Psalm 106

What’s Happening? 

Psalm 106 was written while God’s people were exiles in Babylon. God had sent them into exile as a punishment for centuries of rebellion and idolatry. But the exiled songwriter of Psalm 106 calls his people to turn from their evil ways and asks God to rescue his disobedient people despite what their evil deserves (Psalm 106:1-4). He hopes that even in the middle of their most significant punishment, God will lovingly move towards his undeserving people and restore them once again (Psalm 106:5-6).

The psalmist then begins to list all the times Israel rebelled, but God responded in grace and mercy anyway. Right after God brought them out of slavery in Egypt, God’s people nearly mutinied when Pharaoh’s armies trapped them against the Red Sea. But despite their rebellious attitude, God’s love opened a path through the waters and rescued them (Psalm 106:7-12). Later, when they angrily grumbled for sustenance in the desert, God gave them food and water (Psalm 106:14-15). When they rebelled against God’s leaders and built idols to worship, God still did not consume all his people in righteous anger (Psalm 106:17-23). When Israel reached the border of the land God promised them, they rebelliously refused to go in and even blamed God for leading them to their deaths. But mercifully, God did not destroy the people he promised to love. While some died for their rebellion, God protected their children and provided for them for 40 years until they finally reached the borders of their homeland once again (Psalm 106:24-27). But even during that time, Israel tested God’s love by worshiping idols and marrying idolatrous wives (Psalm 106:28-29). Yet again, God provided a way to save an entire rebellious community from being destroyed (Psalm 106:30-31). Over and over, God’s people have rebelled, and over and over, God has continued to love and rescue.

The psalmist then recalls how his people’s rebellious cycle continued even after they moved into their homeland. Like before, they rebelled. They even sacrificed their children to false gods (Psalm 106:36-39). And it was then that God finally punished their rebellion and let their enemies take their nation into exile (Psalm 106:40-42). But the exiled psalmist trusts that God’s love can be roused, even in their captivity. God always heard the cries of his people in the past, and it always moved him to rescue them (Psalm 106:43-46). So, he prays that God will be faithful to his character and act like he did in the past. He asks God to love and rescue them from their exile despite their actions and because God’s love never runs out (Psalm 106:47-48).

Where is the Gospel?

God’s people were separated from their homeland as God’s punishment for their rebellion. But the psalmist believed God’s love was greater than his people’s rebellion. So he asked God to, in his great love, rescue them from the consequences of their rebellion. God eventually answered the psalmist’s prayer for rescue from God’s punishment and a return to their true homeland when God sent his son, Jesus. In love, Jesus came to save God’s people from the consequences of their rebellion.

Jesus came to rescue his people from their rebellious cycle (Luke 19:10). Unlike disobedient Israel, he loved God with his whole being. He obeyed him at every turn (1 John 3:5). And Jesus showed just how persistent God’s love was towards rebellious people when he offered his blood as payment for the rebellion they committed (1 Peter 1:18-19). Just as Israel “died” symbolically in Babylon, Jesus died on a Roman cross. He was exiled to a grave, as his people’s rebellion deserved. God himself paid the consequences of our rebellion. Then, three days later, Jesus’ exile among the dead ended. Jesus rose from his grave, having answered and accomplished what the psalmist prayed for. Jesus saves us from the consequences of our rebellion when we trust in him (John 3:17). No matter how broken your family’s history is or how deep the cycle of evil runs, Jesus’ love is more powerful and more persistent. If you feel exiled from life with God, know that Jesus can rescue you and bring you home. His love is more stubborn than any human evil we can invent. 

See for Yourself

I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see the God whose love always outlasts human rebellion. And may you see Jesus as the one who ends our rebellious cycle and leads us home.