For as long as I can remember, and that is going back numerous decades, people have not had too favorable an opinion about politicians. At least that is the case here in the U.S., and I’m guessing that is the case in many other countries, as well. Whether right or left wing, people believe they are corrupt, dishonest, and rarely keep their promises. People’s opinions about lawyers and judges aren't much better. Yet, ideally, these are two groups of people that we really ought to be able to trust the most, as one group is to lead our country or state, and the other to defend us when we need the most help. Since both politicians and those in the legal profession are in very powerful positions, it is more than just sad that they have a reputation for dishonesty and corruption. In our psalm for today, the psalmist Asaph speaks of what God has to say when the powerful and mighty have become corrupt. Let’s take a look.
Asaph is not a very familiar person from the Old Testament, so let’s take a quick look at who he was. Asaph was a Levite who lived during the time of King David. He was one of three men that the king commissioned to be in charge of singing in the house of the Lord. He was also there when David’s son Solomon built and dedicated the Temple, and he performed at that ceremony. Asaph wrote twelve of the psalms in the Bible, one of them being our psalm for today.
Corrupt leaders have been a problem throughout all of history, and here we see God rebuking these rulers for their failure to uphold justice for the people they are to be helping. Asaph used a courtroom setting for the psalm, where God indicts the unjust judges and political leaders, and calls for righteous judgment for the people.
Many leaders, both in the political and legal professions, as they climb to greater and greater positions, start to think that they are all-powerful. They feel that they make the rules, and everyone else better follow them. They bend and twist the laws to be favorable to themselves and their friends and colleagues. Asaph calls them here “gods”, with a small-case “g” (vs. 1, 6). He is not speaking of any divine deity, but instead of mortal men who have been entrusted with divine responsibilities. There are other professions where people sometimes start to feel like they are god-like, such as in education or the medical fields. These are people who are appointed human authorities, those who are expected to reflect God’s justice, His wisdom, kindness, and mercy, but who so often fail to do so. Though many may suffer under the oppression of corrupt leaders, God will hold them accountable, condemning their partiality for themselves and friends, and their dishonesty (vs. 1-2).
Asaph then instructs these leaders in what they should have been doing all along, in what God expects from them in these leadership positions (vs. 3-4). Instead of amassing wealth for themselves, and heartlessly taking advantage of others, they are to defend and bring justice to those who are the most vulnerable in society - the poor, the fatherless, and the needy. All too often, though, these leaders are completely ignorant of the needs of the poor, which leads to instability and unrest in society (vs. 5).
Asaph then reminds these rulers that their power is only temporary, as they are all subject to God’s judgment (vs. 6-7). Most of them never even think about their mortality, and that one day all the power they hold will one day end. However, that day is coming, and they need to remember that God’s judgment will follow. That is something that we all need to remember. We may hold some position or another, and enjoy the perks and benefits that come with that, but one day that will end, and God will hold us accountable for how we used that position. Did we think of others, and use whatever position or abilities we have to help the less fortunate?
As the psalm closes, Asaph prays for the day when God will judge the earth, and will rule over all nations (vs. 8). That day will happen when the Lord Jesus returns to earth, which could be at any time. He alone is the righteous Judge over all the earth, and leaders from all professions are answerable to Him for how they treat the poor and oppressed.
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