Psalm 106:13-14
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The Hebrew phrasing suggests their forgetting God's works wasn't just passive but active: "they hurried and forgot." This highlights how quickly impatience and a desire for immediate gratification can override thankfulness for God's past faithfulness. They didn't just forget; they actively rushed away from remembering, refusing to wait for His timing and wisdom.
But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel. But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness, and put God to the test in the desert;
English Standard Version (ESV)
This psalm is recounting the Israelites' history of rebellion, focusing on their journey in the wilderness. Just days after God miraculously delivered them by parting the Red Sea, they encountered a bitter water source and immediately forgot His power and doubted His provision. Instead of waiting for His guidance, they grew impatient and demanded things their own way.
Ever feel like you're stuck in a rut, repeating the same mistakes? This verse points to a common human tendency that trips us up every time.
A Short Memory for Divine Action
The people of Israel had just experienced one of God's most stunning displays of power: the Exodus from Egypt. They saw plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and the destruction of their enemies. Yet, the Psalmist declares, 'they soon forgot his works.'
This wasn't just a case of poor recall; it was a profound failure to let God's past faithfulness shape their present trust. It meant that the awe and gratitude they felt in the moment quickly evaporated, leaving them vulnerable to doubt and fear.
What does 'forgetting God's works' look like today?
Do you ever feel impatient with God's timing or His plan? This verse reveals the spiritual danger in refusing to wait on Him.
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The 'Faster Than God' Syndrome
Following their lapse in memory, the Israelites also 'did not wait for his counsel.' This means they refused to patiently trust God's timing and His wisdom for their journey.
Instead of waiting to hear from Him and following His appointed path, they grew restless. They wanted God's promises fulfilled on their timeline, not His. This impatience led them to seek their own solutions, often driven by sinful desires, rather than submitting to God's perfect guidance.
Why is waiting on God's counsel so crucial?
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.
ta'avah · Hebrew Noun
A strong, often sinful desire or intense appetite for something outside of God’s provided boundaries. It denotes a lack of contentment and a turning toward worldly gratification.
nasah · Hebrew Verb
To challenge or provoke God to prove His presence, power, or goodness. This is an act of unbelief, doubting God's faithfulness despite evidence of His previous intervention.
This verse captures the Israelites' immediate lapse in faith and memory, forgetting God's recent, mighty acts of deliverance as soon as they faced hardship, demonstrating a pattern of impatience and a failure to trust God's timing and counsel during their wilderness journey.
c. 1446 BC
Exodus from Egypt
God miraculously delivers the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, parting the Red Sea for them to cross.
c. 1446 BC— this verse
Bitter Waters at Marah
Shortly after the Red Sea crossing, the Israelites find water at Marah that is too bitter to drink, and they begin to grumble against Moses and God.
c. 1446 BC
Manna and Quail Provided
In response to their complaints about hunger, God provides manna for food and later quail, showing His provision even in the wilderness.
c. 1446 BC
Rephidim and the Attack of the Amalekites
The Israelites face another water shortage and, while struggling, are attacked by the Amalekites, requiring God's intervention through Moses and Joshua.
c. 1446 BC
Sinai Covenant Established
At Mount Sinai, God formally establishes His covenant with Israel, giving them the Law and outlining His expectations for their obedience.
This passage directly follows the Israelites' miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, highlighting how quickly they encountered bitterness (at Marah) and forgot the profound works God had just performed for them.
Numbers 11:4This verse illustrates the Israelites' immediate 'lusting' and discontent in the wilderness, showing their impatience and refusal to wait for God's provision, a direct parallel to 'they did not wait for his counsel'.
Deuteronomy 1:43Here, Moses recounts how the people acted presumptuously and went up into the hill country despite God's counsel, demonstrating their persistent tendency to disregard God's direction.
John 6:26Jesus rebukes the crowd for seeking Him not because they saw signs but because they ate their fill of loaves, echoing the Israelites' focus on immediate physical needs over God's deeper purposes, thus forgetting His works.
Hebrews 3:12This New Testament passage warns believers against having a 'sinful, unbelieving heart' that turns away from the living God, directly connecting the ancient Israelites' failure to remember God's works and wait for His counsel to a spiritual danger for all generations.
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 suggests their forgetting God's works wasn't just passive but active: "they hurried and forgot." This highlights how quickly impatience and a desire for immediate gratification can override thankfulness for God's past faithfulness. They didn't just forget; they actively rushed away from remembering, refusing to wait for His timing and wisdom.
This psalm is recounting the Israelites' history of rebellion, focusing on their journey in the wilderness. Just days after God miraculously delivered them by parting the Red Sea, they encountered a bitter water source and immediately forgot His power and doubted His provision. Instead of waiting for His guidance, they grew impatient and demanded things their own way.
This psalm is recounting the Israelites' history of rebellion, focusing on their journey in the wilderness. Just days after God miraculously delivered them by parting the Red Sea, they encountered a bitter water source and immediately forgot His power and doubted His provision. Instead of waiting for His guidance, they grew impatient and demanded things their own way.
"But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel. But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness, and put God to the test in the desert;" — The Hebrew phrasing suggests their forgetting God's works wasn't just passive but active: "they hurried and forgot." This highlights how quickly impatience and a desire for immediate gratification ca…
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Last reviewed October 2026
