Psa 106:18 | KingComments | STEP | Now here is a list of Israel’s sins from their first steps in the wilderness that they had to pass through to get to the promised land. Israel’s sins began back in Egypt. These sins in the wilderness are actually just a continuation of their earlier sins of unbelief. The sins in the wilderness begin with forgetting and impatience ( ). God’s works on their behalf in their redemption from Egypt, their passage through the Red Sea, and the judgment on their enemies were forgotten by them “quickly” or “with haste”. What tragedies follow from this. Let us not judge them harshly. How quickly do we forget all God’s works for our benefit? When we forget God’s lovingkindness to us, we quickly become impatient and begin to grumble ( ; ). We forget how many times He has already provided and complain about our circumstances. The people began to complain about lack of water and food ( ). They did not ask Him about it and could not muster the patience to wait for His counsel. They were not looking to Him, but to what they were lacking. There was lack. That was a reason for them to grumble. The sins of the people we find each time in duplicate, at the beginning and at the end of the wilderness journey. It is so with the sin of grumbling: read Exodus 15-17 and Numbers 14-17. So is it with water from the rock; so is it with the craving for flesh: read Exodus 16 and Numbers 11. This indicates that these sins are characteristic of the entire wilderness journey. In Exodus 16 it is about lust for flesh, in Numbers 11 also about dissatisfaction with the manna. When God gives them what they ask for, they are “craved intensely in the wilderness” ( ; ; ; ). With their craving they “tempted God in the desert”. They put Him to the test, whether He was able to give what they wanted. Well, God “gave them their request” ( ; ). Because they kept nagging, God gave what they had asked for. He could have withheld it from them, but He wanted to teach them a lesson. That lesson is that a desire that comes from one’s own will does not lead to health, but to a wasting disease. Unfortunately, the lesson was not learned, for they continued to sin. The next sin is that of jealousy ( ). It concerns the jealousy of Korah, Dathan and Abiram ( ). They became “envious of Moses in the camp” as the leader of the people through whom God spoke to the people. They also became jealous “of Aaron, the holy one of the LORD”, that is, the priest set apart by the LORD for Himself to represent His people to Him. Instead of the desire to serve, these people longed to take the first place in God’s people, just as Diotrephes wanted in the church ( ). The disciples also disputed among them as to “which one of them was regarded to be greatest” ( ). Therefore, this is a serious warning to each of us. The judgment on this jealousy was severely punished by the LORD ( ). For it was a frontal attack on His government of the people. It was a conspiracy against the LORD ( ). Korah and his followers wanted the position of Aaron while Dathan and Abiram wanted the position of Moses. The punishment was consistent with this. The judgment He executed on Dathan and Abiram – Korah is not mentioned here (cf. ) – had not been executed before, it was “something new” ( ). The punishment of Dathan and Abiram was that they entered the kingdom of the dead alive. The same will happen to the two beasts ( ). The judgment on Korah was fire from heaven, as on Nadab and Abihu, the two sons of Aaron ( ). There was also “a fire” that came from the LORD ( ), which “blazed up in their company” ( ). The ferocity of the judgment is emphasized by adding that “a flame consumed the wicked”. Thus “two hundred and fifty men” were consumed ( ). Here we see how horrible sinful, selfish jealousy is to God. Then the psalmist mentions the sin of idolatry ( ; ). He refers to “a calf in Horeb” which they had made ( ). This is a violation of the second commandment ( ). They “worshiped a molten image”. In doing so, they had particularly grieved God Who had so clearly revealed Himself in His lovingkindness to them. By this worship of a piece of dead matter they had “exchanged their glory for the image of an ox that eats grass” ( ). The addition “that eats grass” makes the absurdity of worshiping the animal all the greater. Their Glory was God Himself ( ). How foolish can a man be to exchange Him for a mindless, grass-eating animal! Paul quotes this verse in Romans 1, for this verse makes it clear what the result is when man exchanges the glory of the imperishable God for something resembling a perishable, transient man or animal. The result is that God gives him over to uncleanness in the lusts of his heart ( ). If we are not blind, we see it all around us today. In Exodus 32, the issue is that they have “a feast for the LORD” using an image ( ). They believed that they had not forsaken the LORD. They had merely sought a tool of their own choosing to serve the LORD. Something similar is done by Nadab and Abihu later by offering an incense sacrifice with their own fire, something the LORD had not commanded ( ). This should also be a warning to us. No, serving another god, that is not what we want. Serving the Lord in our own way, the way we like it, yes, that is what we want. Many Christians seek church services where they feel at home (cf. ). This is always a danger for every believer. We must always remember that we can only worship God in spirit and truth ( ). This history is a warning against it. They not only forgot the works of God ( ), but “they forgot God their Savior” Himself ( ). God’s people fell into idolatry with all the debauchery that goes with it because they forgot Him, “Who had done great things in Egypt”. There He proved to be “their Savior”, that is, their Rescuer, their Deliverer, their Keeper. To save them He had done “wonders in the land of Ham” and “awesome things by the Red Sea” ( ; ). These things should continue to capture the imagination. What God had done in Egypt and at the Red Sea should have constantly filled them with the utmost confidence in His omnipotence. But they had forgotten Him. This may well speak to our hearts and consciences, that we may never forget what He has done for us in our redemption. To such forgetfulness among His people and the resulting idolatry, God could not respond other than with the threat to destroy them ( ). He was, to put it humanly, sick of His people. He would have carried out His intention “had not Moses His chosen one stood in the breach before Him” (cf. ). Just as a soldier stands in the breach of a wall to prevent the enemy from passing through with the use of his life, so Moses lay before God to avert God’s wrath. Because of Moses’ passionate pleading, God did not destroy them and they were spared ( ). In this, Moses is a picture of the Lord Jesus, Who is the great Intercessor and Advocate for His people on earth. Only through His intercession with God will a remnant of God’s people cross the finish line and enter the blessing. This applies not only to God’s earthly people, Israel, but also to God’s heavenly people, the church ( ).

