Psalm 106 -- Focus On God Here, Not Israel

“The purpose of the psalm is not to condemn Israel but to extol the Lord for His longsuffering and mercy toward His people.  In order to glorify God, the writer had to place God’s mercies against the dark background of Israel’s repeated disobedience,” my commentary says.  He didn’t mince words, but called a spade a spade.  We have to keep our eyes on God and not on the sin of Israel as we read it.

The writer spoke of how the Israelites preferred the security of slavery to the challenges of freedom, even wanting to return to Egypt!  How sin can enslave us to the point that we prefer the misery of our bondage! 

“The Lord took Israel out of Egypt in one night, but it took Him forty years to take Egypt out of Israel.”  The move to Egypt some 450 years prior had seemed a blessing – God saving them from famine.  But they’d stayed too long and absorbed too much of that culture.

“They were slow to remember God’s past deeds but quick to rush ahead and ignore His desires.  However, they didn’t hesitate to make known their own desires … People who grumble and complain are people not walking by faith in the promises of God.  We must resist the temptation to yield to our fleshly cravings,” my commentary said.

It pointed out that their first failure – craving water, food, and meat, involved the lusts of the flesh.  Their second failure – the rebellion of Korah, involved the pride of life.  “The third failure, the worship of the golden calf, involved the lust of the eyes … In spite of what the Lord had taught them at Sinai, they wanted a god they could SEE.” 

Their tragic failure happened at Kadesh Barnea, when they refused to enter the Promised Land. 

When we want our own way and refuse to trust the Lord and obey Him, the same results can happen to us – LONG delays!

Two events showed the high cost of willful disobedience to the Lord – the failure at Baal Peor and Moses becoming proud and angry, taking for himself God’s glory by losing his temper and speaking rashly.  As a result, Moses could not enter the Promised Land.  What a terrible cost!

They repeatedly rebelled against God after taking the Promised Land, and their biggest failure was compromising with rather than destroying the people whom God had taken the land from.  Though He was longsuffering, God finally had to act and remove them from the Promised Land.  What a tragedy!  Ten tribes were absorbed by Assyria.  The remaining two went to Babylon for 70 years, but the Davidic dynasty was never restored in their kingdom.

Through all of this, God continually forgave and restored.  But they tested His limits.  Father God, please help me not to do the same.  I want to hear from You before I sin and I ask that You give me the wisdom and the will to turn back before I sin.  Speak loudly to me!  And help us all  not to prefer the security of slavery to the challenges of freedom.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford