Psalms 106:21 Meaning and Explanation
“They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt;”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →The deepest loss in this verse is not simply a lost recollection of miracles. Israel forgot "God their saviour." Psalm 106 names him personally as the one who rescued them, then recalls the greatness of what he did in Egypt. That contrast helps us see why worship matters: memory of God's saving character guards a people from giving their trust and devotion elsewhere.
Israel forgot God himself, their Savior, after he had performed great acts of deliverance in Egypt. The verse shows that idolatry grows where the saving God and his works are no longer held in grateful memory.
The Context of Psalms 106:21
Psalm 106 recounts Israel's rebellion after the exodus. Following the Red Sea deliverance, the psalm has described their forgetfulness, craving, envy, and judgment in the wilderness. Verses 19-20 focus on the calf made at Horeb: Israel worshiped a molten image and exchanged their glory for the likeness of an ox that eats grass. Verse 21 explains the spiritual root of that act. Verse 22 enlarges the memory they abandoned by naming God's wondrous works in Egypt and terrible things by the Red Sea. Verse 23 then recalls Moses standing before God for the people when destruction was announced.
What Does Psalms 106:21 Mean?
"They forgat God their saviour" speaks with grave simplicity. The LORD was not an abstract power in Israel's story. He had saved them from the hand of those who hated them and redeemed them from their enemy, as the psalm has already said. Calling him "their saviour" brings the covenant relationship into view. Israel belonged to the God who had acted for them before they had reached the wilderness. Forgetting him meant that his identity, mercy, authority, and claims upon them no longer governed their worship. The calf at Horeb was therefore a rupture of gratitude and loyalty. It gave visible devotion to an image while the living God who delivered them was being set aside.
The phrase "which had done great things in Egypt" prevents Israel's sin from being treated lightly. The works in Egypt were public, costly, and decisive acts by which the LORD brought his people out from bondage. Verse 22 adds the Red Sea to this account, while the earlier verses describe the sea's drying and the enemy's defeat. Psalm 106 places idolatry beside remembered history so that the absurdity and danger of the exchange are clear. The people did not lack evidence of God's power or care. Their failure concerned the faithful response due to the God who had made himself known through saving deeds. Biblical remembrance includes retelling God's acts in a way that forms worship and obedience.
The title "saviour" reaches forward to the Bible's witness that salvation belongs to the LORD and is made known in Jesus Christ. The angel's announcement of Jesus' birth gives his name in relation to saving his people from their sins, and the New Testament repeatedly calls God Savior. Psalm 106 does not erase Israel's particular exodus story. Instead, it establishes a pattern: God saves his people, and their proper response is grateful trust rather than the worship of substitutes. Christ's saving work intensifies the call to remember. Christian remembrance includes the concrete acts by which God has delivered, forgiven, restored, and gathered his people through his Son.
Bible Verses Related to Psalms 106:21
“I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”
- Exodus 20:2
“Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;”
- Deuteronomy 8:14
“And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had shewed them.”
- Psalm 78:11
“Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.”
- Acts 7:40
Where Psalms 106:21 Echoes in Scripture
Acts 7:39-41 echoes this section of Psalm 106 when Stephen recalls Israel's refusal of Moses and their making of a calf in the wilderness. His retelling preserves the historical seriousness of the event and shows how the episode continued to instruct later generations. Psalm 106:21 supplies the heart of the matter: Israel turned toward an image after forgetting the God who had saved them.
How to Apply Psalms 106:21 Today
This verse invites us to name God's saving mercies plainly rather than allowing them to become distant religious language. Families and congregations can retell how God has sustained them through hardship, corrected them, supplied help, and led them toward faithfulness. It also calls for attention to the objects that quietly receive our deepest confidence, fear, imagination, and service. When a created thing is asked to provide the security that belongs to God, it can become an idol. Remembering God as Savior redirects gratitude, loyalty, and hope toward him.
Reflection & Prayer
Where have we allowed a gift, fear, goal, or visible source of security to overshadow the God who saves? We might pray: "God our Savior, preserve in us the memory of your mighty works. Turn our hearts from every false trust, and teach us to give you the worship and gratitude that belong to you."