Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb19970914.htm

PSALMS: DIARIES OF GODLY OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS
Psalm Eighty-Two - The Accountability That Unjust Overseers Have Toward God
(Psalm 82:1-8)
  1. Introduction
    1. Spiritual injustice performed by godless overseers, whether it occurs in the church or home is a severe plague that provokes anger, frustration and pain for the subordinates involved. In a church situation it may be a minister or group of leaders who teach error that dramatically misleads subordinates into sin, or in overseers who make decisions that are oppressive and destructive to subordinates. In a home, the case may be insensitivity and verbal abuse administered in the name of righteousness by a parent.
    2. In such cases, what are the oppressed subordinates of God's people to do about it?
    3. Psalm 82:1-8 is directed toward this problem and offers the solution as follows:
  2. The Accountability That Unjust Overseers Have Toward God, Psalm 82:1-8.
    1. The word translated "gods" in verses 1b & 6a does not speak of deity, but is used in other passages to refer to human judges, compare Ps. 45:6; Ex. 21:6; 22:8-9 in the Hebrew text (Bib. Know. Com., O.T., p. 854).
    2. The fact that these men are said to fall in their being condemned like "every other ruler" or "like one of the princes" (KJV) of the secular realm (verse 7) indicates that they are spiritual judges who will be judged as though they were but secular overseers who are being overthrown!
    3. Thus, this psalm is about God's presiding in an assembly of human spiritual overseers to give His judgment upon these spiritual overseers as to the spiritual quality of their judgments in that oversight, Ps. 82:1.
    4. God's official verdict states that these judges seriously lack on several counts:
      1. They do not defend the causes of the vulnerable, the weak, fatherless, poor and oppressed, 82:3-4.
      2. They are spiritually insensitive to true knowledge or insight of God's truths, and this shows up by their ordering their lives and conducting their judgments in spiritual darkness, Ps. 82:5a.
      3. As a result, the foundations in society of law and order have been undermined, Ps. 82:5b.
    5. Accordingly, God decides that, in spite of His appointment of these overseers to positions of responsibility (verse 6), He is about to execute them as though there were ordinary men, or secular rulers, Ps. 82:7.
    6. In the end, it is God Himself Who will be the Final Judge of all the earth, for all human spiritual overseers are answerable to His oversight of them, Ps. 82:8.
Lesson: Since Spiritual overseers are elevated to positions of making judgments in behalf of God's people, when such overseers turn to evil in abandoning God's true judgments so that the weak and vulnerable are unprotected, and injustice prevails t o the undermining of law and order, it is GOD Who steps in to overthrow these overseers. Thus, as the context of the New Testament teaches, subordinates must NOT react by insubordination or by attacking the overseer(s), but "Cast all your care [con cerning unjust overseers] upon Him [God], for He careth for you", 1 Peter 5:7 with 5:5-6!

Application: (1) As SUBORDINATES in a church or family who face unjust administrative decisions by overseers where our vulnerabilities to damage are trodden over, and we are unjustly mistreated and abused, our RESPONSE must NOT be revenge or insubo rdination, but of taking the matter to the LORD. He, the CHIEF SHEPHERD (1 Peter 5:4) must step in and deal out justice to the overseers as WE as subordinates do not have divine jurisdiction to take justice of overseers into our own hands, 1 Peter 5:5a. ( 2) As OVERSEERS in a church or family, (a) we must take care that we are walking in the light of God's Word lest we be overcome with errant values and views, and (b) make errant decisions regarding God's people that (c) undermine law and order (d) and oppre ss the vulnerable of the subordinates (e) that brings about God's judgment upon US! (f) Overseers are accountable to God, and God can just as easily defrock them as He would any SECULAR leader: we must oversee others in justice and equity, or else!