The Nation Exhibits Gross Unbelief
October 31, 2022
Commentary
The psalmist becomes more pointed in his description of Israel’s sin (vv. 16-18). He describes the sin of Korah (first cousin of Moses and Aaron), Dathan and Abiram (members of the tribe of Ruben). These men were jealous of Moses and Aaron and claimed that they were just as Holy as God’s anointed leaders. The Lord soon proved the emptiness of their claim and visited them with severe judgment. The result of their jealousy was devastating. “The earth opened up and swallowed up Dathan” and covered Abiram (v. 17) while fire consumed Korah (v. 18).
At this point we are given a glimpse of what God thinks of idolatry. Israel continues in her sin as she makes a golden calf in Horeb and worships the molten image (vv. 19-20). This was the very spot that God gave the law and manifested Himself in a quaking earth and flaming fire. Unfortunately for Israel “they forgot God their Savior” (v. 21) who had done “wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red Sea” (v. 22). As a result, God promised to destroy them and had it not been for Moses, He would have made an end to them all then and there (v. 23). “…they believed not His Word: but murmured in their tents and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord” (vv. 24-25). This portion recounts 1) the nation’s rejection of Joshua’s and Caleb’s positive report from the land, and 2) their desire to return to Egypt (Num. 14:1-4). Because of this disobedience He said He would scatter them all over the world (vv. 26-27).
Israel failed to expel the heathen and sadly conformed to their idolatry. First, “they joined themselves also unto Baal of Peor” (v. 28). This involved them with the Moabites in a sacrificial communion service to the dead idols of Baal and where they gave up their bodies to shameful lusts. As a result, the Lord swept throughout the land with a plague that took 24,000 people into eternity (v. 29). It was then that Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the High Priest, stood up and took a vigorous stand against this apostasy (vv. 30-31).
Application
What a blessing it is that I do not always get what I pray for! I may insist on getting my own way only to find that I have chosen to ask for less than God’s best.
Psalms 106:16– 31 (NET)
16 In the camp they resented Moses, and Aaron, the Lord’s holy priest.
17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it engulfed the group led by Abiram.
18 Fire burned their group; the flames scorched the wicked.
19 They made an image of a calf at Horeb, and worshiped a metal idol.
20 They traded their majestic God for the image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They rejected the God who delivered them, the one who performed great deeds in Egypt,
22 amazing feats in the land of Ham, mighty acts by the Red Sea.
23 He threatened to destroy them, but Moses, his chosen one, interceded with him and turned back his destructive anger.
24 They rejected the fruitful land; they did not believe his promise.
25 They grumbled in their tents; they did not obey the Lord.
26 So he made a solemn vow that he would make them die in the wilderness,
27 make their descendants die among the nations, and scatter them among foreign lands.
28 They worshiped Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
29 They made the Lord angry by their actions, and a plague broke out among them.
30 Phinehas took a stand and intervened, and the plague subsided.
31 This was credited to Phinehas as a righteous act for all generations to come.