◄ Psalm 107:17 ►
Fools, in their rebellious ways, and through their iniquities, suffered affliction.
Study Bible
Fools
The term "fools" in this context is derived from the Hebrew word "כְּסִילִים" (kesilim), which often refers to those who are morally deficient rather than intellectually lacking. In the wisdom literature of the Bible, a fool is someone who rejects God's wisdom and guidance, choosing instead to follow their own flawed understanding. This word sets the stage for the verse by identifying the individuals who have strayed from God's path, emphasizing the spiritual and moral dimensions of folly.

in their rebellious ways
The phrase "in their rebellious ways" highlights the deliberate nature of the actions taken by these individuals. The Hebrew root "פָּשַׁע" (pasha) conveys a sense of willful transgression and defiance against divine authority. This rebellion is not merely a passive drifting away but an active choice to oppose God's commandments. Historically, Israel's repeated cycles of rebellion and repentance serve as a backdrop, illustrating the consequences of turning away from God.

and through their iniquities
"Iniquities" comes from the Hebrew word "עֲוֹנוֹת" (avonot), which refers to moral perversity and guilt. This term underscores the depth of their wrongdoing, suggesting a pattern of sin that has become ingrained in their lives. Theologically, iniquity is more than just an isolated act; it is a condition of the heart that leads to separation from God. The Bible consistently warns of the destructive power of iniquity, urging believers to seek forgiveness and restoration.

were afflicted
The word "afflicted" is translated from the Hebrew "עֻנּוּ" (unnu), indicating suffering or distress that comes as a consequence of one's actions. This affliction is not merely punitive but serves as a corrective measure intended to bring the individual back to a right relationship with God. Throughout scripture, God uses affliction as a tool for discipline, aiming to awaken the sinner to their need for repentance and divine mercy. The historical context of Israel's exile and suffering due to disobedience provides a vivid illustration of this principle.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Fools
In the biblical context, "fools" refers to those who reject wisdom and live in opposition to God's commands. The Hebrew word used here is (kesilim), which often denotes moral and spiritual folly rather than mere lack of intelligence.

2. Rebellious Ways
This phrase highlights the deliberate actions and choices that go against God's will. It implies a conscious decision to turn away from divine guidance.

3. Iniquities
The term "iniquities" refers to moral wrongdoings or sins. In Hebrew, the word (avonot) is used, indicating a deviation from what is right and just.

4. Affliction
The suffering or distress experienced as a consequence of sin. This affliction is both a natural result of sin and a form of divine discipline intended to bring about repentance.
Teaching Points
The Consequences of Rebellion
Sin and rebellion against God lead to suffering and affliction. Recognizing this can help us understand the importance of aligning our lives with God's will.

The Call to Repentance
Affliction can serve as a wake-up call, prompting us to turn back to God. It is an opportunity for repentance and restoration.

The Importance of Wisdom
Seeking God's wisdom and guidance is crucial to avoid the pitfalls of foolishness. Regular study of Scripture and prayer can help cultivate a heart of wisdom.

God's Discipline as Love
Understanding that God's discipline is an expression of His love can change our perspective on suffering. It is meant to correct and guide us back to Him.

The Role of Community
Engaging with a community of believers can provide support and accountability, helping us to stay on the path of righteousness and avoid the isolation that often accompanies foolishness.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the concept of "foolishness" in Psalm 107:17 relate to our understanding of wisdom in the book of Proverbs?

2. In what ways can affliction serve as a catalyst for spiritual growth and repentance in our lives?

3. How can we discern whether our suffering is a result of personal sin or a trial meant to strengthen our faith?

4. What practical steps can we take to seek God's wisdom and avoid the pitfalls of foolishness in our daily decisions?

5. How can we support others in our community who may be experiencing affliction due to their rebellious ways, and how can we encourage them towards repentance and restoration?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Proverbs 1:7
This verse contrasts the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of knowledge, with the foolishness of those who despise wisdom and instruction. It underscores the biblical theme that true wisdom comes from reverence for God.

Isaiah 53:5
This passage speaks of the suffering servant who bears the iniquities of others, providing a redemptive solution to the affliction caused by sin.

