The Lord refers to leaders as the “godly” (אֵל - ‘el) for that is how they thought of themselves. He is judging these “gods” (Elohim). They are coming up short.
“How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked? Selah! Defend the poor and fatherless. Do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy. Free them from the hand of the wicked. They do not know, nor do they understand. They walk about in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are unstable.” Psalm 82:1-5
The self-assumed “gods” of Psalm 82:1 judged unjustly. They took sides with those the Lord condemned. They were a criminal enterprise. The poor, afflicted, and needy were pawns for advancing their agendas. There was no light of God in them. Those who based their hopes on their promises were greatly disappointed.
“I said, ‘You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High. But you shall die like men and fall like one of the princes.’” Psalm 82:6-7
In John 10:34-38, Jesus quoted Psalm 82:6 to the religious leaders who accused Him of blasphemy. He said to them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods?’ If He called them gods, to whom the Word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), 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?’ If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me, 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.”
The Pharisees thought of themselves as gods to the people. Jesus acknowledge their inflated opinions of themselves, but wondered why they were accusing Him of blasphemy when He actually was doing the works of the Messianic Son of God. Jesus freely healed the afflicted, fed the poor and provided edifying teaching for the needy.
God says to evil rulers, “You shall die like men.” Those who abuse their power will not escape God’s judgment. Though honored among men, they remain mortal before God. Their status will not shield them from divine justice. [1]
When rulers become proud and imagine themselves to be above accountability, as the kings of Babylon and Tyre did, God brings them down to everlasting shame. [2]
In Isaiah 14:14, the king of Babylon said, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will make myself like the Most High.” In Isaiah 14:15, God said to him, “You shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the pit.”
In Ezekiel 28:6-8, the Lord God said to the prince of Tyre, “Because you have set your heart as the heart of a god, behold, therefore, I will bring strangers against you, the most terrible of the nations, and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, and defile your splendor. They shall throw you down into the Pit, and you shall die the death of the slain in the midst of the seas.”
God maintains His authority over nations and rulers. Though evil men may appear dominant, God still governs the world and overrules human wickedness according to His purposes. [3]
According to Psalm 2:8, the nations belong to God’s Son. He shall inherit them. He will rule them with perfect justice. Upon His return, Jesus will replace injustice with righteousness, and cruel abuse with tender loving care.
Soon, all who trust in Christ shall be with Him and sing hallelujah’s to Him. In Revelation 19:6, the victorious in Christ say, “Hallelujah, the Lord God Almighty reigns.”
[1] Matthew Henry’s Commentary
[2] Based on comments from Matthew Henry’s Commentary
[3] Ibid
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