God’s Judgment of the Divine Council

This meditation is based on a passage for June 14, 2010 in the Daily Lectionary Year 2 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993).

Text: Psalm 82

Reflection and Question: This visionary poem marks the astounding shift in the Hebrew understanding of God from a local deity, solely for them, to the conviction that the God they know is God of all nations and all peoples. This happens through God’s judgment and dismissal of “the divine council” — the collection of gods, each for a different community. The heart of God’s indictment of these gods is that they have failed to “rescue the weak and needy,” “the lowly and the destitute.” The psalm ends with a ringing call for God to judge us, too, from that commitment. In what is God’s greatness?

Prayer: Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for all the nations belong to You!
Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.
Rescue the weak and the needy, we pray, as You did as Jesus. Amen.