Psalm 82

This is quite an interesting psalm—one that depicts God, the Great Judge, judging the rulers of the earth: “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? Selah!” (vs 1-2)

There were a couple of things that really stuck out to me about this whole scene:

God stands in the assembly. This is where God does His judging—among us. I had always thought of His judgment as some sort of distant thing. You know, like there’s this Great White Throne somewhere far away, and maybe we’d be whisked there to face “the judgment.” But, just as God lives among us, He also judges among us. His judgments are not amputated pronouncements or declarations; rather, they are revelations of the reality around us. In this case, the revelation is that those who have been entrusted to judge are not being just (vs 2).
We really are made in God’s image. God—who is the Great Judge—has created us to be gods—that is, to be little judges. He has endowed us with the opportunity to encounter the poor and needy and decide what we will do with them. Many Bible commentators link this admonition to justice with our present-day social justice reforms in the government. But so often, I feel that when we abdicate care of the poor and needy to the government, we miss out on the reason behind God’s command to care for the poor and needy. I don’t believe that sending a check from the government is what God had in mind when He asked us to care for the poor. And I believe that because I think God’s asking us to care for the poor is more about what it achieves in us and less about actually meeting the needs of the poor. (God can do that all by Himself, without our help!)

For me, the salient point to remember is that God stands among us. He is there in the orphan, the widow, the rich man, and the judge. No matter where we fall in the spectrum, we have—this day—an opportunity to act in His image. We have—this day—an opportunity to do what is right, to do justice. Let’s not leave that to anyone else. Having been made in God’s image, with the power to think and to do, let’s do.

For God is among us.