Commentary - Psalm 106:28-31

Bird's-eye view

Psalm 106 is a national confession of sin, a long and painful litany of Israel's covenant unfaithfulness. It stands in stark contrast to Psalm 105, which recounts God's covenant faithfulness to Israel. The two psalms together present the whole picture: God is always faithful, and we are... not. This particular section, verses 28-31, zooms in on one of the most sordid episodes in Israel's wilderness wanderings, the apostasy at Baal-peor. This was not a simple misstep; it was a flagrant act of spiritual adultery where Israel yoked themselves to a pagan deity through idolatrous worship and sexual immorality. The result was a swift and deadly plague from God. The crisis was only averted by the zealous and violent intervention of one man, Phinehas, whose righteous action was credited to him by God, establishing a legacy for all his generations. This brief account is a microcosm of the entire biblical narrative: sin, judgment, mediation, and a righteousness that comes from God.

The incident at Baal-peor serves as a potent illustration of the depths of human depravity and the holiness of God. It demonstrates that idolatry is never a neutral activity; it is a treasonous alliance with the enemies of God. The Lord's response, a devastating plague, underscores the reality of His wrath against sin. Yet, in the midst of judgment, God provides a way of atonement through a mediator. Phinehas, in his zeal, stands in the gap, executing judgment and turning back God's anger. This act of faithfulness is then given the highest commendation, being "counted to him for righteousness." This points us forward to the ultimate Mediator, Jesus Christ, whose perfect zeal and atoning sacrifice definitively turn away the wrath of God for His people.

Outline

Context In Psalms

Psalm 106 is the final psalm in the fourth book of the Psalter. This book (Psalms 90-106) is largely concerned with God's reign and Israel's place in His kingdom, often wrestling with the question of Israel's failure and God's enduring promises, especially in the wake of the exile. Psalm 106 functions as a great historical confession, looking back over the story of Israel from Egypt to the promised land and finding a consistent pattern of rebellion. It is a corporate "we have sinned with our fathers" (v. 6). The events at Baal-peor are presented as a particularly egregious example in a long list of provocations: the rebellion at the Red Sea (vv. 7-12), the craving for meat (vv. 13-15), the envy of Moses and Aaron (vv. 16-18), the golden calf (vv. 19-23), and the unbelief at Kadesh-barnea (vv. 24-27). This specific incident highlights the dangers of syncretism and assimilation with the surrounding pagan cultures, a central temptation for Israel throughout its history. The psalm ends with a cry for deliverance and gathering (v. 47), making it a prayer for a people who know they deserve judgment but appeal to God's covenant mercy.

Key Issues

The High Cost of Spiritual Prostitution

The language used in this passage is potent. To "join" or "yoke" oneself to Baal-peor is the language of covenant, of marriage. Israel, the bride of Yahweh, went and committed adultery with a false god. This was not a casual flirtation. The story in Numbers 25 tells us this involved sexual relations with Moabite women, which was the gateway to bowing before their gods. Sin is never just a private affair; it is corporate, and it has consequences. And idolatry is never just about getting your metaphysics wrong. It is spiritual prostitution.

The phrase "sacrifices offered to the dead" is chilling. The idols of the nations are not just harmless blocks of wood or stone. Behind the idols are demons (1 Cor. 10:20). The pagan gods are lifeless, dead things, yes, but the worship directed toward them is an invitation to the demonic realm, the realm of death. When Israel ate these sacrifices, they were having table fellowship with demons, communing with death itself. This is why God's reaction was so severe. He is the God of the living, and His people were trafficking with the dead. This is high treason, and the wages of this sin is, quite literally, death, which arrived in the form of a plague.

Verse by Verse Commentary

28 They then joined themselves to Baal-peor, And ate sacrifices offered to the dead.

The psalmist here recounts the incident from Numbers 25. The verb "joined" or "yoked" implies a formal, binding commitment. They shackled themselves to a local deity of the Moabites, Baal of Peor. This was a direct violation of the first commandment. This was not a simple mistake; it was a conscious transfer of allegiance. And this spiritual treason was consummated in a meal. They "ate sacrifices offered to the dead." All worship culminates in table fellowship, a meal of communion. The Lord's Supper is our meal of communion with the living God. Their meal was communion with lifeless idols, and by extension, with the demonic powers that lurk behind them. They were seeking life from the dead, and in so doing, they invited death into their camp.

