Psalm 106

This is the last Psalm in book four. It ends book four with the judgment of God on Israel. God did so much for Israel but they did not understand or believe in the great works of God. It is unfortunate when God does great things and people disregard His works! Psalm 105 and 106 form a pair. Psalm 106 is one of the “Hallelujah psalms” (106, 113, 117, 135, and 146–150).

Outline:
Praise to God for Salvation and Lovingkindness vs.1-5
Breaking the Covenant vs.6-39
Confession and God’s Compassion vs.40-46
Prayer for Salvation vs.47-48

The history behind much of this Psalm is contained in the book of Numbers. Moses is mentioned three times by name (vs.16, 23, 32) and those times include Korah’s rebellion in Numbers 16, the golden calf in Ex.32, and the waters of Meribah in Numbers 20. These times of rebellion against the Lord were the reasons for all of the Lord’s discipline of His people. In all of it though, the Lord did not abandon His people. This Psalm is one of the “Hallel Psalms.” These Psalms were sung by pilgrims as they made their way to Jerusalem for the various feast days in Israel. These Psalms were used to prepare the hearts of the pilgrims for worship and to remind them of the greatness and glory of God. They served to remind the worshipers that they were on their way to exalt a majestic, glorious God, and that He was worthy of all the praises they could offer to Him. Psalm 106 makes us think seriously about our sin and therefore to think seriously about the Savior. The depth of our sin is very great. Many make a big mistake when they point the finger at Israel and think that they never commit these sins.

Read vss.6-39 and make a list of the sins? What do you notice about the nature of the sins? Did you notice that God kept using the word, ‘they’ and these are corporate sins? Read vss.13, 19, 24, 28, 32, 34, and 37 and make a list of the types of sins. I notice that idolatry, immorality, and killing innocents are prominent in the Lords list! An important word in the text is remember, read vs.4, 7, and 45 and note what you learn from the word remember? Ask the Lord, am I guilty of any of these sins? Confess and pray for repentance.
During the wandering in the wilderness, they complained about manna. Do you complain about your food? They complained about their leadership, do you complain about your leaders? They made the golden calf, do you have any idols in your life? When God gave them the promised land, they complained about that, grumbled when the 12 spies came out, are you grumbling against the Lord about any of His provisions in your life? They listened to the false prophet Balaam, are you listening to false prophets? When God gave them water from the rock, they provoked the Lord, are you provoking the Lord? I love vs.30-31 because God gave His righteousness to Phineas, why? Read Numbers 25:10-13, I Sam.2:35, Ezekiel 44:10-15, and Mal.2:4? What we learn from this incident is that God keeps His promises and gives righteousness to those who walk in faith!