to them. They would not give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.”
    Judges describes the same repeated cycle of idolatry, oppression, deliverance through judges, and renewed corruption.
  • Nehemiah 9:27-28 (BSB)
    “So You delivered them into the hands of enemies who oppressed them, and in their time of distress they cried out to You. From heaven You heard them, and in Your great compassion You gave them deliverers who saved them from the hands of their enemies. But as soon as they had rest, they again did evil in Your sight. So You abandoned them to the hands of their enemies, who had dominion over them. When they cried out to You again, You heard from heaven, and You delivered them many times in Your compassion.”
    The Levites' prayer likewise recounts that God delivered Israel many times in His compassion, yet they returned to evil.

General

In Psalm 106:16-18, what sin led to the judgment on Dathan and Abiram?

Answer: They grew jealous of Moses and also of Aaron

The psalm says that in the camp the people grew jealous of Moses and of Aaron, whom God had set apart as holy to Himself (106:16). In judgment the earth opened and swallowed Dathan and closed over Abiram's company, and fire burned up the wicked (106:17-18). Numbers 16 tells the story: Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and 250 leaders rose against Moses and his brother, accusing them of setting themselves above the congregation (Numbers 16:1-3). The ground split open and swallowed the rebels, and fire from the LORD burned up the 250 incense offerers (16:31-35). Moses later recalls the fate of Dathan and Abiram in the same way, naming the two of them without mentioning Korah, as the psalm does (Deuteronomy 11:6).

  • Psalm 106:16-18 (BSB)
    “In the camp they envied Moses, as well as Aaron, the holy one of the LORD. The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it covered the assembly of Abiram. Then fire blazed through their company; flames consumed the wicked.”
    Envy of Moses and Aaron in the camp brings judgment: the ground swallows Dathan and Abiram's company and fire consumes the wicked.
  • Numbers 16:1-3 (BSB)
    “Now Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath son of Levi, along with some Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—conducted a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 men of Israel renowned as leaders of the congregation and representatives in the assembly. They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have taken too much upon yourselves! For everyone in the entire congregation is holy, and the LORD is in their midst. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?””
    Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and 250 leaders rose up against Moses and Aaron, accusing them of exalting themselves.
  • Numbers 16:31-35 (BSB)
    “As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions. They went down alive into Sheol with all they owned. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly. At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled, saying, “The earth may swallow us too!” And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.”
    The ground split open and swallowed the rebels and their households, and fire from the LORD consumed the 250 men offering incense.
  • Deuteronomy 11:6 (BSB)
    “and what He did in the midst of all the Israelites to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing that belonged to them.”
    Moses later recalls the same judgment on Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, when the earth swallowed them.

Theological

What sin does Psalm 106:16-18 identify behind the judgment on Dathan and Abiram?

Answer: They grew jealous of Moses and also of Aaron

The psalm diagnoses the rebellion of Numbers 16 as envy of Moses and of Aaron, the one consecrated to the LORD (106:16). Their challenge to God-appointed leadership (Numbers 16:1-3) was in substance a challenge to God's own ordering of His people. The judgment was twofold, the earth swallowing Dathan and Abiram's company and fire consuming the wicked (106:17-18), corresponding to Numbers 16:31-35, where the fire falls on the 250 incense offerers. Deuteronomy 11:6, like the psalm, names Dathan and Abiram without mentioning Korah.

  • Psalm 106:16-18 (BSB)
    “In the camp they envied Moses, as well as Aaron, the holy one of the LORD. The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it covered the assembly of Abiram. Then fire blazed through their company; flames consumed the wicked.”
    Envy of Moses and Aaron in the camp brings judgment: the ground swallows Dathan and Abiram's company and fire consumes the wicked.
  • Numbers 16:1-3 (BSB)
    “Now Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath son of Levi, along with some Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—conducted a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 men of Israel renowned as leaders of the congregation and representatives in the assembly. They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have taken too much upon yourselves! For everyone in the entire congregation is holy, and the LORD is in their midst. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?””
    Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and 250 leaders rose up against Moses and Aaron, accusing them of exalting themselves.
  • Numbers 16:31-35 (BSB)
    “As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions. They went down alive into Sheol with all they owned. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly. At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled, saying, “The earth may swallow us too!” And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.”
    The ground split open and swallowed the rebels and their households, and fire from the LORD consumed the 250 men offering incense.
  • Deuteronomy 11:6 (BSB)
    “and what He did in the midst of all the Israelites to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing that belonged to them.”
    Moses later recalls the same judgment on Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, when the earth swallowed them.

General

True or False: According to Psalm 106:9-12, after God rescued them at the sea, the people believed His word and sang praise to Him.

Answer: True

This is true. The psalm describes God rebuking the sea so that it dried up, leading His people through the deep places as if on dry desert ground, rescuing them from their enemies, and letting the waters cover the pursuing Egyptians so that none survived (106:9-11). Then the people trusted what He had promised and praised Him in song (106:12). Exodus records the same sequence: the sea was driven back (Exodus 14:21-22), Pharaoh's whole army drowned (14:28), the people revered the LORD and trusted Him (14:31), and Moses and Israel sang to Him (15:1). The belief was real, but as the next verse shows, it did not last long.

  • Psalm 106:9-12 (BSB)
    “He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; He led them through the depths as through a desert. He saved them from the hand that hated them; He redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. The waters covered their foes; not one of them remained. Then they believed His promises and sang His praise.”
    God dries up the Red Sea, leads Israel through, drowns their pursuers, and the people then believe and sing.
  • Exodus 14:21-22 (BSB)
    “Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.”
    The narrative of the sea being driven back so Israel could cross on dry ground.
  • Exodus 14:28 (BSB)
    “The waters flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had chased the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.”
    The waters returned and covered Pharaoh's entire army, with no survivor, matching 106:11.
  • Exodus 14:31 (BSB)
    “When Israel saw the great power that the LORD had exercised over the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.”
    After seeing the LORD's power, the people feared Him and believed in Him and in Moses.
  • Exodus 15:1 (BSB)
    “Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: “I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted. The horse and rider He has thrown into the sea.”
    Moses and the Israelites then sang a song of praise to the LORD for His victory at the sea.

Theological

True or False: According to Psalm 106:9-12, the Red Sea deliverance was followed by the people's belief in God's word and their song of praise.

Answer: True

This is true. The psalm compresses Exodus 14-15: God's rebuke dries the sea, He leads Israel through the depths, redeems them from the enemy, and the waters cover their foes (106:9-11; Exodus 14:21-22, 28). The result was faith and praise (106:12), corresponding to Exodus 14:31 and the Song of the Sea (15:1). The verse sets up the following contrast, since the next line reports how quickly that response faded (106:13).

