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)
As was mentioned in the previous devotion, there are many fascinating things to consider in these verses. As we discussed, David correctly made the statement that, more than desiring religious exercise from people — such as presenting sacrifices and offerings — God wanted a people whose heart and mind were open to hear His voice and follow His instructions because they loved Him. But let us now consider something else of importance in David’s words — he was not speaking of himself. Consider the message conveyed in these words — “Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me.” Could David, the son of Jesse, make the claim that the entirety of the book, i.e. the Scripture, was written about him?
There is only One who can make that claim and that One is the son of David, the Messiah. As He said, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. … if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me” (John 5:39, 46). This being understood we must conclude that, though David penned these words, these are the words spoken by Messiah. To be more specific, the Messiah is the one saying, “My ears You have opened … I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart.” In other words, the Messiah, through David, testifies that He walked the earth to demonstrate just what the Father is looking for in a people — faithful bondservants motivated by love.
As is His way, God doesn’t ask us to do something that He isn’t willing to do, or hasn’t already done, Himself. In this light, take note of what Messiah said of Himself: “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). He became flesh in order to demonstrate what a bondservant truly is — someone willing to serve the Father’s purpose, and in His case, by serving fallen man. His ears were open to the Father’s Voice, as it is written: “Whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak” (John 12:50). And so the point is that, if the Messiah was willing to abase Himself and be a bondservant to the Father’s will, should we not be willing to abase ourself and serve Him in the same manner? Are our ears open to hear what He speaks to us and, more importantly, do as He has said? The answer to the question will speak about the condition our our heart. Thoughts to contemplate.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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