July 1, 2024  —  suggested reading:  Psalm 82:1 – 86:17

“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

There is a scene of divine judgment going on in this Psalm – Psalm 82.  It is an odd scene, especially the verse that reads, “in the midst of the gods he holds judgment.” Who belongs to the divine council, and how many are there? Our hope comes in the last verse, “Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for all the nations belong to you!” We know that injustice destroys and damages the earth. We see it happening all around us – in our country, in our schools, in our every day lives. Our hope comes in a G-d who will ultimately rule over everything. One scholar says this in regards to the theme of Psalm 82: “As long as nations and their peoples do not see the reign of God as the reality that determines their way and destiny, there will be other gods who play that role.” As long as nations do not turn to the One True G-d, they will and have turned to other gods. And we know this to be so true in our world today, Amen?

Every day we make decisions about who will be our gods, who we will bow down to, and who will rule our lives. If I watch television long enough, I will be convinced that a new car will give my life purpose; or eating a certain brand of cereal will give me the strength to climb mountains. My friends, what gives me the strength to climb out of the ruts and potholes of my life is G-d – not a certain kind of probiotic or colon cleanser. It takes recognizing G-d as our Lord and Savior every day to keep us from following other gods — who will always disappoint us. 

Pastor Dave