  • Psalm 106:9-12 (BSB)
    “He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; He led them through the depths as through a desert. He saved them from the hand that hated them; He redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. The waters covered their foes; not one of them remained. Then they believed His promises and sang His praise.”
    God dries up the Red Sea, leads Israel through, drowns their pursuers, and the people then believe and sing.
  • Exodus 14:21-22 (BSB)
    “Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.”
    The narrative of the sea being driven back so Israel could cross on dry ground.
  • Exodus 14:28 (BSB)
    “The waters flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had chased the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.”
    The waters returned and covered Pharaoh's entire army, with no survivor, matching 106:11.
  • Exodus 14:31 (BSB)
    “When Israel saw the great power that the LORD had exercised over the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.”
    After seeing the LORD's power, the people feared Him and believed in Him and in Moses.
  • Exodus 15:1 (BSB)
    “Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: “I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted. The horse and rider He has thrown into the sea.”
    Moses and the Israelites then sang a song of praise to the LORD for His victory at the sea.

General

According to Psalm 106:24-25, what lay at the root of Israel's rejection of the land God offered them?

Answer: They put no trust in His word

The psalm says Israel scorned the good land God had promised because they put no faith in His word; they complained at home and refused to heed the LORD (106:24-25). This is the story of Numbers 14. After the scouts' frightening report, the whole community wept through the night, complained against their two leaders, and talked of choosing a new leader to head back to Egypt (Numbers 14:1-4). God swore that the grumbling generation would perish in the desert, except Caleb and Joshua (14:28-30). The psalm adds that He also swore to scatter their descendants among the nations (106:26-27). Hebrews names the root sin plainly: they could not enter because of unbelief (Hebrews 3:16-19).

  • Psalm 106:24-25 (BSB)
    “They despised the pleasant land; they did not believe His promise. They grumbled in their tents and did not listen to the voice of the LORD.”
    Israel rejected the good land, disbelieved God's promise, and complained in their tents.
  • Psalm 106:26-27 (BSB)
    “So He raised His hand and swore to cast them down in the wilderness, to disperse their offspring among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands.”
    God swore that they would fall in the wilderness and that their descendants would be scattered among the nations.
  • Numbers 14:1-4 (BSB)
    “Then the whole congregation lifted up their voices and cried out, and that night the people wept. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why is the LORD bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.””
    After the scouts' report the congregation wept, grumbled, and talked of appointing a leader to return to Egypt.
  • Numbers 14:28-30 (BSB)
    “So tell them: As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you exactly as I heard you say. Your bodies will fall in this wilderness—all who were numbered in the census, everyone twenty years of age or older—because you have grumbled against Me. Surely none of you will enter the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.”
    God swore that those who grumbled would die in the wilderness, except Caleb and Joshua.
  • Hebrews 3:16-19 (BSB)
    “For who were the ones who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was God angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would never enter His rest? Was it not to those who disobeyed? So we see that it was because of their unbelief that they were unable to enter.”
    Hebrews explains that this generation could not enter because of unbelief.

Theological

What root sin does Psalm 106:24-25 identify behind Israel's refusal of the land?

Answer: They put no trust in His word

The psalm names unbelief of God's promise as the root of Israel's contempt for the pleasant land, expressed in tent-bound grumbling and refusal to heed the LORD's voice (106:24-25). The episode is Numbers 14:1-4, with the night of weeping and the proposal to return to Egypt. God's sworn response was that the grumbling generation would fall in the wilderness, Caleb and Joshua excepted (Numbers 14:28-30), and the psalm adds an oath to disperse their descendants among the nations (106:26-27). Hebrews 3:16-19 draws the same diagnosis: the failure to enter was due to unbelief.

  • Psalm 106:24-25 (BSB)
    “They despised the pleasant land; they did not believe His promise. They grumbled in their tents and did not listen to the voice of the LORD.”
    Israel rejected the good land, disbelieved God's promise, and complained in their tents.
  • Psalm 106:26-27 (BSB)
    “So He raised His hand and swore to cast them down in the wilderness, to disperse their offspring among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands.”
    God swore that they would fall in the wilderness and that their descendants would be scattered among the nations.
  • Numbers 14:1-4 (BSB)
    “Then the whole congregation lifted up their voices and cried out, and that night the people wept. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why is the LORD bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.””
    After the scouts' report the congregation wept, grumbled, and talked of appointing a leader to return to Egypt.
  • Numbers 14:28-30 (BSB)
    “So tell them: As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you exactly as I heard you say. Your bodies will fall in this wilderness—all who were numbered in the census, everyone twenty years of age or older—because you have grumbled against Me. Surely none of you will enter the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.”
    God swore that those who grumbled would die in the wilderness, except Caleb and Joshua.
  • Hebrews 3:16-19 (BSB)
    “For who were the ones who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was God angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would never enter His rest? Was it not to those who disobeyed? So we see that it was because of their unbelief that they were unable to enter.”
    Hebrews explains that this generation could not enter because of unbelief.

General

True or False: Psalm 106 ends with a blessing of the LORD, a call for all the people to answer Amen, and Hallelujah.

Answer: True

This is true. The psalm closes by blessing Israel's God, the LORD, through all eternity past and future, calling all the people to answer Amen, and ending with Hallelujah (106:48), the same word that opened the psalm (106:1). This doxology (a short hymn of praise to God) also closes the fourth of the five books into which the Psalms are divided. Each of the earlier books ends with a similar blessing: Book One (41:13), Book Two (72:18-19), and Book Three (89:52).

  • Psalm 106:48 (BSB)
    “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen!” Hallelujah!”
    A doxology blessing the LORD forever, with the people's Amen and a final Hallelujah.
  • Psalm 41:13 (BSB)
    “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.”
    Book One of the Psalms closes with a similar blessing of the LORD from everlasting to everlasting.
  • Psalm 72:18-19 (BSB)
    “Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. And blessed be His glorious name forever; may all the earth be filled with His glory. Amen and amen.”
    Book Two closes with a similar doxology and a double amen.
  • Psalm 89:52 (BSB)
    “Blessed be the LORD forever! Amen and amen.”
    Book Three closes with a brief blessing of the LORD and a double amen.

Theological

True or False: Psalm 106 concludes by blessing the LORD, calling all the people to say Amen, and closing with Hallelujah.

Answer: True

This is true. Verse 48 blesses Israel's God, the LORD, across all eternity, summons the whole people to respond Amen, and closes with Hallelujah, echoing the opening word of 106:1. The doxology also marks the end of Book Four of the Psalms, paralleling the closing doxologies of Book One (41:13), Book Two (72:18-19), and Book Three (89:52).