Romans 1:21-22
These verses describe how people, despite knowing God, chose to reject Him, becoming futile in their thinking and darkened in their hearts, which aligns with the concept of foolishness leading to affliction.
Sermons
Bringing Affliction on OurselvesR. Tuck Psalm 107:17
Men and MercyHomilistPsalm 107:1-31
God's Watchful CareC. Short Psalm 107:1-43
Wherefore Men Should Praise the LordS. Conway Psalm 107:1-43
Four Portraits of One SoulS. Conway Psalm 107:4-32
A Rescue from Death, with a Return of PraisePsalm 107:17-20
The History of Sundry FoolsPsalm 107:17-20
People
David, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Afflict, Afflicted, Affliction, Crazed, Disobedience, Foolish, Fools, Iniquities, Rebellious, Sick, Sinful, Sins, Suffered, Themselves, Transgression, Troubled, Wrongdoing
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 107:17

     5561   suffering, nature of
     5568   suffering, causes
     8757   folly, effects of
     8760   fools, characteristics

Psalm 107:1-43

     5831   depression

Psalm 107:17-18

     5297   disease
     5418   monotony

Psalm 107:17-22

     7435   sacrifice, in OT

Library
March 12. "They Wandered in the Wilderness in a Solitary Way" (Ps. Cvii. 4).
"They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way" (Ps. cvii. 4). All who fight the Lord's battles must be content to die to all the favorable opinions of men and all the flattery of human praise. You cannot make an exception in favor of the good opinions of the children of God. It is very easy for the insidious adversary to make this also all appeal to the flesh. It is all right when God sends us the approval of our fellow men, but we must never make it a motive in our life, but be content with …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Prayer and Science
(Preached at St. Olave's Church, Hart Street, before the Honourable Corporation of the Trinity House, 1866.) PSALM cvii. 23, 24, 28. They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. These are days in which there is much dispute about religion and science--how far they agree with each other; whether they contradict or interfere …
Charles Kingsley—Discipline and Other Sermons

God's Great Deliverance of his People. --Ps. Cvii.
God's great Deliverance of His People.--Ps. cvii. part I.--The Wilderness. part II.--From Captivity. part III. From Malignant Disease. part IV. Perils on the Deep. Thank and praise Jehovah's name For his mercies firm and sure, From eternity the same, To eternity endure. Let the ransom'd thus rejoice, Gather'd out of every land; As the people of his choice, Pluck'd from the destroyer's hand. In the wilderness astray, Hither, thither, while they roam, Hungry, fainting by the way, Far from refuge, …
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns

Thankfulness for Mercies Received, a Necessary Duty
Numberless marks does man bear in his soul, that he is fallen and estranged from God; but nothing gives a greater proof thereof, than that backwardness, which every one finds within himself, to the duty of praise and thanksgiving. When God placed the first man in paradise, his soul no doubt was so filled with a sense of the riches of the divine love, that he was continually employing that breath of life, which the Almighty had not long before breathed into him, in blessing and magnifying that all-bountiful, …
George Whitefield—Selected Sermons of George Whitefield

He Accuses Abaelard for Preferring his Own Opinions and Even Fancies to the Unanimous Consent of the Fathers, Especially Where He Declares that Christ did Not
He accuses Abaelard for preferring his own opinions and even fancies to the unanimous consent of the Fathers, especially where he declares that Christ did not become incarnate in order to save man from the power of the devil. 11. I find in a book of his sentences, and also in an exposition of his of the Epistle to the Romans, that this rash inquirer into the Divine Majesty attacks the mystery of our Redemption. He admits in the very beginning of his disputation that there has never been but one conclusion …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Spiritual Hunger Shall be Satisfied
They shall be filled. Matthew 5:6 I proceed now to the second part of the text. A promise annexed. They shall be filled'. A Christian fighting with sin is not like one that beats the air' (1 Corinthians 9:26), and his hungering after righteousness is not like one that sucks in only air, Blessed are they that hunger, for they shall be filled.' Those that hunger after righteousness shall be filled. God never bids us seek him in vain' (Isaiah 45:19). Here is an honeycomb dropping into the mouths of …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

How those are to be Admonished with whom Everything Succeeds According to their Wish, and those with whom Nothing Does.
(Admonition 27.) Differently to be admonished are those who prosper in what they desire in temporal matters, and those who covet indeed the things that are of this world, but yet are wearied with the labour of adversity. For those who prosper in what they desire in temporal matters are to be admonished, when all things answer to their wishes, lest, through fixing their heart on what is given, they neglect to seek the giver; lest they love their pilgrimage instead of their country; lest they turn …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

