Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; my ears You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require. Then I said, “Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:6-8)
There are some fascinating things to consider in these few verses. To begin with, David observes that God’s desire is not for people to bring sacrifices and offerings whether they be burnt offerings or sin offerings. That is a provocative statement considering a substantial portion of the book of Leviticus is devoted to the different offerings and why they should be presented. But notice what David says in the midst of this statement — “my ears You have opened.” The Hebrew wording might be better rendered as, “my ears You have pierced.”
I would suggest David used this terminology in order to connect his thoughts about sacrifice with the laws of the bondservant (Exodus 21). The servant who loved his master, and wished to remain in his service, was taken to the door of his master’s house where his ear was pierced with an awl. This voluntary action signaled a desire to be forever joined to his master by attaching himself figuratively, and even literally, to his house. To the observant eye, the point of this law was to emphasize the servant’s love for his master as opposed to those who serve strictly out of fear. Because of his love for the master, his ear was opened to hear and understand his voice.
This is the point God was trying to make with Israel: in the midst of all the commands and instructions, including those regarding sacrifice and offering, who among them truly heard what He was trying to say? Whose ear was open to hear His true intent? God doesn’t desire a people who go through the motions of religious exercise because they feel obligated. God was never interested in the sacrifices as much as He was desiring a people who longed to serve Him sincerely because they love Him. That is why David said, “I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart.”
If His law is in our heart, it demonstrates that He has our heart. If He has our heart, then our ears will be opened to hear His voice and we will not sin against Him because, with open ears, we hear His heart in the matter. And so, let us learn what it truly means to be a bondservant to our Master — to love Him, to hear Him and to obey Him.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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