  • Psalm 106:48 (BSB)
    “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen!” Hallelujah!”
    A doxology blessing the LORD forever, with the people's Amen and a final Hallelujah.
  • Psalm 41:13 (BSB)
    “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.”
    Book One of the Psalms closes with a similar blessing of the LORD from everlasting to everlasting.
  • Psalm 72:18-19 (BSB)
    “Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. And blessed be His glorious name forever; may all the earth be filled with His glory. Amen and amen.”
    Book Two closes with a similar doxology and a double amen.
  • Psalm 89:52 (BSB)
    “Blessed be the LORD forever! Amen and amen.”
    Book Three closes with a brief blessing of the LORD and a double amen.

General

What does Psalm 106:20 say Israel traded their glorious God for at Horeb?

Answer: An image of an ox that eats grass

At Horeb (another name for Mount Sinai) the people fashioned a calf and bowed to an image cast from metal (106:19). The psalm calls this an exchange: they gave up the God who was their true glory for the likeness of an ox that eats grass (106:20). The contrast is sharp: the living God, who had done great and fearsome works in Egypt, which the psalm calls Ham's land, and at the sea, was forgotten and replaced with the image of an animal (106:21-22). Exodus records the calf and the people's claim that it was their deliverer from Egypt (Exodus 32:4). Paul uses the same idea of exchanging God's glory for images when he describes human idolatry (Romans 1:23).

  • Psalm 106:19-20 (BSB)
    “At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped a molten image. They exchanged their Glory for the image of a grass-eating ox.”
    At Horeb Israel made and worshiped a metal calf, trading their glorious God for the image of an ox.
  • Psalm 106:21-22 (BSB)
    “They forgot God their Savior, who did great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.”
    They forgot the God who saved them and did great works in Egypt and at the Red Sea.
  • Exodus 32:4 (BSB)
    “He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!””
    Aaron fashioned the calf, and the people credited it with bringing them out of Egypt.
  • Deuteronomy 9:8 (BSB)
    “At Horeb you provoked the LORD, and He was angry enough to destroy you.”
    Moses reminds Israel that they provoked the LORD at Horeb so that He was angry enough to destroy them.
  • Romans 1:23 (BSB)
    “and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.”
    Paul describes humanity's idolatry with the same idea of exchanging God's glory for images of creatures.

Theological

In Psalm 106:20, for what does Israel exchange their Glory at Horeb?

Answer: An image of an ox that eats grass

The psalm interprets the golden calf (106:19; Exodus 32:4) as an exchange of God, Israel's Glory, for the likeness of an ox that feeds on grass (106:20). The irony is pointed: the God who wrought wonders in Egypt, which the psalm calls Ham's land, and fearsome acts at the sea was forgotten as Savior and replaced by the likeness of a grazing creature (106:21-22). Deuteronomy 9:8 recalls that this provocation at Horeb brought Israel to the edge of destruction. Paul's indictment of humanity's idolatry uses the same language of exchanging God's glory for images (Romans 1:23), showing that this is the characteristic shape of human sin, not merely an ancient Israelite lapse.

  • Psalm 106:19-20 (BSB)
    “At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped a molten image. They exchanged their Glory for the image of a grass-eating ox.”
    At Horeb Israel made and worshiped a metal calf, trading their glorious God for the image of an ox.
  • Psalm 106:21-22 (BSB)
    “They forgot God their Savior, who did great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.”
    They forgot the God who saved them and did great works in Egypt and at the Red Sea.
  • Exodus 32:4 (BSB)
    “He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!””
    Aaron fashioned the calf, and the people credited it with bringing them out of Egypt.
  • Deuteronomy 9:8 (BSB)
    “At Horeb you provoked the LORD, and He was angry enough to destroy you.”
    Moses reminds Israel that they provoked the LORD at Horeb so that He was angry enough to destroy them.
  • Romans 1:23 (BSB)
    “and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.”
    Paul describes humanity's idolatry with the same idea of exchanging God's glory for images of creatures.

General

True or False: According to Psalm 106:32-33, Moses was left untouched by the trouble at Meribah.

Answer: False

This is false. The psalm says that at Meribah the people stirred the LORD's anger, and it went badly for Moses on their account: they defied God's Spirit, and in response Moses spoke rash words (106:32-33). Numbers 20 records the event. Moses called the people rebels and hit the rock two times, and God told Moses and Aaron that because they had not trusted Him to show His holiness, they would not lead the people into Canaan (Numbers 20:10-13). Moses later says God's anger fell on him because of the people (Deuteronomy 3:26). Isaiah, looking back to the days of Moses, similarly describes Israel's rebellion as grieving God's Holy Spirit (Isaiah 63:10).

  • Psalm 106:32-33 (BSB)
    “At the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD, and trouble came to Moses because of them. For they rebelled against His Spirit, and Moses spoke rashly with his lips.”
    At Meribah the people angered the LORD, and Moses suffered for it when he spoke rashly after they rebelled against God's Spirit.
  • Numbers 20:10-13 (BSB)
    “Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly in front of the rock, and Moses said to them, “Listen now, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the congregation and their livestock were able to drink. But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD, and He showed His holiness among them.”
    Moses called the people rebels and struck the rock twice, and God said Moses and Aaron would not bring the assembly into the land.
  • Deuteronomy 3:26 (BSB)
    “But the LORD was angry with me on account of you, and He would not listen to me. “That is enough,” the LORD said to me. “Do not speak to Me again about this matter.”
    Moses later says the LORD was angry with him on account of the people and would not listen to his plea to cross over.
  • Isaiah 63:10 (BSB)
    “But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.”
    Isaiah, recalling the days of old and of Moses, says the people rebelled and grieved God's Holy Spirit.

Theological

True or False: According to Psalm 106:32-33, Moses was unaffected by the trouble at Meribah.

Answer: False

This is false. The psalm holds both parties responsible: the people provoked the LORD at Meribah and defied His Spirit, while Moses, provoked by them, spoke hastily, so that trouble came upon him on their account (106:32-33). Numbers 20:10-13 gives the judgment on Moses and Aaron for failing to trust God and show His holiness, and Deuteronomy 3:26 records Moses' own reflection that God's anger fell on him because of the people. Isaiah 63:10, recalling the days of Moses, likewise frames Israel's rebellion as grieving God's Holy Spirit.

  • Psalm 106:32-33 (BSB)
    “At the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD, and trouble came to Moses because of them. For they rebelled against His Spirit, and Moses spoke rashly with his lips.”
    At Meribah the people angered the LORD, and Moses suffered for it when he spoke rashly after they rebelled against God's Spirit.
  • Numbers 20:10-13 (BSB)
    “Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly in front of the rock, and Moses said to them, “Listen now, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the congregation and their livestock were able to drink. But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD, and He showed His holiness among them.”
    Moses called the people rebels and struck the rock twice, and God said Moses and Aaron would not bring the assembly into the land.
  • Deuteronomy 3:26 (BSB)
    “But the LORD was angry with me on account of you, and He would not listen to me. “That is enough,” the LORD said to me. “Do not speak to Me again about this matter.”
    Moses later says the LORD was angry with him on account of the people and would not listen to his plea to cross over.
  • Isaiah 63:10 (BSB)
    “But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.”
    Isaiah, recalling the days of old and of Moses, says the people rebelled and grieved God's Holy Spirit.

