Commentary - Psalm 136:16-22

Bird's-eye view

This section of Psalm 136 carries the historical recital of God's mighty acts forward from the Exodus into the wilderness and up to the very edge of the Promised Land. The relentless refrain, "For His lovingkindness endures forever," is the interpretive key to everything that happens. This is not sentimental kindness; it is rugged, covenantal faithfulness. God's hesed is the reason He doesn't just rescue His people from Egypt but also sustains them, protects them, and clears their path. The passage demonstrates that God's lovingkindness has two edges. It is a comforting reality for His people, Israel, but it is a terrifying, destructive force for those who stand in opposition to His redemptive purposes. The striking of great kings and the killing of mighty kings are not presented as unfortunate necessities, but as direct expressions of God's enduring lovingkindness toward His chosen servant, Israel. God's faithfulness to His promise requires Him to remove all obstacles, including pagan kings, so that He can give His people their promised inheritance.

The specificity of naming Sihon and Og is crucial. These were not abstract enemies; they were historical figures, powerful Amorite kings who actively blocked Israel's path to the land. Their defeat was a sign to Israel that God's promise was not a vague hope but a concrete reality about to be fulfilled. The passage culminates with the land being given as an inheritance, a key covenantal theme. The land is not a prize won by conquest, but a gift bestowed by a faithful Father upon His servant-son, Israel. Every step of the way, from the desert sand to the thrones of kings, is governed and defined by God's unwavering, eternal hesed.

Outline

Context In Psalms

Psalm 136 is one of the "Great Hallel" psalms (120-136), traditionally sung at Passover. It is a liturgical psalm, designed for corporate worship, likely with a call-and-response structure where a leader would recite the first line and the congregation would respond with the refrain, "For His lovingkindness endures forever." The psalm is a sweeping summary of redemptive history, starting with creation (vv. 4-9), moving to the Exodus (vv. 10-15), and then, in our passage, detailing the wilderness journey and the conquest of the Transjordan (vv. 16-22). It concludes by bringing this historical praise into the present, acknowledging God's care for His people in their "lowly state" and His provision for all creation (vv. 23-26). Its placement here, near the end of the Psalms of Ascent, serves as a grand historical anchor for Israel's worship, reminding them that the God they worship in the temple is the same God who acted with decisive power throughout their history.

Key Issues

The Steadfast Love that Slays Dragons

We have a very domesticated idea of what lovingkindness is. We think of it as something soft, gentle, and universally applied, like a warm blanket for the whole world. But the Bible's concept of hesed, translated here as "lovingkindness" or "mercy," is far more robust and fierce. It is covenant loyalty. It is God's unwavering, unending faithfulness to His chosen people and to the promises He has made to them.

This psalm forces us to see that this covenant loyalty has sharp edges. For God to be faithful to Israel, He must be hostile to the enemies of Israel. For Him to give His people a home, He must dispossess the squatters who defy Him. The refrain, "For His lovingkindness endures forever," is the reason given for everything, including the smiting of great kings and the slaying of famous kings. This is jarring to us. We want to separate God's love from His wrath, but the Bible insists they are two sides of the same coin. God's love for His own is a consuming fire, and that fire provides warmth and light for His children, but it incinerates those who set themselves against His purposes. Sihon and Og were not just political opponents; they were dragons guarding the path to the inheritance. The lovingkindness of God is what slays the dragons.

Verse by Verse Commentary

16 To Him who led His people through the wilderness, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

After the spectacular deliverance at the Red Sea, we come to the long, hard slog of the wilderness. Forty years of wandering. This was not a pleasant camping trip. It was a time of testing, judgment, and dependence. And yet, the psalmist identifies God's leading through this period as an act of enduring lovingkindness. Why? Because He was with them. He led them by a pillar of cloud and fire. He fed them with manna. He gave them water from a rock. The wilderness was where God taught a nation of slaves how to be free men, how to live by faith in His word alone. His presence with them, even in their grumbling and rebellion, was sheer mercy. His steadfast love did not falter during the forty years of their faithlessness. He led them through it, not abandoning them in it.

17 To Him who struck great kings, For His lovingkindness endures forever,

The scene shifts abruptly from divine guidance to divine warfare. The same God who leads His people with a pillar of cloud now strikes great kings. The verb "struck" is a violent one. This is not a gentle rebuke. This is a fatal blow. And the reason given is God's enduring hesed. We must get this straight. The destruction of God's enemies is a manifestation of His love for His people. A father who sees a wolf attacking his children does not show his love for them by reasoning with the wolf. He shows his love by killing the wolf. These kings set themselves up as obstacles to God's redemptive plan, and God's faithfulness to His people required their removal.

