Psalms 106:13
But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Psalms 106:13
But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
The Hebrew phrasing here suggests not just forgetting, but actively rushing into forgetfulness, as if their impatience and desire for immediate gratification outpaced their ability to remember God's past faithfulness. This highlights how quickly we can move from awe to arrogance when we fail to wait for God's timing and counsel.
This verse plunges us into the Israelites' journey through the wilderness shortly after their miraculous escape from Egypt. It highlights their immediate failure to trust God, even after witnessing His powerful acts, showing how quickly they forgot His deliverance and grew impatient for His guidance, leading to their subsequent grumbling and rebellion.
Ever feel like you're on a spiritual high, only for it to fade alarmingly fast? The Israelites understood this all too well.
The verse highlights an almost immediate shift from awe to amnesia. Just days after witnessing the miraculous parting of the Red Sea and the destruction of their enemies, the Israelites 'soon forgot his works.' This isn't just a passive forgetting; the Hebrew suggests they 'hasted' to forget, a deliberate turning away from God's powerful acts. It’s a stark reminder that our initial enthusiasm and gratitude can quickly evaporate if we don’t actively tend to our spiritual memories.
Why the Haste?
What happens when we stop listening to divine wisdom and start making our own plans? The Israelites’ journey took a disastrous turn.
The second half of the verse, 'they did not wait for his counsel,' reveals the core issue. It wasn't just about remembering past deeds; it was about the present and future reliance on God's guidance.
Waiting for God's Counsel Means:
Understand the original words
ma'aseh · Hebrew Noun
Acts or deeds of God performed in history to deliver, sustain, or judge His people. These serve as objective evidence of His sovereignty, grace, and power.
etsah · Hebrew Noun
The divine wisdom, purpose, or instruction that God provides for His people. Failing to wait for this implies impatience and a refusal to trust in God's timing and guidance.
This verse vividly captures the Israelites' immediate lapse into forgetfulness and impatience just days after experiencing God's most powerful deliverances. It highlights how quickly gratitude can fade into discontent when we don't wait for God's timing and guidance.
c. 1446 BC
Exodus from Egypt
God miraculously delivers the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, culminating in the parting of the Red Sea.
c. 1446 BC— this verse
Bitter Waters at Marah
Just three days after the Red Sea crossing, the Israelites discover the water at Marah is undrinkable and immediately complain to Moses and God.
c. 1446-1406 BC
Wilderness Wanderings
The Israelites spend forty years in the Sinai desert, during which they repeatedly grumble, lust for forbidden things, and disobey God's commands.
c. 1446 BC
Manna and Quail Provided
God provides manna daily and quail for meat, responding to the Israelites' complaints about hunger in the wilderness.
This passage immediately follows the Red Sea crossing and shows the Israelites' discontent within three days, mirroring the 'soon forgot his works' and 'waited not for his counsel' mentioned in Psalms. Their grumbling at Marah highlights their impatience and lack of trust in God's provision.
Numbers 11:4-6This scripture directly illustrates the 'waited not for his counsel' aspect by showing the Israelites lusting for meat and expressing dissatisfaction with manna. Their impatience and desire for what God had not immediately provided show a pattern of forgetting His past works.
Deuteronomy 8:2-3Moses reminds the Israelites that God humbled and tested them in the wilderness, feeding them with manna, so they would learn to live by every word from God's mouth. This contrasts with their tendency in Psalms 106 to forget His works and impatiently seek their own desires.
Hebrews 3:7-19This New Testament passage directly references the Israelites' rebellion in the wilderness, warning believers not to harden their hearts as they did. It emphasizes the consequence of not obeying God's voice and the danger of forgetting His mighty acts of deliverance.
bensonPsalms 106:13: "They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:"
Psalm 106:13-15 . They soon forgat his works — Even within three days, Exodus 15:22 , and lost the impressions those works had made upon them. They that do not improve God’s mercies to them, nor endeavour, in some measure, to render to him according to the benefits done unto them, do indeed forget them. Hebrew, מהרו שׁכחו , meharu shachechu, they made haste, they forgat. So the margin. They turned aside quickly, as it…
gillPsalms 106:13: "They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:"
They soon forgat his works,.... The miracles he wrought in Egypt, the deliverance of them from thence with a mighty hand and outstretched arm, and the leading them through the Red sea as on dry land, and destroying all their enemies; all these they soon forgot, for they had gone but three days' journey into the wilderness after this, ere they began to murmur and show distrust of the power and providence of God, Exodus…
The Hebrew phrasing here suggests not just forgetting, but actively rushing into forgetfulness, as if their impatience and desire for immediate gratification outpaced their ability to remember God's past faithfulness. This highlights how quickly we can move from awe to arrogance when we fail to wait for God's timing and counsel.
This verse plunges us into the Israelites' journey through the wilderness shortly after their miraculous escape from Egypt. It highlights their immediate failure to trust God, even after witnessing His powerful acts, showing how quickly they forgot His deliverance and grew impatient for His guidance, leading to their subsequent grumbling and rebellion.
This verse plunges us into the Israelites' journey through the wilderness shortly after their miraculous escape from Egypt. It highlights their immediate failure to trust God, even after witnessing His powerful acts, showing how quickly they forgot His deliverance and grew impatient for His guidance, leading to their subsequent grumbling and rebellion.
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When God's people choose their own counsel over His, they often find themselves in situations marked by lust, discontent, and divine displeasure, as the subsequent verses in Psalm 106 detail.
c. 1446 BC
Plague in the Wilderness
While the Israelites are still eating the meat they craved, God sends a plague upon them as a consequence of their sinful desires.
"But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel." — The Hebrew phrasing here suggests not just forgetting, but actively rushing into forgetfulness, as if their impatience and desire for immediate gratification outpaced their ability to remember God'…