Embrace the Word for Friday, August 21, 2026

FOR AN AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE

Psalm 106 is a Psalm of confession and praise. In light of the repeated pattern of sin and disobedience on the part of Israel, the Psalmist highlights the abundance of the LORD’s steadfast love as seen through the forgiveness of their sin. Psalm 106 is a part of a sub unit of four Psalms from Book 4 of the Psalter that highlight the praiseworthiness of the LORD. Psalm 104 and Psalm 105 ends with the call to praise the LORD (Hallelujah), while Psalm 106 begins and ends with the same call. Psalm 106, which brings Book 4 to it completion, is another summary of Israel’s history. Whereas Psalm 105 rooted the basis of the praiseworthiness of the LORD in the LORD’s faithfulness to keep His Word and redeem Israel, Psalm 106 roots the basis of the LORD’s praiseworthiness in the LORD’s resolve to keep His Word to Israel in spite of their persistent unfaithfulness and idolatry. That the LORD keeps His promises regardless of Israel’s lack of deservedness gives hope to the present generation of Israelites who were exiled in Babylonian captivity. With the nation in captivity and the line of Davidic kings broken, Book 4 of the Psalter opened with a Psalm of Moses (Psalm 90). Since Moses is inseparably associated with Israel’s first exodus, it seemed fitting to have Moses reintroduced as Israel awaited a new exodus. While not labeled a Psalm of Moses, it comes as little surprise that Moses is referenced in Psalm 106, for his important role as an intercessor to plead before the LORD for the perseveration of a people ill-deserving of such mercy. Psalm 106 begins and ends with a call to praise the LORD (106:1-6; 47-48), and in between Israel’s sin against the LORD is traced beginning in Egypt (106:7-12), through the wilderness (106:13-33), and even into the Promised Land (106:34-46).

Psalm 106 opens with an exhortation to thank and praise the LORD: “Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD” (106:1a). It is always fitting to approach the LORD with grateful praise. Perhaps it is a bit oversimplified but thankfulness is the fitting response to what the LORD has done, while praise is also the fitting response to who the LORD is. This distinction bears out in this context, for the Psalmist states two reasons to thank and praise the LORD: “for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” (106:1b). The goodness of the LORD highlights His essential nature and character, while the forever-enduring steadfast love underscores His durable and devoted deeds displayed towards His people. Wondering who is either observant enough as well as qualified enough to thank and praise the LORD, the Psalmist rhetorically asks: “Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD, or declare all his praise?” (106:2). The answer that the Psalmist gives will prove quite ironic as the Psalm unfolds with its emphasis upon Israel’s unfaithfulness and idolatry: “Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!” (106:3). Those who experience a life of covenant faithfulness—only a righteous person—can and will purpose to thank and praise the LORD. All who do offer grateful praise to the LORD, enjoy the happiness of God’s blessings. Such a standard pricks the Psalmist’s conscience as he acknowledges his sinfulness and appeals to the LORD for salvation: “Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people; help me when you save them, that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance. Both we and our fathers have sinned; we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness” (106:4-6). Commensurate with Moses’ instructions in Leviticus 26:40-42, where it is stated that the confession of sin is a prerequisite for the LORD to remember His covenant, the Psalmist is doing exactly what Moses required Israel to do.

With a confession of sin put forth, the Psalmist surveys Israel’s history with a view to summarize Israel’s pattern of sin. The various cameos from Israel’s past, offers an anatomy of Israel’s sinfulness, but also the amazement of the LORD’s forgiveness. The Psalmist begins with an episode from Exodus 14:10-12 that points out Israel’s sinfulness started before they ever left Egypt: “Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea” (106:7). Even though they has seen God’s power through the plagues resulting in their release, such was soon forgotten and gave way to rebellion against the LORD. Yet the undeserved steadfast love of the LORD rescued them: “Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make known his mighty power. He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry, and he led them through the deep as through a desert. So he saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy. And the waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left” (106:8-11). Those who were rescued believed the LORD’s promise and sang His praise: “Then they believed his words; they sang his praise” (106:12).

But the believing praise of the Israelites was short-lived: “But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel. But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness, and put God to the test in the desert; he gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them” (106:13-15). Drawing from Numbers 11 and possibly Exodus 16, the Psalmist points to Israel’s dissatisfaction with the LORD’s provisions claiming that the LORD was unwilling and unable to meet their needs. Israel was also dissatisfied with the leadership that the LORD placed over them: “When men in the camp were jealous of Moses and Aaron, the holy one of the LORD, the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram. Fire also broke out in their company; the flame burned up the wicked” (106:16-18). The rebellion, recorded in Numbers 16 was not simply a rejection of Moses, but of the God who placed Moses over them to lead. In each case, the LORD judged their sin.

