Seder 19: Ps 106---God's Faithfulness Versus Man's Fickleness

Psalm 105 and Psalm 106 are two major Exodus psalms.  Both rehearse the history of God's mighty deeds on behalf of his people, but they have distinct emphases.  Psalm 105 emphasizes God's faithfulness and sovereignty, while Psalm 106 contrasts God's faithfulness with the fickleness of his people. 

Psalm 106 is a psalm of repentance.  Sins from Israel's history are confessed, including 

• Israel's lust for meat in the wilderness (Num 11);
• the rebellion of Dathan and Abiram (Num 16)
• the golden calf incident (Exod 32);
• the Baal Peor incident (Num 25)
• Moses' sin at Meribah (Num 20)
• Israel's failure to fully conquer Canaan.

The psalm was written at some time after the exile of the house of Judah in 587/586 BC, since it recalls God's mercy to his people in exile and prays for the restoration of the nation (vv 40-47).  

Psalm 106 has several New Testament connections.  Verse 20  ("They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass") uses language taken up by Paul in Rom 1:23 in discussing the human tendency toward idolatry.  Verse 37 ("They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons") is referred to in 1 Cor 10:20, where Paul affirms that the gods of the nations are demons (see also Deut 32:17).  Also interesting is the statement that the decisive intervention of Phinehas at Baal Peor "counted to him as righteousness" (v 31), another example of faith demonstrated by works---see also James 2:14-26.  

The language of Ps 106 also appears several times in Zechariah's hymn of rejoicing at the birth of John the Baptist in Luke 1:68-79.  Verse 68 uses the language of Ps 106:48, verse 71 refers to Ps 106:10 (LXX), and verse 72 refers to Ps 106:45.  The birth of John the Baptist is example of the love and faithfulness of God extolled in Ps 106.

Seder 15: Psalm 105---Praising God for Mighty Works and Faithfulness

Psalm 105 calls upon the children of Abraham to praise God for his mighty works (verses 1-6).  The original context of the psalm may have been the ceremony in David's time when the ark of the covenant was brought to the tabernacle in Jerusalem.  In the psalm for that event recorded in 1 Chron 16, verses 8-22 line up closely with Ps 105:1-15.

This kind of praise is also good for spiritual children of Abraham.  It helps us to remember who God is (Psalm 105:5), which is something that everyone on earth should know (v 1).

The psalm goes on to rehearse God's works from the days of the patriarchs, through the time of the Exodus, and right up to the conquest of the Promised Land.  Israel's complaints during the Exodus are not mentioned.  (That's the subject for Psalm 106.)  The emphasis is on God's sovereignty and his orchestration of the steps in his plan.  There is also emphasis on God's faithfulness to the eternal covenant (vv 8-11).

Some of the statements in the Psalm make us pause for a minute.

Verse 16:  "When he summoned famine against the land, and broke every staff of bread..."

Verses 24-25:  "And the Lord made his people very fruitful, and made them stronger than their foes, whose hearts he then turned to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants."

These verses declare that God is ultimately responsible for everything that happens, including the famine that brought the children of Israel to Egypt and the hardships the Israelites suffered in Egyptian bondage.  (Gen 15:13-14 implies the same thing.)

Also implied, though, is the fact that God is always there through all the things that we suffer, and he intervenes on behalf of his people.  His plan is to bring blessing to the whole world.  Knowing that he is in control, we can dedicate ourselves to playing our part in his plan.