18 And killed mighty kings, For His lovingkindness endures forever:

This verse parallels and intensifies the previous one. He not only "struck" them, He "killed" them. The psalmist is not squeamish. This is not an apology; it is a boast in God. These were "mighty" or "famous" kings. They were not minor tribal chieftains. They were established powers. But their might was nothing before the Lord of Hosts. Again, this is attributed to His lovingkindness. Why? Because if these mighty kings had been allowed to stand, Israel would have been destroyed, and God's promise to Abraham would have failed. God's mercy toward His elect necessitates His judgment upon those who would thwart His will. His love is a holy love, which means it is a separating, consecrating, and warrior love.

19 Sihon, king of the Amorites, For His lovingkindness endures forever,

Now the psalm gets specific. This is not mythology; it is history. Sihon was the Amorite king who controlled the territory east of the Jordan that Israel needed to pass through. When Israel politely requested passage, Sihon refused and came out for battle (Num. 21:21-24). He picked the fight. He stood in the way of God's people, and in so doing, he stood in the way of God. His destruction was therefore an act of God's covenant faithfulness to Israel. Every time an Israelite sang this line, he was remembering a specific, historical moment when God's love for them took the form of a military victory over a defiant pagan.

20 And Og, king of Bashan, For His lovingkindness endures forever,

Og was another giant of a man, a remnant of the Rephaim, and the king of a formidable, well-fortified region famous for its oaks and cattle (Deut. 3:1-11). After Sihon's defeat, Og came out to attack Israel at Edrei. He was the second dragon on the path. And like Sihon, he was utterly destroyed. The defeat of these two kings was a massive boost to Israel's morale and a terrifying signal to the inhabitants of Canaan. It was tangible proof that God was with Israel and that His promise to give them the land was not idle talk. And it was all because His lovingkindness endures forever. His love is not a passive sentiment; it is an active, conquering force.

21 And gave their land as an inheritance, For His lovingkindness endures forever,

The outcome of these victories was not mere plunder. It was possession. God did not just defeat Israel's enemies; He took their land and gave it to His people. The word "inheritance" is theologically loaded. An inheritance is not something you earn through your own strength; it is a gift you receive based on your relationship to the giver. Israel did not conquer the land by their own might. God gave it to them. He was the Father, and Israel was His son (Ex. 4:22). This act of giving them the land of Sihon and Og was a down payment, a foretaste of the full inheritance on the other side of the Jordan. And the basis for this gift, once again, is His unending, covenantal love.

22 Even an inheritance to Israel His servant, For His lovingkindness endures forever.

The psalm concludes this section by clarifying who receives this inheritance: "Israel His servant." This is a title of honor and relationship. Israel's identity was not found in their own righteousness, the wilderness wanderings proved they had none, but in their status as God's chosen servant. They were the vehicle through whom God was working out His plan of redemption for the world. He gave them this land not because they were worthy, but because He was faithful to His own purposes. And this entire historical sequence, leading, striking, killing, and giving, is a perfect illustration of what His enduring lovingkindness looks like in a fallen world. It is a love that guides, protects, fights for, and provides for His chosen servants.

Application

This passage should, first of all, recalibrate our understanding of God's love. We live in a sentimental age that cannot stomach a God whose love is expressed in judgment. But the God of the Bible is not a cosmic teddy bear. His love is a holy love, and His mercy toward His people is inseparable from His wrath against sin and rebellion. When we pray for God's kingdom to come, we are praying for Sihon and Og to be toppled. We are praying for all the proud, defiant powers of this world, whether they are political, cultural, or spiritual, to be struck and killed, so that the land can be given as an inheritance to God's servant, the Church.

Second, this passage reminds us that our journey through the wilderness of this life is guided by that same lovingkindness. God leads us through, providing for us and protecting us. And when obstacles stand in our way, when spiritual Sihons and Ogs refuse us passage and come out for battle, we are not to fear. The God whose hesed endures forever is a warrior God. The victory has already been won at the cross, where the ultimate enemy was struck down. Our task is to march forward in faith, trusting that the God who gave Israel their inheritance will surely bring us into ours. We are servants of the greater Israel, Jesus Christ, and in Him, the land, the entire renewed creation, is our promised inheritance. And we have this promise for one simple, unshakeable reason: for His lovingkindness endures forever.