"But if the Spirit of Him that Raised up Jesus from the Dead Dwell in You, He that Raised up Christ from the Dead, Shall Also
Rom. viii. 11.--"But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead, shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." As there is a twofold death,--the death of the soul, and the death of the body--so there is a double resurrection, the resurrection of the soul from the power of sin, and the resurrection of the body from the grave. As the first death is that which is spiritual, then that which is bodily, so …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Providence of God
Q-11: WHAT ARE GOD'S WORKS OF PROVIDENCE? A: God's works of providence are the acts of his most holy, wise, and powerful government of his creatures, and of their actions. Of the work of God's providence Christ says, My Father worketh hitherto and I work.' John 5:17. God has rested from the works of creation, he does not create any new species of things. He rested from all his works;' Gen 2:2; and therefore it must needs be meant of his works of providence: My Father worketh and I work.' His kingdom …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Exposition of Chap. Iii. (ii. 28-32. )
Ver. 1. "And it shall come to pass, afterwards, I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions." The communication of the Spirit of God was the constant prerogative of the Covenant-people. Indeed, the very idea of such a people necessarily requires it. For the Spirit of God is the only inward bond betwixt Him and that which is created; a Covenant-people, therefore, without such an inward …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Concerning the Lord's Supper
There are two passages which treat in the clearest manner of this subject, and at which we shall look,--the statements in the Gospels respecting the Lord's Supper, and the words of Paul. (1 Cor. xi.) Matthew, Mark, and Luke agree that Christ gave the whole sacrament to all His disciples; and that Paul taught both parts of it is so certain, that no one has yet been shameless enough to assert the contrary. Add to this, that according to the relation of Matthew, Christ did not say concerning the bread, …
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

Effects of Messiah's Appearance
The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped: Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing. H ow beautiful and magnificent is the imagery, by which the Prophet, in this chapter, represents the effects of MESSIAH'S appearance! The scene, proposed to our view, is a barren and desolate wilderness. But when He, who in the beginning said, Let there be light, and there was light, condescends to visit this wilderness, the face of nature is …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Concerning Christian Liberty
CHRISTIAN faith has appeared to many an easy thing; nay, not a few even reckon it among the social virtues, as it were; and this they do, because they have not made proof of it experimentally, and have never tasted of what efficacy it is. For it is not possible for any man to write well about it, or to understand well what is rightly written, who has not at some time tasted of its spirit, under the pressure of tribulation. While he who has tasted of it, even to a very small extent, can never write, …
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

Memoir of John Bunyan
THE FIRST PERIOD. THIS GREAT MAN DESCENDED FROM IGNOBLE PARENTS--BORN IN POVERTY--HIS EDUCATION AND EVIL HABITS--FOLLOWS HIS FATHER'S BUSINESS AS A BRAZIER--ENLISTS FOR A SOLDIER--RETURNS FROM THE WARS AND OBTAINS AN AMIABLE, RELIGIOUS WIFE--HER DOWER. 'We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.'--2 Cor 4:7 'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.'--Isaiah 55:8. 'Though ye have lien among the …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Concerning Christian Liberty
Christian faith has appeared to many an easy thing; nay, not a few even reckon it among the social virtues, as it were; and this they do because they have not made proof of it experimentally, and have never tasted of what efficacy it is. For it is not possible for any man to write well about it, or to understand well what is rightly written, who has not at some time tasted of its spirit, under the pressure of tribulation; while he who has tasted of it, even to a very small extent, can never write, …
Martin Luther—Concerning Christian Liberty

Effectual Calling
THE second qualification of the persons to whom this privilege in the text belongs, is, They are the called of God. All things work for good "to them who are called." Though this word called is placed in order after loving of God, yet in nature it goes before it. Love is first named, but not first wrought; we must be called of God, before we can love God. Calling is made (Rom. viii. 30) the middle link of the golden chain of salvation. It is placed between predestination and glorification; and if …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Links
Psalm 107:17 NIV
Psalm 107:17 NLT
Psalm 107:17 ESV
Psalm 107:17 NASB
Psalm 107:17 KJV

Psalm 107:17 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Psalm 107:16
Top of Page
Top of Page