It is easy for us to read Psalm 106 and think something like… “How could the Israelites be so foolish?”, but if we are honest with ourselves we will recognize that to some extent most of us live our lives the same way. We praise the Lord and draw near to Him at times, only to fade awhile later, distracted by what the world says it right. It is very hard to remain focused on YHWH constantly. I believe it is impossible without His Spirit helping us.
Fortunately, YHWH has much grace. Though He holds us accountable for our sin and rebellion, so too He forgives as we repent wholeheartedly because of His lovingkindness. What a wonderful Father. Ask Him to lead you in your life and seek Him. Seek to know Him and obey Him, rather than living according to the world’s ways.
Psalm 106
Israel’s Rebelliousness and the LORD’S Deliverances.
1Praise the LORD!
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
2Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the LORD,
Or can show forth all His praise?
3How blessed are those who keep justice,
Who practice righteousness at all times!
4Remember me, O LORD, in Your favor toward Your people;
Visit me with Your salvation,
5That I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones,
That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,
That I may glory with Your inheritance.
6We have sinned like our fathers,
We have committed iniquity, we have behaved wickedly.
7Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders;
They did not remember Your abundant kindnesses,
But rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
8Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name,
That He might make His power known.
9Thus He rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up,
And He led them through the deeps, as through the wilderness.
10So He saved them from the hand of the one who hated them,
And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11The waters covered their adversaries;
Not one of them was left.
12Then they believed His words;
They sang His praise.
13They quickly forgot His works;
They did not wait for His counsel,
14But craved intensely in the wilderness,
And tempted God in the desert.
15So He gave them their request,
But sent a wasting disease among them.
16When they became envious of Moses in the camp,
And of Aaron, the holy one of the LORD,
17The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
And engulfed the company of Abiram.
18And a fire blazed up in their company;
The flame consumed the wicked.
19They made a calf in Horeb
And worshiped a molten image.
20Thus they exchanged their glory
For the image of an ox that eats grass.
21They forgot God their Savior,
Who had done great things in Egypt,
22Wonders in the land of Ham
And awesome things by the Red Sea.
23Therefore He said that He would destroy them,
Had not Moses His chosen one stood in the breach before Him,
To turn away His wrath from destroying them.
24Then they despised the pleasant land;
They did not believe in His word,
25But grumbled in their tents;
They did not listen to the voice of the LORD.
26Therefore He swore to them
That He would cast them down in the wilderness,
27And that He would cast their seed among the nations
And scatter them in the lands.
28They joined themselves also to Baal-peor,
And ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
29Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds,
And the plague broke out among them.
30Then Phinehas stood up and interposed,
And so the plague was stayed.
31And it was reckoned to him for righteousness,
To all generations forever.
32They also provoked Him to wrath at the waters of Meribah,
So that it went hard with Moses on their account;
33Because they were rebellious against His Spirit,
He spoke rashly with his lips.
34They did not destroy the peoples,
As the LORD commanded them,
35But they mingled with the nations
And learned their practices,
36And served their idols,
Which became a snare to them.
37They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons,
38And shed innocent blood,
The blood of their sons and their daughters,
Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
And the land was polluted with the blood.
39Thus they became unclean in their practices,
And played the harlot in their deeds.
40Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against His people
And He abhorred His inheritance.
41Then He gave them into the hand of the nations,
And those who hated them ruled over them.
42Their enemies also oppressed them,
And they were subdued under their power.
43Many times He would deliver them;
They, however, were rebellious in their counsel,
And so sank down in their iniquity.
44Nevertheless He looked upon their distress
When He heard their cry;
45And He remembered His covenant for their sake,
And relented according to the greatness of His lovingkindness.
46He also made them objects of compassion
In the presence of all their captors.
47Save us, O LORD our God,
And gather us from among the nations,
To give thanks to Your holy name
And glory in Your praise.
48Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
From everlasting even to everlasting.
And let all the people say, “Amen.”
Praise the LORD!
Reflect on the lovingkindness of the Lord. Even in discipline He shows love, just as a parent does for their children. I discipline my children whom I love. Barring something unusual, I do not discipline someone else’s children, whom I don’t know.
Ask YHWH to lead you in your life and seek Him. Do not be afraid to call out humbly in desperation for mercy and help… even if you have sinned and fallen away more than once. He is a merciful God, filled with lovingkindness. Seek to know Him and obey Him, rather than living according to the world’s ways. Do this and you will find peace and joy in this life and the life to come.
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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.
