Psalms 106:7 Meaning: Why Did Israel Rebel at the Red Sea?

The Hebrew verb behind “didn’t understand” is hiskilu (from śakal). It does not mean they lacked information; it means they did not let what they saw shape how they thought or acted. The same word is used for acting with wisdom. They had all the evidence of God’s power, but it did not sink into their hearts.

The word for “remembered” (zakhar) is more than bringing a fact to mind. It means to call something up so it directs your steps. They had plenty to recall: the plagues, the saving of their firstborn, the plunder from Egypt. But at the sea, none of it came forward to steady them.

And “lovingkindnesses” (chasadeikha) is plural. Not one act of mercy but a whole sea of them. The word carries the sense of covenant loyalty, God had committed Himself to these people and kept pouring out help. Yet Israel faced the water and acted as if He had never done a thing for them.

When they rebelled, the verb is marah, a word for stubborn, open defiance. It is the same root used when Moses struck the rock in anger (Numbers 20:24). This was not a small stumble; it was a stiff resistance to the God who was in the process of saving them.

Commentators across traditions agree that this verse shows how quickly human hearts forget God’s goodness. Several note the repetition “at the sea, even at the Red Sea.” Some Jewish rabbis point to two failures: first the people grumbled when they saw the sea ahead and Pharaoh behind, and then they hesitated to step into the divided waters. Christian readers often highlight the next verse, “Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake”, as the real point. The confession of sin is not the last word; God’s faithfulness is. The verse functions as both an honest look at human nature and a reason to trust that God works despite our weakness. Different traditions emphasize either the gravity of the sin or the abundance of the grace, but all agree that the psalmist does not excuse the rebellion; he owns it.

Some readers think this verse proves the Exodus generation was too sinful for God to use. In fact, the psalmist includes himself in the confession (“We have sinned with our fathers”). This is not a judgment on people long gone; it is an admission that the same forgetfulness lives in every generation. And the very next sentence shows God saving them anyway, not because they were worthy, but to make His power known.

This week, when you feel anxious about something ahead, a conversation you dread, a financial decision, a health concern, try this. Stop and name one concrete way God has helped you in the past. It can be small: a kind word at the right time, a bill that got paid, a night you slept when you thought you would not. Write it down if it helps. That act of deliberate remembering does what the Israelites did not do. It turns your eyes from the size of the problem to the character of the God who has kept His word before. You are not pretending the trouble is not real. You are choosing to hold His kindness alongside it.