Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

Psalm 82

What should I learn from this chapter?

• A preview of the future in God’s plan for man.
• Judges and Justice.
• Who are the “gods”?
• Righteousness will reign.

A Plea for Justice

A Psalm of Asaph.

Psalm 82:¹ God (‘ĕlōhîm) stands in the congregation of the mighty (Heb. El, lit. god);
He judges among the gods (judges; Heb. elohim, lit. mighty ones or gods).

• He judges among the judges (elohim: mighty ones or gods).

Psalm 82:² How long will you (who have been given the word of God) judge unjustly,
And show partiality to the wicked? Selah

• These Jewish leaders (gods) judge unjustly. They are men. The most unjust of all were the scribes and Pharisees who had Jesus the Messiah crucified. Jesus called them “the seed of the serpent” or “the sons of the devil” from Genesis 3:15.
  
  • John 8:44 You are of your father the devil (the serpent), and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

Psalm 82:³ Defend (vindicate) the poor and fatherless;
Do justice to the afflicted and needy.

• A plea to God to defend the defenseless from unjust leaders.

Psalm 82:⁴ Deliver (bring into security) the poor and needy;
Free them from the hand of the wicked.

Psalm 82:⁵ They (the leaders of the Jews with the word of God) do not know, nor do they understand;
They walk about in darkness (blindly);
All the foundations of the earth are unstable (moved).

• DARKNESS:
• Jesus called the Scribes and Pharisees the blind leaders of the blind.

• UNSTABLE:
• Society is not stable when it is built on corruption, greed, riches, power, fame and all the sins of the world.
• A Rock is stable, sand is unstable.
  God is stable, man is unstable.
  
  • Matthew 7:²⁴ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: ²⁵ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
    ²⁶ “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: ²⁷ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
  • Proverbs 9:10 The Awe/Reverence/Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
  • Psalm 111:10 The Awe/Reverence/Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
    
  • Throughout scripture Jesus is referred to as a Rock or Stone. See Topic: Jesus as a Rock and a Stone

Psalm 82:⁶ I (God) said, “You are gods (judges; Heb. elohim, lit. mighty ones or gods),

• He is calling them “gods” because they are leaders who have been given the Word of God and have the responsibility to judge rightly.
  Jesus confronts them with this verse:
  
• John 10: ³³ The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.” ³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods” ’? ³⁵ If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), ³⁶ do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? ³⁷ If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; ³⁸ but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”
  
  • SCRIPTURE CAN NOT BE BROKEN:
    But they broke it so it is no longer scripture.
    
• Conclusion: Psalm 82 addresses the high status of those leaders as ‘gods’, but they are using their status for unrighteousness and wickedness – while Jesus as the Son of God IS the Word of God in the flesh. It is an irony that they who were given the word of God are rejecting THE WORD OF GOD and calling it blasphemy.
  The scribes and Pharisees were the mighty men, judges, and gods among men. They are unjust, greedy, and wicked. But Jesus, as God stands in their midst judging them all (v1).

Psalm 82:6 (cont) And all of you are children of the Most High (ʿelyôn).

• All men are children of the Most High God in that God is the Creator of all men. BUT, Jesus is the ONLY begotten (raised from the dead) Son of the Father.
  
  • BEGOTTEN-Raised from the dead, born again:
    
  • Psalm 2:7 “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.
  • John 1:18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
  • John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
  • John 3:18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
  • 1 Corinthians 4:15 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I (Paul) have begotten you (raised you from the dead to be born again) through the gospel.
  • 1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
    
• ONLY Jesus was with the Father from the beginning.
  
  • John 1:¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. … ¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
    
• One Man, the Son of God, stands in the midst of the evil leaders who are called “gods”. He judges justly. But He will die like a man. He will willingly lie down in death as the Son of God.

Psalm 82:⁷ But You (one Judge) shall die like (a man) men,
And fall (lay down) like one of the princes (Son of a King).”

• NOTE: A FAR BETTER TRANSLATION OF THE LITERAL HEBREW WOULD BE:
  Surely – He was/will be executed – as a Man – united (with the Father and the Spirit)- to lay Himself down – once for all – as the Ruler of rulers (King of kings, Lord of lords).
  
• Literal Hebrew:
  
  ‘āḵēn (surely)
  mûṯ (be executed-die forcefully)
  āḏām (man, men)
  ‘eḥāḏ nāp̄al ‘eḥāḏ (united as one – lay down – once for all)
  śar (Prince, Ruler of rulers as God)
  
• SURELY: ‘āḵēn
  • Absolutely, Verily
• EXECUTED: mûṯ
  • Die for a crime (whether guilty or innocent).
• A MAN: āḏām
  • 1 Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam (man) became a life-giving spirit.
  • 1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ (the last Adam) all shall be made alive.
  • Romans 5:¹⁸ Therefore, as through one man’s offense (sin) judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s (Jesus’) righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.
• UNITED: ‘eḥāḏ
  • John 14:9-11 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? … Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me,
  • Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
• LAY DOWN: nāp̄al
  • In the place of “fall”
• ONCE FOR ALL: ‘eḥāḏ “united as one”
  • Romans 6:10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
  • Hebrews 7:27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.
  • Hebrews 9:12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
  • Hebrews 10:10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
• RULER OF RULERS AS GOD: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. śar
  • Revelation 17:14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”
  • Revelation 19:16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
    
• Psalm 82 is a prophecy of the coming Son of God, Jesus, who came to earth as a man.

Psalm 82:⁸ Arise (raise oneself, rise up) O God (‘ĕlōhîm), judge the earth;
For You (Jesus, the Son) shall inherit all nations.

• ARISE
  qûm (To raise oneself, rise up)
• Arise from the dead: be resurrected. Jesus raised Himself from the dead (with the Father and the Spirit):
  • “Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” John 2:19
  • “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” John 10:17
    
• INHERIT THE NATIONS
  • Only the only begotten Son of God will inherit the nations.
    
  • Psalm 2^:6 “Yet I have set My King
    On My holy hill of Zion.”⁷ “I will declare the decree:
    The Lord has said to Me,
    ‘You are My Son,
    Today I have begotten You.
    ⁸ Ask of Me, and I will give You
    The nations for Your inheritance,
    And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
    
  • Jeremiah 3:17 “At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts.
    
  • Matthew 25:32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
    
  • Revelation 12:5 She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.
    
  • Revelation 15:4 Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested.”
    
  • Revelation 19:15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron.