Psalm 40:6-7

Last week I read Psalm 40, and these verses have been stuck in my mind ever since...

Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but my ears you have pierced,
burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
Then I said, "Here I am, I have come -
it is written about me in the scroll."

The more I think about these lines, the more profound they become.

Remember that this is Old Testament. This is a time when a Hebrew's world revolved around sacrifices and offerings in the temple. God Himself had given them the sacrificial system. Yet God is saying here, through David, that sacrifice isn't really what He wants. He wants to pierce my ears. Jewish law required slaves to be freed every 7 years. But, if the slave did not want to be freed, the master would pierce his ear as a sign of permanent ownership. God wants permanent ownership of me, not me going through the motions of sacrifice.

Then in the next sentance David offers himself to God, and get this, he acknowledges that God planned it and knew it all ahead of time.

Sometimes I forget who I belong to. I forget who planned out all of history before time began. I forget who created me, who set me on the path of my life, who loved me and called me and saved me. He saved me from myself, from the world, and from Satan and hell. All because He loves me, He delights in me, He wants to be with me.

Unbelievable!