They do not know, nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are unstable. (Psalm 82:5)
As the psalm continues, Asaph laments the fact that, despite the great responsibility given to rulers and judges, too many of them were ignorant or indifferent to the fundamentals of justice. Thus, he describes them as people who walk about in darkness, insensitive to the fact that their unjust and sometimes unlawful decisions inflict great harm on the nation at large. This is why he said, “all the foundations of the earth are unstable.” If as Solomon said, “The king establishes the land by justice” (Proverbs 29:4), then it is also true that injustice undermines the stability of the nation; or as Solomon also wrote — “he who receives bribes overthrows it (the nation).”
On that note, Scripture clearly states that “a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous” (Exodus 23:8). In other words, to be blinded is to be in darkness; the powerful who accept bribes are those who walk about in darkness. Being that they are in darkness, they are likely unaware or unconcerned that God Himself sits in judgment of those who neglect or pervert their responsibility and duties. Nevertheless, it is understood that, at some point, God will judge the judges who walk in darkness and create social and moral instability.
All of this brings to mind something Messiah taught: “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23). Having a “good eye” is an idiomatic expression to say that someone is generous. The opposite — having a “bad eye” — is an idiomatic way of saying someone is stingy. Stinginess includes being greedy for power, which leads to the perverting of justice,
All of this brings us to this point: as God’s people, we are not to be in darkness. We are children of the light and should, therefore, conduct ourselves accordingly. We should not be stingy nor should we do anything that could be considered as unjust and perverse. We must always be diligent to fulfill our duties as determined by our Creator and lead others out of the darkness into the light.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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