General

According to Psalm 106:34-36, what did the idols of the nations become for Israel once they settled in the land?

Answer: A snare that trapped them

Once in the land, Israel failed to wipe out the peoples as God had ordered; instead they mixed with other peoples and learned their ways (106:34-35). They served the nations' idols, and those idols trapped them like a hunter's snare (106:36). God had commanded Israel not to make treaties or marriages with the Canaanite nations and to break down their altars (Deuteronomy 7:1-5). In Judges the LORD's messenger tells Israel that because they disobeyed, those nations would stay and their gods would trap them (Judges 2:1-3), and Israel did intermarry with them and serve their gods (Judges 3:5-6).

  • Psalm 106:34-36 (BSB)
    “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.”
    In the land, Israel did not destroy the peoples as commanded, mixed with the nations, learned their ways, and served their idols.
  • Deuteronomy 7:1-5 (BSB)
    “When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to possess, and He drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you— and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you to defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, because they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and He will swiftly destroy you. Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.”
    God had commanded Israel to destroy the nations of Canaan, make no treaties or marriages with them, and tear down their altars.
  • Judges 2:1-3 (BSB)
    “Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I had promised to your fathers, and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, and you are not to make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall tear down their altars.’ Yet you have not obeyed My voice. What is this you have done? So now I tell you that I will not drive out these people before you; they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.””
    The angel of the LORD says that because Israel disobeyed, the nations would remain and their gods would be a snare.
  • Judges 3:5-6 (BSB)
    “Thus the Israelites continued to live among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. And they took the daughters of these people in marriage, gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.”
    Israel lived among the Canaanite peoples, intermarried with them, and served their gods.

Theological

According to Psalm 106:34-36, what did the nations' idols become for Israel?

Answer: A snare that trapped them

The recital now moves into the land: Israel failed to carry out the command to destroy the peoples, intermingled with foreign peoples, and learned their practices (106:34-35), so that their idols became a snare (106:36). The command of Deuteronomy 7:1-5 had forbidden treaties and intermarriage precisely because of this danger. Judges 2:1-3 announces the consequence, that the nations would remain and their gods would ensnare Israel, and Judges 3:5-6 shows it happening through intermarriage and the service of foreign gods.

  • Psalm 106:34-36 (BSB)
    “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.”
    In the land, Israel did not destroy the peoples as commanded, mixed with the nations, learned their ways, and served their idols.
  • Deuteronomy 7:1-5 (BSB)
    “When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to possess, and He drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you— and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you to defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, because they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and He will swiftly destroy you. Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.”
    God had commanded Israel to destroy the nations of Canaan, make no treaties or marriages with them, and tear down their altars.
  • Judges 2:1-3 (BSB)
    “Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I had promised to your fathers, and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, and you are not to make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall tear down their altars.’ Yet you have not obeyed My voice. What is this you have done? So now I tell you that I will not drive out these people before you; they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.””
    The angel of the LORD says that because Israel disobeyed, the nations would remain and their gods would be a snare.
  • Judges 3:5-6 (BSB)
    “Thus the Israelites continued to live among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. And they took the daughters of these people in marriage, gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.”
    Israel lived among the Canaanite peoples, intermarried with them, and served their gods.

General

What does Psalm 106:23 say kept God from destroying Israel after the golden calf?

Answer: Moses took his place in the gap to hold back God's wrath

After the golden calf, God declared that He would wipe out the people. What prevented it, the psalm says, was that Moses, whom God had chosen, took his place in the broken wall before God to hold back His wrath (106:23). A breach is a gap broken in a city wall; Moses is pictured as a defender standing in that gap to protect the city. Exodus records his prayer: he appealed to God's reputation among the Egyptians and to His sworn promise to the patriarchs, and the LORD relented (Exodus 32:10-14). Moses later says he lay face down in prayer through forty days and nights (Deuteronomy 9:25). Moses acted as a mediator (a go-between who pleads for others). Centuries later, in Ezekiel's day, God looked for someone to fill the gap and plead for the land, to spare it from destruction, and found no one (Ezekiel 22:30). Many Christians have seen in Moses' pleading a picture of a greater go-between: Hebrews says Jesus lives on forever to plead for all who approach God by Him (Hebrews 7:25).

  • Psalm 106:23 (BSB)
    “So He said He would destroy them—had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach to divert His wrath from destroying them.”
    God said He would destroy Israel, but Moses His chosen one stood in the breach to turn away His wrath.
  • Exodus 32:10-14 (BSB)
    “Now leave Me alone, so that My anger may burn against them and consume them. Then I will make you into a great nation.” But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God, saying, “O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people, whom You brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians declare, ‘He brought them out with evil intent, to kill them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce anger and relent from doing harm to Your people. Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to whom You swore by Your very self when You declared, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give your descendants all this land that I have promised, and it shall be their inheritance forever.’” So the LORD relented from the calamity He had threatened to bring on His people.”
    Moses pleaded with the LORD on the basis of His name and His oath to the patriarchs, and the LORD relented.
  • Deuteronomy 9:25 (BSB)
    “So I fell down before the LORD for forty days and forty nights, because the LORD had said He would destroy you.”
    Moses lay prostrate before the LORD forty days and nights because the LORD had said He would destroy Israel.
  • Ezekiel 22:30 (BSB)
    “I searched for a man among them to repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, so that I should not destroy it. But I found no one.”
    In Ezekiel's day God searched for someone to stand in the gap before Him for the land so that He would not destroy it, but found no one.
  • Hebrews 7:25 (BSB)
    “Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.”
    Jesus always lives to intercede for those who draw near to God through Him and is able to save them completely.

Theological

According to Psalm 106:23, what averted God's threatened destruction of Israel after the golden calf?

Answer: Moses took his place in the gap to hold back God's wrath

The psalm attributes Israel's survival after the calf to Moses, God's chosen one, standing in the breach before Him to turn back His wrath (106:23). The military image of a man filling the broken section of a wall depicts intercession. Exodus 32:10-14 shows its content: Moses pleads God's own name before the nations and His sworn oath to the patriarchs, and the LORD relents; Deuteronomy 9:25 adds the forty days of prostration. In Ezekiel's day, by contrast, God sought such a man to fill the gap for the land and found none (Ezekiel 22:30). Many Christians have seen in Moses' intercession a pattern that Christ fills far more completely, since Hebrews says He lives on forever to plead for all who approach God by Him and can save them completely (Hebrews 7:25).

