July 13, 2023 — Psalm 82 

“God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk around in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. I say, “You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, and fall like any prince.” Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for all the nations belong to you!” Psalm 82 

In this Psalm, both G-d and other gods are translations of the same Hebrew term Elohim. In the Hebrew, Elohim refers to both the Judge of sinners and the sinners being judged in this psalm — so context obviously decides the translation of each instance of Elohim. Within the psalm, these gods are responsible for judging the matters of men, which they are doing poorly, and are thus condemned to death. So, to be more specific, the gods the Psalmist is speaking about were not just regular humans, but they were those who had the responsibility of administrating justice according to the Word of G-d on G-d’s behalf. 

On first blush, the writer of this Psalm seems to be speaking to a situation similar to the experience of our friend Job. In the beginning of that wonderful book, G-d is holding court with a divine council: “One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.” (Job 1:6) Just like the divine council in Job, G-d is meeting and taking a stand against the rulers. But what we soon learn is that these are not divine rulers, but G-d is upset with earthly rulers and judges. So, we live with the hope that G-d expects those involved in administering justice on earth i.e. rulers, judges and magistrates, might give an account of their judgments to the Supreme Ruler. And what was true for the time of Israel remains true for us. We too must respect proper authority, whether local, state-wide or across our country — for these rulers should also rule in the name of G-d. This includes all civil authority, church authority and even family authority. We pray for our rulers — all rulers and leaders, whether political or judicial or even spiritual, hoping they might take serious note of leading with some respect for divine rule.  

Today, and every day, we join the Psalmist: “Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for all the nations belong to you!” 

Prayer 

Strength of the weak, defender of the needy, rescuer of the poor, gracious God, deliver us from the power of wickedness, that we may rejoice in your justice now and forever; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. 

Amen.