God and "gods"

Psalm 82:1-8 TNIV

God presides in the great assembly;

he gives 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.


My thoughts -

The problem with the somewhat superficial nature of my devotional reading right now is that I feel like I am really missing out on some depth in places. This psalm reminds me of that.

First, what I do get. Obviously this psalm like so much in the Old Testament reinforces God's concern for the poor, the weak, the vulnerable, the oppressed and the powerless. When we read about judgement and justice it is almost always accompanied by concern for the poor and the powerless. That's justice. Defending those who can not defend themselves. Protecting those who can not protect themselves.

The powerful don't prey on other powerful but instead they prey on the powerless. It's a lot easier when your victim has no recourse. That's where God and God's people come in. To protect the powerless against the powerful and to ensure that preferential treatment is not given to those with power against those without it. Absent God there's nothing protecting the concerns of the powerless. They have nothing to offer. There's nothing to gain in doing it except that you are doing what is good and right and godly.

Now for what I feel I'm missing. The psalmist is placing God against "gods" and I have no idea what the psalmist means by "gods". I want to say that they are the things of this world that draw our attention and worship away from the Lord our God but that's just because that's what makes sense to me contextually. One thing I see here is that these "gods", while purporting to fill the role of God, clearly are not doing the job of providong for the poor, the needy, and the powerless. They fail to be God.

Some day I'm going to have the time to devote to deeper study. God willing.

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