  • Psalm 106:23 (BSB)
    “So He said He would destroy them—had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach to divert His wrath from destroying them.”
    God said He would destroy Israel, but Moses His chosen one stood in the breach to turn away His wrath.
  • Exodus 32:10-14 (BSB)
    “Now leave Me alone, so that My anger may burn against them and consume them. Then I will make you into a great nation.” But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God, saying, “O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people, whom You brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians declare, ‘He brought them out with evil intent, to kill them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce anger and relent from doing harm to Your people. Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to whom You swore by Your very self when You declared, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give your descendants all this land that I have promised, and it shall be their inheritance forever.’” So the LORD relented from the calamity He had threatened to bring on His people.”
    Moses pleaded with the LORD on the basis of His name and His oath to the patriarchs, and the LORD relented.
  • Deuteronomy 9:25 (BSB)
    “So I fell down before the LORD for forty days and forty nights, because the LORD had said He would destroy you.”
    Moses lay prostrate before the LORD forty days and nights because the LORD had said He would destroy Israel.
  • Ezekiel 22:30 (BSB)
    “I searched for a man among them to repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, so that I should not destroy it. But I found no one.”
    In Ezekiel's day God searched for someone to stand in the gap before Him for the land so that He would not destroy it, but found no one.
  • Hebrews 7:25 (BSB)
    “Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.”
    Jesus always lives to intercede for those who draw near to God through Him and is able to save them completely.

General

What reason does Psalm 106:1 give for thanking the LORD?

Answer: He is good, and His loving devotion lasts forever

The psalm begins with Hallelujah (a call to praise the LORD) and tells God's people to give thanks for two reasons: the LORD is good, and His loving devotion (His loyal, covenant-keeping love) never runs out (106:1). Verse 2 then asks who could ever describe all His mighty deeds or praise Him as fully as He deserves. The reason is not Israel's faithfulness; the rest of the psalm shows the opposite. The thanks rests entirely on who God is. This matters, because the long list of Israel's sins that follows would crush any hope built on the people's record, but it cannot overturn a love that lasts forever (Lamentations 3:22-23).

  • Psalm 106:1 (BSB)
    “Hallelujah! Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.”
    The psalm opens with Hallelujah and a call to thank the LORD, giving the reason for that thanks.
  • Psalm 106:2 (BSB)
    “Who can describe the mighty acts of the LORD or fully proclaim His praise?”
    A rhetorical question: no one can fully recount God's great deeds or give Him all the praise He is due.
  • Psalm 107:1 (BSB)
    “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.”
    The very next psalm opens with the same call and the same reason, showing how central this refrain was to Israel's worship.
  • Psalm 145:3 (BSB)
    “Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; His greatness is unsearchable.”
    God's greatness is beyond searching out, which is why no one can fully tell His praise.
  • Lamentations 3:22-23 (BSB)
    “Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!”
    God's loving devotion and faithfulness are the reason His people are not consumed, the same hope this psalm will lean on after its long confession.

Theological

What ground for thanksgiving does Psalm 106:1 give?

Answer: He is good, and His loving devotion lasts forever

The psalm opens with Hallelujah and grounds thanksgiving in God's character alone: His goodness and His everlasting loving devotion (106:1), followed by the confession that His mighty acts exceed anyone's power to recount (106:2; compare 145:3). The ground is deliberately not Israel's covenant faithfulness, which the psalm will show was repeatedly broken. Placing God's unchanging loving devotion at the head of a national confession of sin sets the frame for everything that follows: the people's hope rests on the constancy of God's love, not on their record (Lamentations 3:22-23; 107:1).

  • Psalm 106:1 (BSB)
    “Hallelujah! Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.”
    The psalm opens with Hallelujah and a call to thank the LORD, giving the reason for that thanks.
  • Psalm 106:2 (BSB)
    “Who can describe the mighty acts of the LORD or fully proclaim His praise?”
    A rhetorical question: no one can fully recount God's great deeds or give Him all the praise He is due.
  • Psalm 107:1 (BSB)
    “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.”
    The very next psalm opens with the same call and the same reason, showing how central this refrain was to Israel's worship.
  • Psalm 145:3 (BSB)
    “Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; His greatness is unsearchable.”
    God's greatness is beyond searching out, which is why no one can fully tell His praise.
  • Lamentations 3:22-23 (BSB)
    “Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!”
    God's loving devotion and faithfulness are the reason His people are not consumed, the same hope this psalm will lean on after its long confession.

General

In Psalm 106:4-5, what does the psalmist ask God to do for him?

Answer: Remember him when showing favor to His people

After declaring blessed those who hold to justice and always do what is right (106:3), the psalmist turns to a personal prayer. He asks the LORD to remember him when He shows favor to His people and to come to him with salvation, so that he may see the good of God's chosen ones, share in the joy of God's nation, and join in praising God together with His inheritance (106:4-5). He does not ask for private gain; he wants to share in what God does for His whole people. Their standing as God's chosen ones rests on God's love and His oath to their fathers (Deuteronomy 7:7-8), which is why he appeals to God's favor rather than his own merit.

  • Psalm 106:3 (BSB)
    “Blessed are those who uphold justice, who practice righteousness at all times.”
    A beatitude on those who hold to justice and do what is right continually.
  • Psalm 106:4-5 (BSB)
    “Remember me, O LORD, in Your favor to Your people; visit me with Your salvation, that I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones, and rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, and give glory with Your inheritance.”
    The psalmist asks to be included when God shows favor and salvation to His people, so he can share their joy.
  • Psalm 15:1-2 (BSB)
    “A Psalm of David. O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy mountain? He who walks with integrity and practices righteousness, who speaks the truth from his heart,”
    The one who may dwell with God is described as one who lives with integrity and does what is right, the same kind of person 106:3 calls blessed.
  • Deuteronomy 7:7-8 (BSB)
    “The LORD did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than the other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”
    Israel was God's chosen people only because of His love and His oath to their fathers, the basis for the psalmist's appeal to share in their favor.

Theological

What does the psalmist request for himself in Psalm 106:4-5?

Answer: Remember him when showing favor to His people

Following the beatitude on those who keep justice and practice righteousness continually (106:3; compare 15:1-2), the psalmist asks to be remembered and visited with salvation when God shows favor to His people, so that he may witness the flourishing of the elect nation, rejoice in its gladness, and glory with God's inheritance (106:4-5). His petition is corporate in shape: he asks to share in God's saving goodness toward His chosen people. That election rests on God's free love and His oath to the patriarchs (Deuteronomy 7:7-8), so the appeal is to divine favor, not to personal desert.

