Psalms 81-83

Thoughts

Psalm 81

Oh, That My People Would Listen to Me. To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. Of Asaph.

Sing aloud to God our strength;
shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
Raise a song; sound the tambourine,
the sweet lyre with the harp.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
at the full moon, on our feast day.
For it is a statute for Israel,
a rule of the God of Jacob.
He made it a decree in Joseph
when he went out over the land of Egypt.
I hear a language I had not known.

• Begins with a call to worship through music and festival 
• Trumpet blasts means it could be the Feast of Trumpets

“I relieved your shoulder of the burden;
your hands were freed from the basket.
In distress you called, and I delivered you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.”

• God now speaks
• God reminds them of deliverance from Egyptian slavery.
• “Secret place of thunder” likely refers to Sinai 
• “Tested you at Meribah” Israel’s grumbling despite God’s provision.

“Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
There shall be no strange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
I am the LORD your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.”

• God pleads with His people to listen
• The issue is their loyalty 
• “Open your mouth wide” God will provide.

“But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel would not submit to me.
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
to follow their own counsels.
Oh, that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would walk in my ways!
I would soon subdue their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes.
Those who hate the LORD would cringe toward him,
and their fate would last forever.
But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

• God’s willingness vs. Israel’s refusal.
• “Gave them over”  the judgment of letting people have their own way.
• “Honey from the rock” = missed opportunity 

Psalm 82

God Judges the “gods”. A Psalm of Asaph.

God has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
“How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked?
Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

• Scene in a heavenly courtroom with God presiding.
• “gods” = אֱלֹהִים (elohim) can referr to rulers or heavenly beings under God’s authority. Here most likely means earthy judges. 
• The rebuke is about injustice 
• God’s standards: defend the weak, fatherless, afflicted, and needy.

They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
they walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

• These unjust rulers lack moral and spiritual discernment.

I said, “You are gods,
sons of the Most High, all of you;
nevertheless, like men you shall die,
and fall like any prince.”

• “Sons of the Most High” = high calling and responsibility.
• But they will die like ordinary men!

Arise, O God, judge the earth;
for you shall inherit all the nations!

• plea for God to take over 

Psalm 83

Do Not Keep Silent, O God. A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.

O God, do not keep silence;
do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
For behold, your enemies make an uproar;
those who hate you have raised their heads.
They lay crafty plans against your people;
they consult together against your treasured ones.
They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
let the name of Israel be remembered no more.”

• Asaph once again  pleads for God to break His silence 
• Israel’s enemies are described as God’s enemies.
• “Treasured ones” = חֲסִידֶיךָ (chasidekha), comes from the root חֶסֶד (hesed),

For they conspire with one accord;
against you they make a covenant—
the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
Asshur also has joined them;
they are the strong arm of the children of Lot.

• A long list of nations against Israel.
• “Against you they make a covenant” opposing Israel is opposing God.
• “Children of Lot” = Moab and Ammon; now strengthened by Assyria.

Do to them as you did to Midian,
as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
who were destroyed at En-dor,
who became dung for the ground.
Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves
of the pastures of God.”

• Israel’s past victories (Judges 4–8) 
• Names recall famous defeats of Israel’s enemies under Deborah, Barak, and Gideon.
• “Dung for the ground” humiliating defeat

O my God, make them like whirling dust,
like chaff before the wind.
As fire consumes the forest,
as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
so may you pursue them with your tempest
and terrify them with your hurricane!

• Prayer for God to scatter enemies like waste blown away.

Fill their faces with shame,
that they may seek your name, O LORD.
Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;
let them perish in disgrace,
that they may know that you alone,
whose name is the LORD,
are the Most High over all the earth.

• Purpose of judgment is to seek God’s name
• “Most High” = עֶלְיוֹן (Elyon)
• The end goal is not hatred but all nations see God as Most High

Questions

Application

Psalm 81 shows us how God delights in worship. We can trust in His blerssings and provision. Psalm 82 shows us that leaders on earth directly answer to God. He cares deeply about justice for the oppressed. Psalm 83 shows us we can cry out when God feels silent. We can long for His universal rule – come quick Lord!