‏ Psalms 106:18

Rebellion in the Wilderness

Now here is a list of Israel’s sins from their first steps in the wilderness that they had to pass through to get to the promised land. Israel’s sins began back in Egypt. These sins in the wilderness are actually just a continuation of their earlier sins of unbelief. The sins in the wilderness begin with forgetting and impatience (Psa 106:13). God’s works on their behalf in their redemption from Egypt, their passage through the Red Sea, and the judgment on their enemies were forgotten by them “quickly” or “with haste”. What tragedies follow from this. Let us not judge them harshly. How quickly do we forget all God’s works for our benefit?

When we forget God’s lovingkindness to us, we quickly become impatient and begin to grumble (Phil 2:14; 1Pet 4:9). We forget how many times He has already provided and complain about our circumstances. The people began to complain about lack of water and food (Exo 15:24 ; Exo 16:2-3). They did not ask Him about it and could not muster the patience to wait for His counsel. They were not looking to Him, but to what they were lacking. There was lack. That was a reason for them to grumble.

The sins of the people we find each time in duplicate, at the beginning and at the end of the wilderness journey. It is so with the sin of grumbling: read Exodus 15-17 and Numbers 14-17. So is it with water from the rock; so is it with the craving for flesh: read Exodus 16 and Numbers 11. This indicates that these sins are characteristic of the entire wilderness journey. In Exodus 16 it is about lust for flesh, in Numbers 11 also about dissatisfaction with the manna.

When God gives them what they ask for, they are “craved intensely in the wilderness” (Psa 106:14; Num 11:4 ; 6 ; 33; Psa 78:18 ; 28-29; 1Cor 10:6). With their craving they “tempted God in the desert”. They put Him to the test, whether He was able to give what they wanted. Well, God “gave them their request” (Psa 106:15; Num 11:31-32). Because they kept nagging, God gave what they had asked for. He could have withheld it from them, but He wanted to teach them a lesson. That lesson is that a desire that comes from one’s own will does not lead to health, but to a wasting disease. Unfortunately, the lesson was not learned, for they continued to sin.

The next sin is that of jealousy (Psa 106:16). It concerns the jealousy of Korah, Dathan and Abiram (Num 16:1-3). They became “envious of Moses in the camp” as the leader of the people through whom God spoke to the people. They also became jealous “of Aaron, the holy one of the LORD”, that is, the priest set apart by the LORD for Himself to represent His people to Him.