  • Psalm 106:3 (BSB)
    “Blessed are those who uphold justice, who practice righteousness at all times.”
    A beatitude on those who hold to justice and do what is right continually.
  • Psalm 106:4-5 (BSB)
    “Remember me, O LORD, in Your favor to Your people; visit me with Your salvation, that I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones, and rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, and give glory with Your inheritance.”
    The psalmist asks to be included when God shows favor and salvation to His people, so he can share their joy.
  • Psalm 15:1-2 (BSB)
    “A Psalm of David. O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy mountain? He who walks with integrity and practices righteousness, who speaks the truth from his heart,”
    The one who may dwell with God is described as one who lives with integrity and does what is right, the same kind of person 106:3 calls blessed.
  • Deuteronomy 7:7-8 (BSB)
    “The LORD did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than the other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”
    Israel was God's chosen people only because of His love and His oath to their fathers, the basis for the psalmist's appeal to share in their favor.

General

What does Psalm 106:31 say about Phinehas's action at Peor?

Answer: God counted it as righteousness for every generation

When the plague broke out at Peor, Phinehas, a grandson of Aaron, stood up and stepped in, halting the plague (106:30). The psalm says God counted this to Phinehas as righteousness for all generations to come (106:31). Righteousness means what is right in God's sight. In Numbers, God says Phinehas was zealous for God's sake and turned His wrath away from Israel, and He grants Phinehas a covenant of lasting priesthood (Numbers 25:11-13). So the psalm means that God publicly approved and honored this as a righteous deed for all time. The same wording of being credited as righteousness is used of Abram, who believed the LORD (Genesis 15:6); a person is made right with God through faith, as Abram was. Phinehas's zeal was the fruit that showed a heart truly devoted to God. Scripture teaches that we are saved by grace through faith, not by works, and that good works are the fruit God prepares for His people to walk in (Ephesians 2:8-10).

  • Psalm 106:30-31 (BSB)
    “But Phinehas stood and intervened, and the plague was restrained. It was credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.”
    Phinehas intervened, the plague stopped, and his act was reckoned to him as righteousness for all generations.
  • Numbers 25:11-13 (BSB)
    ““Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned My wrath away from the Israelites; for he was zealous for My sake among them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in My zeal. Declare, therefore, that I am granting him My covenant of peace. It will be a covenant of permanent priesthood for him and his descendants, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.””
    God says Phinehas was zealous for His sake and turned His wrath away, and grants him a covenant of lasting priesthood.
  • Genesis 15:6 (BSB)
    “Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
    The same wording of being credited as righteousness is used of Abram's faith in God's promise.
  • Ephesians 2:8-10 (BSB)
    “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.”
    Salvation is by grace through faith, and believers are created in Christ for good works, the proper place of godly deeds as fruit.

Theological

What verdict does Psalm 106:31 give on Phinehas's intervention at Peor?

Answer: God counted it as righteousness for every generation

Phinehas's intervention halted the plague (106:30), and the psalm declares that God reckoned it as righteousness to all generations (106:31). Numbers 25:11-13 supplies God's own assessment: Phinehas was zealous for God's sake, turned away His wrath, made atonement for Israel, and received a covenant of perpetual priesthood. The reckoning language matches Genesis 15:6, where Abram's faith is credited as righteousness. In Phinehas's case it is God's lasting recognition and reward of a righteous deed flowing from zeal for His honor, the fruit and evidence of a heart devoted to Him; a sinner's right standing with God rests on faith, as with Abram, and justification is by grace through faith, not by works, with good works as its fruit (Ephesians 2:8-10).

  • Psalm 106:30-31 (BSB)
    “But Phinehas stood and intervened, and the plague was restrained. It was credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.”
    Phinehas intervened, the plague stopped, and his act was reckoned to him as righteousness for all generations.
  • Numbers 25:11-13 (BSB)
    ““Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned My wrath away from the Israelites; for he was zealous for My sake among them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in My zeal. Declare, therefore, that I am granting him My covenant of peace. It will be a covenant of permanent priesthood for him and his descendants, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.””
    God says Phinehas was zealous for His sake and turned His wrath away, and grants him a covenant of lasting priesthood.
  • Genesis 15:6 (BSB)
    “Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
    The same wording of being credited as righteousness is used of Abram's faith in God's promise.
  • Ephesians 2:8-10 (BSB)
    “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.”
    Salvation is by grace through faith, and believers are created in Christ for good works, the proper place of godly deeds as fruit.

General

What does the psalmist ask God to do in Psalm 106:47?

Answer: Save His people and gather them back from the nations

The psalm ends its prayer by asking the LORD to save His people and gather them from among the nations, so that they can thank His holy name and find their glory in praising Him (106:47). This shows the people were scattered, just as the psalm said God had sworn in the wilderness (106:27). The request rests on God's own promise to have compassion and gather His people from the nations where He had scattered them (Deuteronomy 30:3; Nehemiah 1:9). The goal of being gathered is worship. These closing words, with the blessing that follows, also appear, in nearly the same form, at the end of the song of thanks in 1 Chronicles 16:34-36.

  • Psalm 106:47 (BSB)
    “Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy name, that we may glory in Your praise.”
    The psalm's closing prayer asks God to save His people and gather them from the nations so they can thank and praise Him.
  • Deuteronomy 30:3 (BSB)
    “then He will restore you from captivity and have compassion on you and gather you from all the nations to which the LORD your God has scattered you.”
    Moses had promised that God would have compassion and gather His people from all the nations where He scattered them.
  • Nehemiah 1:9 (BSB)
    “but if you return to Me and keep and practice My commandments, then even if your exiles have been banished to the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for My Name.’”
    Nehemiah appeals to God's promise to gather His exiles and bring them to the place He chose.
  • 1 Chronicles 16:34-36 (BSB)
    “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever. Then cry out: ‘Save us, O God of our salvation; gather and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy name, that we may glory in Your praise.’ Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.” Then all the people said, “Amen!” and “Praise the LORD!””
    Nearly the same closing words of praise, petition, and blessing appear in the song David gave for the ark's arrival.

Theological

What petition closes the body of Psalm 106 at verse 47?

Answer: Save His people and gather them back from the nations

The psalm's final petition asks God to save and gather His people from among the nations, with the explicit purpose that they may thank His holy name and glory in His praise (106:47). The prayer presupposes dispersion, the very sanction the psalm recorded God swearing in the wilderness (106:27), and it appeals to His promise to regather the scattered (Deuteronomy 30:3; Nehemiah 1:9). Nearly the same words of petition and blessing appear in the psalm of thanks recorded in 1 Chronicles 16:34-36.

  • Psalm 106:47 (BSB)
    “Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy name, that we may glory in Your praise.”
    The psalm's closing prayer asks God to save His people and gather them from the nations so they can thank and praise Him.
  • Deuteronomy 30:3 (BSB)
    “then He will restore you from captivity and have compassion on you and gather you from all the nations to which the LORD your God has scattered you.”
    Moses had promised that God would have compassion and gather His people from all the nations where He scattered them.
  • Nehemiah 1:9 (BSB)
    “but if you return to Me and keep and practice My commandments, then even if your exiles have been banished to the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for My Name.’”
    Nehemiah appeals to God's promise to gather His exiles and bring them to the place He chose.
  • 1 Chronicles 16:34-36 (BSB)
    “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever. Then cry out: ‘Save us, O God of our salvation; gather and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy name, that we may glory in Your praise.’ Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.” Then all the people said, “Amen!” and “Praise the LORD!””
    Nearly the same closing words of praise, petition, and blessing appear in the song David gave for the ark's arrival.

