God presides in the great assembly; He renders judgment among the “gods”: “How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. “I said, ‘You are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.’ But you will die like mere mortals; you will fall like every other ruler.” Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance. Psalm 82
“The existence of the other gods in the psalm is puzzling to modern readers, but in our diverse world perhaps this psalm should give us pause and invite us to think of monotheism differently.
Others are not necessarily delusional in their belief in their gods, but are simply people from different places with different cultures. Maybe the ancients knew more than we do. We should not assume that others are evil or suspect simply because a group of people have a different god. This psalm leaves such issues of the gods with God.
Further, the psalm places us in the council reserved for gods. This is not our usual vision of what goes on in heaven, and in that it invites the readers to stretch their own ideas of what the world of the gods might be.
What is clear is that the values of the God of Israel’s kingdom have worldwide impact. The other gods are not condemned for deceiving the people or for not worshipping the Chief God, but according to vv. 3-4 for not caring for the ones with the least voice.
The values of Psalm 82 are clearly also the values in the heavenly realm. This psalm declares that the foundations of the earth are shaken, not by political or theological issues, but by the treatment of those who are homeless and hungry, alone and without justice.
We often think of judgment falling on those who do not believe as we do; this psalm declares that the gods judge just as humans, not by what we believe, but by what we choose to do or not do for the others that God created and loves.”
Beth Tanner The Book of Psalms (NICOT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2014) 644.
Reading the Psalms lately has touched me deeply at the divine hours. I often have to juggle the times linked to work or meetings, but the practice of pausing is impacting my thinking and helping me stay centered.
In this psalm, God presides over the gods of the earth and will judge people for their deeds. Jesus echoes this. What will separate the sheep and the goats at the last judgment will be their treatment of the lowly.
We are living in a time when people are focused on political and theological issues. We must tune all that out! Instead, let us put our money where our faith is. Pour it into people and with those serving the needy, especially during the pandemic.
A significant global economic implication of the pandemic is that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. So, here is the test to prepare for the final judgment. Put to work what you have to serve others.
We must all remember that what we do with money God has entrusted us to steward will reflect what we really believed and thus, determine how it will go for us. How will it go for you? Only you can answer that.
If you store up treasures for yourself, it reveals your misplaced trust. You will have to explain to Jesus why you ignored his command. If you instead pour them out for the needy, He will look after you now and on the last day.