The spiritual realm, which we cannot see or hear, is much more complex than we generally believe. We tend to think in terms of God and His angels, and the Devil and his demons. In fact, there are many other spiritual beings that the Bible refers to as “gods” with a small “g.”
Some are misled by the statement of the Lord:
“I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me.” – Isaiah 45:5Here, the Lord is saying that there is no other god equal to Him. Isaiah uses the same language when speaking of Babylon:
“… thou hast said in thine heart, I am,, and none else beside me.” – Isaiah 47:10Isaiah was not saying that Babylon was the only nation, just as the Lord was not saying there are no other gods. Just as Babylon was superior to other nations, the Lord God is far superior to any other god. If no other gods existed, why would the Lord state in the First Commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” ? (Exodus 20:3)
Genesis chapter ten lists the children of Noah through Japheth, Ham and Shem. This chapter is known as the “Table of Nations.” There were seventy sons named who became seventy nations.
“These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.” – Genesis 10:32Because of the rebellion of the nations, and their attempt to build “a tower whose top may reach unto heaven” (Genesis 11:4) the Lord confused their language and scattered the seventy nations over the earth.
When the family of Jacob (the Children of Israel) came to Egypt to escape the world-wide famine, there were seventy sons as head of family.
“When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.” – Deuteronomy 32:8There were seventy nations and there were seventy Children of Israel.
In Psalm 82 the Lord is speaking to a group of “gods” who appear to have been given the responsibility of “judging” or leading the nations, similar to the judges of Israel. The Lord scolds them for not doing the job they were given. He calls them sons of God, “children of the Most High,” but the Lord also tells them that they will die like men. There were seventy nations who were judged or governed by high-ranking spiritual beings. But these beings, “children of the Most High,” rebelled against God and will die like men.
Moses gives us an explanation in Deuteronomy 32:9:
“For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.”The Devil and the created spiritual beings that rebelled against the Lord have been given seventy nations; the Lord’s portion is Israel. With this small group of people, He will demonstrate His power and authority over all the nations and all the world. This is the importance of the “Chosen People.”
I look forward to the day when the Lord will reign supreme. May the victory be His! May His Holy name be praised always!