Psalms 73:11

My Notes

What Does Psalms 73:11 Mean?

"And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High?" The wicked's THEOLOGICAL QUESTION — asked not from genuine curiosity but from contemptuous dismissal: 'How does God KNOW?' Does the Most High even HAVE knowledge? The questions challenge God's OMNISCIENCE — His ability to know, to observe, to be aware of what they're doing. The theological denial isn't atheism (they don't deny God's existence). It's PRACTICAL ATHEISM — living as if God doesn't notice.

The phrase "how doth God know?" (eikhah yada El — how does God know?) questions the MECHANICS of divine knowledge: HOW does God know? The question doesn't ask IF God exists. It asks HOW God's knowledge works — and implies the answer: He DOESN'T know. The question is rhetorical denial. The 'how?' means 'He can't.' The questioning of the mechanism is the denial of the capacity.

The phrase "is there knowledge in the most High?" (veyesh de'ah be'Elyon — and is there knowledge in the Most High?) escalates to ATTRIBUTE DENIAL: the wicked question whether the Most High POSSESSES knowledge at all. The Elyon — the title emphasizing God's SUPREMACY (Most High, Supreme, Above-All) — is questioned about His most basic CAPACITY. The supreme God is accused of being supremely IGNORANT. The height of the title contrasts with the lowness of the accusation.

Asaph records this because it's the THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATION of the wicked's behavior: the violence-as-garment (verse 6), the mouth-against-heaven (verse 9), the prosperity-without-punishment (verse 12) — all of it rests on this ONE assumption: God doesn't know. If God KNEW, He would ACT. Since He doesn't act, He must not KNOW. The silence of God is interpreted as the ignorance of God.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What area of your life are you treating as if God doesn't know — practical atheism, not theoretical?
• 2.What does questioning God's KNOWLEDGE (not His existence) teach about how people live without denying God?
• 3.How does God's SILENCE being interpreted as God's IGNORANCE describe the wicked's logic?
• 4.What 'Most High' attribute of God are you functionally denying while verbally affirming?

Devotional

'How does God KNOW?' The wicked's foundational assumption: God doesn't notice. The Most High isn't watching. The divine surveillance system is offline. And because God doesn't know, the wicked can act without consequence. The theological denial of omniscience is the practical license for evil.

The question isn't ATHEISM — the wicked acknowledge God's existence ('God,' 'Most High'). It's PRACTICAL ATHEISM: God exists but doesn't KNOW. He's real but not observant. He's there but not watching. The wicked don't need to eliminate God. They just need to eliminate His KNOWLEDGE. If God is blind, the wicked are free.

The 'MOST HIGH' title makes the question MORE devastating: the one called ELYON — Supreme, Above-All, the Highest — is the one accused of LACKING KNOWLEDGE. The title claims supremacy. The question denies capacity. The tension is the blasphemy: the Most High who is supreme in everything is accused of being supreme in nothing — including awareness.

The LOGIC of the wicked: God doesn't act against them. Therefore God doesn't KNOW about them. The silence is interpreted as ignorance. The delay is read as inability. The patience of God is mistaken for the blindness of God. The wicked measure divine KNOWLEDGE by divine ACTION — and since the action hasn't come, they conclude the knowledge isn't there.

What area of your life are you treating as if God doesn't KNOW — not denying His existence, just His awareness?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture