Psalm Eighty-Two
From the very beginning the Lord orchestrated events with the planned result that there would be no question that He is Lord. There will be no question. There is one LORD over all the earth. The seventy ranking angels that were given the responsibility of governing the nations failed to obey the Lord. They rebelled against Him and against the angels that serve Him. The rebellious created beings will clearly be defeated, and they and all the people of the world will know there is one LORD over all the earth.
Which brings us to Psalm eighty-two.
First, let’s look at the context:
“God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.” – verse 1In this verse the word “mighty” in Hebrew is el (Strong’s H410), which is in the Old Testament translated (capital G) “God” 213 times, and (little g) “god” 16 times. The word “gods” in Hebrew is elohiym (Strong’s H430), which is in the Old Testament translated (capital G) “God” 2,346 times, and (little g) “god” 244 times. In the Old Testament the Hebrew words el and elohiym refer to spiritual beings, and they are used in that manner almost exclusively. In my opinion, verse one is referring to those spiritual beings.
There is no passage in the Bible, that I am aware of, where the Lord stands and meets with a group of men. He spoke to Abraham several times. The Lord appeared to Moses and Aaron in the Tabernacle. Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel were instructed to come up on Mount Sinai and worship the Lord from “afar off.” They saw the Lord sitting upon His throne, and the Lord “did not lay a hand on them.” But there was no conversation. (Exodus 24:1-10) I know of no Scripture describing the Lord God standing with a group of men and conversing with them, and specifically judging them.
Because of the context in verse one, the Lord is judging the (little g) gods, not humans. He is judging those spiritual beings that were given the responsibility of governing the nations. The following verses could refer to human judges, but in the context of verse one they confirm the Lord’s judgment against the appointed spiritual rulers:
“How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.” – Psalm 82:2-4The Lord stated, “Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.” (Psalm 82:6) In the New Testament, Believers are blessed to be called “children of God,” but in the Old Testament men are never referred to as “sons of God.” In the New Testament, Adam, who was created by God, is called the son of God. (Luke 3:38) In the Old Testament only beings created by God are described as sons of God, or children of God. Psalm 82:6 is about created spiritual beings. In the next verse the Lord continued, “But ye shall die like men.” (Psalm 82:7) The “children of the most High,” the highly ranked spiritual beings that were given great authority and responsibility and who should have been immortal, will be punished and die like ordinary men.
The concluding verse of the Psalm confirms what Asaph the Psalmist was describing, and follows the context of the entire Psalm. In this Psalm the Lord is judging the gods, and in the end He will inherit and rule all nations.
“Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.” – Psalm 82:8Psalm eighty-two refers to the created beings that were given governorship over the seventy nations. The Lord will utterly defeat them and will unquestionably be “king over all the earth,” (Zechariah 14:9) and He will inherit all seventy nations. I look forward to the day! Psalm eighty-two describes the culmination of the Lord’s great Plan! That is what Ezekiel chapters thirty-eight and thirty-nine (the defeat of Gog and Magog) are all about! God is the victor! The nations “shall know that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 38:23)
In His wonderful grace, patience and mercy, the Lord planned this from the Beginning. We human beings are given a choice of whether to serve Him or rebel against Him. The Lord gave seventy of the higher ranking rebellious created beings the same choice, just as He gave Adam and Eve a choice in the Garden of Eden.
But these “angels” chose to rebel. The Lord will use the physical world that He created, defeat the spiritual beings that He created which rebelled against Him, and bring billions of human beings that He created to His home in Glory. Our God is so great! Praise His name!