29 Thus they provoked Him to anger with their actions, And the plague broke out among them.

God is not a stoic, impassive deity. He is a jealous God, which is to say He is zealous for the integrity of His covenant love. Israel's actions were a provocation, a deliberate poke in the eye of their divine husband. And His response was anger. We must not shy away from the doctrine of God's wrath. It is not a petty tantrum but the holy, righteous, and settled opposition of a perfectly good Being to all that is evil. This wrath was not just an abstract attitude; it manifested itself physically and immediately. "The plague broke out among them." Sin has real-world, deadly consequences. Twenty-four thousand people died (Num. 25:9). This was a tangible expression of the spiritual reality: fellowship with the dead brings death.

30 Then Phinehas stood up and interceded, And so the plague was checked.

In the midst of this national catastrophe, one man rises to the occasion. Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron the priest, "stood up." This is the posture of a champion, a man ready for action. The text says he "interceded," but his intercession was not a quiet prayer in the corner. The original story in Numbers tells us what he did. He saw an Israelite man brazenly bringing a Midianite woman into his tent in plain sight of Moses and the grieving congregation. Filled with a holy zeal, Phinehas took a spear, went into the tent, and ran them both through. This was his intercession. It was an act of judgment. He executed the flagrant sinners, thereby making atonement for the people. By punishing the sin so decisively, he vindicated God's holiness and turned away His wrath. And as a direct result, "the plague was checked." One man's righteous violence stopped the death of thousands. This is a stark reminder that true peace sometimes requires a sword.

31 And it was counted to him for righteousness, From generation to generation forever.

This is a remarkable statement, echoing the language used of Abraham's faith in Genesis 15:6. God looked at this act of zealous faithfulness, this spear-driven intercession, and He "counted" it to Phinehas for righteousness. The word is an accounting term; God credited it to his account. This was not because Phinehas had earned salvation through a good work. Rather, his action was the fruit of a profound faith in God's covenant and a zeal for God's glory. It was an objective righteousness, a standing before God that was recognized and rewarded. And this was not a fleeting commendation. It was established as a perpetual memorial, a testimony to his name "from generation to generation forever." God promised him and his descendants a covenant of a perpetual priesthood (Num. 25:13), a promise that finds its ultimate fulfillment in the high priest who is zealous for His Father's house, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Application

The story of Baal-peor is not just ancient history. The temptations of idolatry and sexual immorality are perennial. Our modern Baal-peor is the worship of sexual autonomy, the yoking of ourselves to the spirit of the age which says that our desires are sovereign. We are constantly tempted to eat the sacrifices offered to the dead gods of materialism, secularism, and self-worship. And when the church compromises, when she flirts with the world and commits spiritual adultery, she invites plagues among her people, whether they be spiritual deadness, doctrinal confusion, or the judgment of God in history.

What is needed in such a time is a new Phinehas. We need men and women of courage and conviction who are zealous for the glory of God and the purity of His church. We need leaders who will stand up and intervene, not with a literal spear, but with the sharp, two-edged sword of the Word of God. We need those who will confront sin boldly, who will exercise church discipline, and who will call the people of God back to covenant faithfulness. Such zeal is often unpopular. Phinehas would be condemned as a hateful fanatic in our soft and compromising age. But God honors it. He counts it for righteousness.

Ultimately, Phinehas is a type of Christ. Jesus is the great Mediator who saw the plague of sin sweeping through humanity. He stood up and interceded, not by killing the sinners, but by becoming sin for us. On the cross, He was pierced for our transgressions. His zealous obedience unto death was the ultimate act that "checked the plague" of God's eternal wrath for all who believe. And it is His perfect righteousness, not our own zealous acts, that is counted to us by faith. We are called to imitate the zeal of Phinehas, but we are saved by the righteousness of Christ.