General

According to Psalm 106:7, what did the fathers fail to do while still in Egypt, before they rebelled at the sea?

Answer: Understand His wonders or recall His great kindness

The psalm's list of sins begins in Egypt itself. The fathers did not understand the wonders God had done there, and they did not keep in mind His abundant kindness; so when they reached the Red Sea, they rebelled (106:7). Exodus records that rebellion: when Pharaoh's army came near, the people cried out and told Moses that staying as slaves in Egypt was preferable to perishing in the desert (Exodus 14:10-12). Forgetting what God has done is a theme of this psalm and of Israel's history more broadly (78:11); Moses had warned them never to let the LORD who freed them slip from memory (Deuteronomy 6:12).

  • Psalm 106:7 (BSB)
    “Our fathers in Egypt did not grasp Your wonders or remember Your abundant kindness; but they rebelled by the sea, there at the Red Sea.”
    The first sin in the psalm's list: the fathers in Egypt did not understand God's wonders and rebelled at the Red Sea.
  • Exodus 14:10-12 (BSB)
    “As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were terrified and cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us into the wilderness to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Did we not say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.””
    At the sea, with Pharaoh's army approaching, the Israelites complained to Moses that they would have been better off serving the Egyptians.
  • Psalm 78:11 (BSB)
    “They forgot what He had done, the wonders He had shown them.”
    Another historical psalm makes the same charge that the people forgot the wonders God had shown them.
  • Deuteronomy 6:12 (BSB)
    “be careful not to forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”
    Israel had been warned not to forget the LORD who brought them out of Egypt.

Theological

According to Psalm 106:7, what did the fathers fail to do in Egypt, so that they went on to rebel at the sea?

Answer: Understand His wonders or recall His great kindness

The recital traces Israel's first rebellion to a failure already present in Egypt: the fathers neither grasped the meaning of God's wonders nor kept His abundant kindness in memory, and so they rebelled at the sea (106:7). Exodus 14:10-12 narrates the event, with the people accusing Moses and preferring slavery to death in the wilderness. Forgetfulness of God's works runs through the psalm (106:13, 21) and through Israel's story (78:11), despite the explicit warning of Deuteronomy 6:12.

  • Psalm 106:7 (BSB)
    “Our fathers in Egypt did not grasp Your wonders or remember Your abundant kindness; but they rebelled by the sea, there at the Red Sea.”
    The first sin in the psalm's list: the fathers in Egypt did not understand God's wonders and rebelled at the Red Sea.
  • Exodus 14:10-12 (BSB)
    “As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were terrified and cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us into the wilderness to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Did we not say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.””
    At the sea, with Pharaoh's army approaching, the Israelites complained to Moses that they would have been better off serving the Egyptians.
  • Psalm 78:11 (BSB)
    “They forgot what He had done, the wonders He had shown them.”
    Another historical psalm makes the same charge that the people forgot the wonders God had shown them.
  • Deuteronomy 6:12 (BSB)
    “be careful not to forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”
    Israel had been warned not to forget the LORD who brought them out of Egypt.

General

According to Psalm 106:44-45, what moved God to relent despite His people's persistent rebellion?

Answer: He recalled His covenant and acted in great loving devotion

After the long record of sin, the psalm turns with a word of grace: nevertheless. God saw their distress and listened to their pleading; He called to mind His covenant (His binding promise to be their God) and relented because of His great loving devotion (106:44-45). He even caused their captors to treat them with compassion (106:46). This is what God had promised: even in enemy lands He would not reject His people but would remember His covenant (Leviticus 26:40-45), as He had once heard Israel's groaning in Egypt (Exodus 2:24). Solomon had prayed for this very mercy before captors (1 Kings 8:50). The hope rests on God's faithfulness, which holds even when His people are faithless (2 Timothy 2:13).

  • Psalm 106:44-46 (BSB)
    “Nevertheless He heard their cry; He took note of their distress. And He remembered His covenant with them, and relented by the abundance of His loving devotion. He made them objects of compassion to all who held them captive.”
    God heard their cry, remembered His covenant, relented in His great loving devotion, and made their captors show them compassion.
  • Leviticus 26:40-45 (BSB)
    “But if they will confess their iniquity and that of their fathers in the unfaithfulness that they practiced against Me, by which they have also walked in hostility toward Me— and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—and if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled and they will make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember My covenant with Jacob and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. For the land will be abandoned by them, and it will enjoy its Sabbaths by lying desolate without them. And they will pay the penalty for their iniquity, because they rejected My ordinances and abhorred My statutes. Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject or despise them so as to destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their fathers, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the LORD.””
    God promised that even in the land of their enemies He would not reject His people but would remember His covenant.
  • Exodus 2:24 (BSB)
    “So God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
    In Egypt God likewise heard His people's groaning and remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
  • 1 Kings 8:50 (BSB)
    “May You forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all the transgressions they have committed against You, and may You grant them compassion in the eyes of their captors to show them mercy.”
    Solomon prayed that God would forgive His people and give them compassion in the sight of their captors, as 106:46 says He did.
  • 2 Timothy 2:13 (BSB)
    “if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”
    Even when His people are faithless, God remains faithful because He cannot deny Himself.

Theological

What does Psalm 106:44-45 give as the ground of God's relenting toward His rebellious people?

Answer: He recalled His covenant and acted in great loving devotion

The nevertheless of 106:44 marks the turn from human failure to divine faithfulness. God regarded their distress, heard their cry, remembered His covenant, and relented according to His great loving devotion (106:44-45), even granting them compassion from their captors (106:46). The ground is wholly in God: His covenant commitment, pledged in Leviticus 26:40-45 and already displayed in Exodus 2:24. The compassion from captors answers the request of Solomon's prayer (1 Kings 8:50). The pattern anticipates the New Testament assurance that God's faithfulness does not depend on ours (2 Timothy 2:13): He keeps His people because He will not be untrue to Himself.

