Forgetfulness is seen as a blight of older age, but many of us know what this is like from a younger age! We go into a room for something and on arrival there, forgot what we went for! One quote says, ‘I’ve reached an age when my train of thought often leaves the station without me.’ It’s often so hard to remember important things because our minds are full of so many other thoughts.
Psalm 106, like Psalm 105, reviews the exodus years. It begins later, not with Abraham but with the exodus itself and Israel’s departure from Egypt, and ends later, looking ahead into the period of the judges and perhaps even further. It too acknowledges God’s faithfulness, mercy and help, acknowledging His salvation and miraculous intervention (Ps 106:20-22), but its main focus seems to be to remind Israel of the stubbornness and rebellion which were so often their response to God. Forgetting what God has done is a major stumbling-block now as much as then (see Ps 106:13, 21). When we forget God and do not wait for His plans to unfold, we risk an independent lifestyle that ends in misery. The wilderness generation, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, did not enter the Promised Land. Israel was later exiled from this land because of her sinfulness and disobedience. There are serious consequences when we forget God.
The sins listed in Ps 106 include craving (Ps 106:13-15 – we need to be careful not to allow our physical needs to overtake our spiritual needs), envy (Ps 106:16-18 – reflecting Dathan and Abiram’s rebellion against Moses and Aaron, but envy of others does not just refer to coveting authority), idolatry (Ps 106:19-23, referring back to Exodus 32), grumbling (Ps 106:24-27) and rebellion (Ps 106:32-33). We need to remember these examples in order to learn from them. (1 Cor 10:1-13)