God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods. How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked? (Psalm 82:1-2)
As we consider the opening verse of the psalm, it should be noted that the Hebrew phrase translated as “He judges among the gods” might be better rendered, “He judges among judges.” In other words, the psalmist teaches that God stands in the midst of His people and considers those who are leading and judging them. Therefore, how they execute justice in the land will determine how they are judged by the Supreme Judge. According to the composer, Asaph, many of the leaders in his day were not doing well; their rulings were unjust, showing preference to those who practiced wickedness. In fact, the next two verses of the psalm were a plea for justice and right rulings in accordance with Scripture.
The Bible is clear that God expects those who oversee His people to rule justly and according to Truth, as it is written: “They shall judge the people with just judgment. You shall not pervert justice nor show partiality … that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you” (Deuteronomy 16:18-20). In other words, for the sake of life, prosperity and peace, there must be truth and justice; without it chaos ensues and truth is cast to the ground. When those in power are blinded by greed or driven by lies and falsehood, the masses pay the price. It is as Solomon said: “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, the people groan” (Proverbs 29:2).
Today we live in such a time as what Asaph described; far too many judges make rulings in the name of social justice but which are, in fact, unjust — showing partiality for those who practice wickedness. As a result, we live in a day when good is called evil and evil is considered as good; people have taken leave of their senses and chaos reigns. In time, God will deal with injustice and those responsible for it, but in the meantime, let us continue to follow the ways of our God. His Word and Spirit continues to be our guide, thus enabling us to make right judgments in how we deal with the craziness of this world. It’s inevitable that the chaos running rampant in the world will affect our lives, but it doesn’t have to govern us. Hold fast to what is right and true and, even in the midst of bedlam, we will have peace.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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