  • Psalm 106:44-46 (BSB)
    “Nevertheless He heard their cry; He took note of their distress. And He remembered His covenant with them, and relented by the abundance of His loving devotion. He made them objects of compassion to all who held them captive.”
    God heard their cry, remembered His covenant, relented in His great loving devotion, and made their captors show them compassion.
  • Leviticus 26:40-45 (BSB)
    “But if they will confess their iniquity and that of their fathers in the unfaithfulness that they practiced against Me, by which they have also walked in hostility toward Me— and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—and if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled and they will make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember My covenant with Jacob and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. For the land will be abandoned by them, and it will enjoy its Sabbaths by lying desolate without them. And they will pay the penalty for their iniquity, because they rejected My ordinances and abhorred My statutes. Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject or despise them so as to destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their fathers, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the LORD.””
    God promised that even in the land of their enemies He would not reject His people but would remember His covenant.
  • Exodus 2:24 (BSB)
    “So God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
    In Egypt God likewise heard His people's groaning and remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
  • 1 Kings 8:50 (BSB)
    “May You forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all the transgressions they have committed against You, and may You grant them compassion in the eyes of their captors to show them mercy.”
    Solomon prayed that God would forgive His people and give them compassion in the sight of their captors, as 106:46 says He did.
  • 2 Timothy 2:13 (BSB)
    “if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”
    Even when His people are faithless, God remains faithful because He cannot deny Himself.

General

In Psalm 106:37-38, to whom does the psalm say Israel offered up their own children?

Answer: To demons and Canaan's idols

The psalm reaches the darkest sin on its list. Israel sacrificed their own sons and daughters to demons, offering them to Canaan's idols, so that the land was defiled by innocent blood (106:37-38). The psalm calls the idols demons, revealing what was really behind them; Moses had foretold that Israel would sacrifice to demons rather than to God (Deuteronomy 32:17). God had condemned the Canaanite practice of burning children as sacrifices (Deuteronomy 12:31), and the law taught that shedding blood defiles the land (Numbers 35:33). By these deeds the people made themselves unclean and were unfaithful to God like an adulterous spouse (106:39).

  • Psalm 106:37-39 (BSB)
    “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 polluted with blood. They defiled themselves by their actions and prostituted themselves by their deeds.”
    Israel sacrificed their children to demons and the idols of Canaan, polluting the land with innocent blood and defiling themselves.
  • Deuteronomy 32:17 (BSB)
    “They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they had not known, to newly arrived gods, which your fathers did not fear.”
    Moses' song already warned that Israel would sacrifice to demons rather than to God.
  • Deuteronomy 12:31 (BSB)
    “You must not worship the LORD your God in this way, because they practice for their gods every abomination which the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.”
    God condemned the Canaanite practice of burning sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods.
  • Numbers 35:33 (BSB)
    “Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.”
    The law teaches that shed blood pollutes the land.

Theological

According to Psalm 106:37-38, to whom were Israel's sons and daughters sacrificed?

Answer: To demons and Canaan's idols

The psalm names the recipients of Israel's child sacrifice as demons, identified with Canaan's idols (106:37-38), and the result as a land polluted with innocent blood. Calling the idols demons unmasks the spiritual reality behind idolatry, as Deuteronomy 32:17 had already done in Moses' song. The practice was explicitly condemned as a Canaanite abomination (Deuteronomy 12:31), and the bloodguilt defiled the land itself (Numbers 35:33). The psalm sums up the result as self-defilement and spiritual adultery (106:39).

  • Psalm 106:37-39 (BSB)
    “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 polluted with blood. They defiled themselves by their actions and prostituted themselves by their deeds.”
    Israel sacrificed their children to demons and the idols of Canaan, polluting the land with innocent blood and defiling themselves.
  • Deuteronomy 32:17 (BSB)
    “They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they had not known, to newly arrived gods, which your fathers did not fear.”
    Moses' song already warned that Israel would sacrifice to demons rather than to God.
  • Deuteronomy 12:31 (BSB)
    “You must not worship the LORD your God in this way, because they practice for their gods every abomination which the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.”
    God condemned the Canaanite practice of burning sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods.
  • Numbers 35:33 (BSB)
    “Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.”
    The law teaches that shed blood pollutes the land.

General

Why does Psalm 106:8 say God rescued Israel at the sea, even though they had rebelled?

Answer: For His own name's sake, to display His might

Verse 8 begins with a striking word: yet. The people had just rebelled at the sea (106:7), yet God rescued them for His own name's sake, to display His might (106:8). The reason lay in God Himself, not in Israel. God's name means His revealed character and reputation. He acted so that His power and glory would be displayed, as He also says through Ezekiel (Ezekiel 20:9) and Isaiah (Isaiah 48:9-11). This is grace, meaning God's kindness given to people who have not earned it. The New Testament describes salvation in Christ the same way: God saves out of His own mercy, not because of anything good people have done (Titus 3:5).

  • Psalm 106:8 (BSB)
    “Yet He saved them for the sake of His name, to make His power known.”
    Despite their rebellion, God saved them for the sake of His name and to make His power known.
  • Ezekiel 20:9 (BSB)
    “But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they were living, in whose sight I had revealed Myself to Israel by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.”
    God says He acted in bringing Israel out of Egypt for the sake of His name, so that it would not be profaned among the nations.
  • Isaiah 48:9-11 (BSB)
    “For the sake of My name I will delay My wrath; for the sake of My praise I will restrain it, so that you will not be cut off. See, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake, My very own sake, I will act; for how can I let Myself be defamed? I will not yield My glory to another.”
    God restrains His wrath for His own name's sake and will not give His glory to another, the same motive stated in 106:8.
  • Titus 3:5 (BSB)
    “He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”
    Paul states the same pattern for salvation in Christ: God saves out of His own mercy, not because of righteous deeds people have done.

Theological

What motive for the Red Sea deliverance does Psalm 106:8 give, despite Israel's rebellion?

Answer: For His own name's sake, to display His might

The word yet in 106:8 is decisive: Israel had rebelled at the sea (106:7), yet God rescued them for His name's sake, to display His might. The ground of deliverance lies wholly in God's purpose to glorify His name, not in any repentance or merit in the people. Ezekiel 20:9 and Isaiah 48:9-11 state the same motive for God's saving and restraining of wrath. The pattern is the pattern of grace: salvation flows from God's own purpose and mercy toward the undeserving, as Paul says of salvation in Christ (Titus 3:5).

  • Psalm 106:8 (BSB)
    “Yet He saved them for the sake of His name, to make His power known.”
    Despite their rebellion, God saved them for the sake of His name and to make His power known.
  • Ezekiel 20:9 (BSB)
    “But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they were living, in whose sight I had revealed Myself to Israel by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.”
    God says He acted in bringing Israel out of Egypt for the sake of His name, so that it would not be profaned among the nations.
  • Isaiah 48:9-11 (BSB)
    “For the sake of My name I will delay My wrath; for the sake of My praise I will restrain it, so that you will not be cut off. See, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake, My very own sake, I will act; for how can I let Myself be defamed? I will not yield My glory to another.”
    God restrains His wrath for His own name's sake and will not give His glory to another, the same motive stated in 106:8.
  • Titus 3:5 (BSB)
    “He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”
    Paul states the same pattern for salvation in Christ: God saves out of His own mercy, not because of righteous deeds people have done.