Instead of the desire to serve, these people longed to take the first place in God’s people, just as Diotrephes wanted in the church (3Jn 1:9). The disciples also disputed among them as to “which one of them was regarded to be greatest” (Lk 22:24). Therefore, this is a serious warning to each of us.

The judgment on this jealousy was severely punished by the LORD (Psa 106:17). For it was a frontal attack on His government of the people. It was a conspiracy against the LORD (Num 16:11). Korah and his followers wanted the position of Aaron while Dathan and Abiram wanted the position of Moses.

The punishment was consistent with this. The judgment He executed on Dathan and Abiram – Korah is not mentioned here (cf. Deu 11:6) – had not been executed before, it was “something new” (Num 16:30-33). The punishment of Dathan and Abiram was that they entered the kingdom of the dead alive. The same will happen to the two beasts (Rev 19:20). The judgment on Korah was fire from heaven, as on Nadab and Abihu, the two sons of Aaron (Lev 10:1-2).

There was also “a fire” that came from the LORD (Num 16:35a), which “blazed up in their company” (Psa 106:18). The ferocity of the judgment is emphasized by adding that “a flame consumed the wicked”. Thus “two hundred and fifty men” were consumed (Num 16:35b). Here we see how horrible sinful, selfish jealousy is to God.

Then the psalmist mentions the sin of idolatry (Psa 106:19; Deu 9:7-16). He refers to “a calf in Horeb” which they had made (Exo 32:1-4). This is a violation of the second commandment (Exo 20:4-6). They “worshiped a molten image”. In doing so, they had particularly grieved God Who had so clearly revealed Himself in His lovingkindness to them.

By this worship of a piece of dead matter they had “exchanged their glory for the image of an ox that eats grass” (Psa 106:20). The addition “that eats grass” makes the absurdity of worshiping the animal all the greater. Their Glory was God Himself (Jer 2:11). How foolish can a man be to exchange Him for a mindless, grass-eating animal!

Paul quotes this verse in Romans 1, for this verse makes it clear what the result is when man exchanges the glory of the imperishable God for something resembling a perishable, transient man or animal. The result is that God gives him over to uncleanness in the lusts of his heart (Rom 1:23-24). If we are not blind, we see it all around us today.

In Exodus 32, the issue is that they have “a feast for the LORD” using an image (Exo 32:4-5). They believed that they had not forsaken the LORD. They had merely sought a tool of their own choosing to serve the LORD. Something similar is done by Nadab and Abihu later by offering an incense sacrifice with their own fire, something the LORD had not commanded (Lev 10:1).

This should also be a warning to us. No, serving another god, that is not what we want. Serving the Lord in our own way, the way we like it, yes, that is what we want. Many Christians seek church services where they feel at home (cf. Jdg 17:13). This is always a danger for every believer. We must always remember that we can only worship God in spirit and truth (Jn 4:24). This history is a warning against it.

They not only forgot the works of God (Psa 106:13), but “they forgot God their Savior” Himself (Psa 106:21). God’s people fell into idolatry with all the debauchery that goes with it because they forgot Him, “Who had done great things in Egypt”. There He proved to be “their Savior”, that is, their Rescuer, their Deliverer, their Keeper.

To save them He had done “wonders in the land of Ham” and “awesome things by the Red Sea” (Psa 106:22; Deu 10:21). These things should continue to capture the imagination. What God had done in Egypt and at the Red Sea should have constantly filled them with the utmost confidence in His omnipotence. But they had forgotten Him. This may well speak to our hearts and consciences, that we may never forget what He has done for us in our redemption.

To such forgetfulness among His people and the resulting idolatry, God could not respond other than with the threat to destroy them (Psa 106:23). He was, to put it humanly, sick of His people. He would have carried out His intention “had not Moses His chosen one stood in the breach before Him” (cf. Eze 22:30).

Just as a soldier stands in the breach of a wall to prevent the enemy from passing through with the use of his life, so Moses lay before God to avert God’s wrath. Because of Moses’ passionate pleading, God did not destroy them and they were spared (Deu 9:25-29).

In this, Moses is a picture of the Lord Jesus, Who is the great Intercessor and Advocate for His people on earth. Only through His intercession with God will a remnant of God’s people cross the finish line and enter the blessing. This applies not only to God’s earthly people, Israel, but also to God’s heavenly people, the church (Rom 8:34).