Found in Exodus 32-33, the Psalmist next considers the matter of the golden calf: “They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image. They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea. Therefore he said he would destroy them—had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath from destroying them” (106:19-23). Rooted in forgetting, once again, Israel sought to exchange the glorious Creator of all things for a golden cow whom they had to make. It was a terrible and wicked swap and it brought a sobering threat of destruction and yet Moses stood between the nation and the wrath of God to intercede. The LORD turned away His wrath. Yet Israel’s unbelief persisted as the Psalmist summarizes, from Numbers 13-14, their disobedience over the report of the spies sent into the Promised Land: “Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in his promise. They murmured in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the LORD. Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them that he would make them fall in the wilderness, and would make their offspring fall among the nations, scattering them among the lands” (106:24-27). The LORD made sure that no one who disobeyed would make it into the Promised Land.

Continuing on, the Psalmist features the wicked incident found in Numbers 25, which involved liaisons with Moabite women and false worship: “Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead; they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them. Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stayed. And that was counted to him as righteousness from generation to generation forever” (106:28-31). The LORD was provoked to send a plague as judgment, but Phinehas rose up and acted righteously as he executed a man and a Moabite woman stopping the plague. Still in the wilderness, the Psalmist accentuates the second Meribah incident, recorded in Numbers 20, which consisted of quarreling with Moses: “They angered him at the waters of Meribah, and it went ill with Moses on their account, for they made his spirit bitter, and he spoke rashly with his lips” (106:32-33). The quarreling incident triggered Moses to strike the rock which was regarded by the LORD as an act of disrespectful unbelief on Moses’ part.

As the Psalmist moved from the faithless fiascos in the wilderness to life in the Promised Land, a fact becomes clear—the way Israel acted in the wilderness, was the way they acted in Egypt as well as the way they acted in the Promised Land. Changes in location and circumstances did not change the hearts of the Israelites. Starting with their refusal to remove the Canaanites from the Promised Land, Israel devoted themselves to imitating them rather than following the LORD: “They did not destroy the peoples, as the LORD commanded them, but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did. They served their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood. Thus they became unclean by their acts, and played the whore in their deeds” (106:34-39). The Psalmist puts forward a sequence as Israel “mixed with,” “learned to do as they did,” “served their idols,” “sacrificed their sons and daughters,” the land “was polluted,” they “became unclean,” and “played the whore.” The LORD responded: “Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people, and he abhorred his heritage; he gave them into the hand of the nations, so that those who hated them ruled over them. Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their power. Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity” (106:40-43). Israel’s crescendo of sin was actually a downward spiral of tragedy. And yet with an abundance of steadfast love, the LORD remembered His promises: “Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry. For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love. He caused them to be pitied by all those who held them captive” (106:44-46). In spite of their record of sin, disobedience, and idolatry, the LORD not only refrained from destroying Israel, He even moved on the hearts of their captors to have compassion on them.

The Psalmist ends as he began, with a focus on the praiseworthiness of the LORD: “Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the LORD!” (106:47-48). Here mingled with praise was a clear plea for the LORD to save them. The ruthless exposé of Israel’s sinfulness was countered by the relentless expressions of the LORD’s love. As Book 4 comes to a close, the period of Israel’s captivity would soon be complete. The only explanation of the LORD’s saving and gathering work is the LORD who will remember His covenant and as He has done before, he will do again—rescue His people. Such a deliverance should stir the LORD’s people to bless and praise the LORD. And all the people said…Amen!

As we reflect on Psalm 106, we can consider the importance of this Psalm for life in the New Covenant. As we have surveyed Israel’s history of sin, we are instructed by the Apostle Paul to read such things self-reflectively: “Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (See 1 Corinthians 10:6-12). We might be tempted to read Psalm 106 and ask how Israel could have done such things. But Psalm 106 was not written to merely express disgust with Israel; Psalm 106 is written to reveal disgusting things still lingering in us. 1 Corinthians 10:6-12 specially draws from a few of the items explicitly mentioned in Psalm 106. Psalm 106 should humble us and sober us; but it should also drive us back to Jesus: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (See 1 Corinthians 10:13).

That’s all for Embrace the Word for Friday, August 21, 2026. I look forward to being back with you for the Monday, August 24, 2026 episode of Embrace the Word as we take a look at Psalm 107.