Food for Thought by David Jackson
What can we give to God? (Psalm 40:6-16)
When we realize the many blessings our heavenly Father gives us throughout a lifetime, we overflow with gratitude for his generous love for his people. Sometimes this realization makes us feel guilty, because we recognize the limits we have in returning to God our heartfelt appreciation. Even our best efforts fail to add up to the thanksgiving we feel.
My mother taught us that when someone gives us a gift, we should express our appreciation with a thank you note. At the school where I taught, we even had an English teacher to give a talk with Powerpoint slides on how to write a thank you note. So, how can we express our realization of thanksgiving to the Creator of the universe, who doesn’t need anything we can give him?
Psalm 40 has an answer, but it sounds very strange to us. The section starts with this observation: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire…” That part isn’t strange for those of us who understand that the old covenant based on animal sacrifices has been replaced by the new covenant put into effect by the sacrificial death of Jesus (the greatest blessing among all of God’s many gifts). In fact, the writer of Hebrews applies this very passage to explain the significance of the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ (10:5-10).
It is the rest of this verse that causes confusion: “but my ears you have pierced, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.” Obviously, this teaching requires some explanation and for two reasons. First, the old covenant did require these offerings, both weekly and annually (Day of Atonement), but they did not carry true gratitude to God, as shown by the lack of faith on the part of Israel (see 1 Cor. 10:1-13, among others).
The problem was that rituals could be performed without engaging the heart, which is the seat of true devotion. Jesus faced this truth during his ministry in correcting the Pharisees. The prophet Samuel stated this truth to king Saul, Israel’s first king (1 Sam. 15:22):
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”
Second, what in the world is this about piercing my ears? The very next part of the verse says, “but my ears you pierced,” (or, “you have opened my ears”) and there is no explanation. It is not talking about preparing the ears for wearing jewelry! This statement surely requires some more information.
One suggestion is that the necessary information is found in Deut. 15:16-17 (also Ex. 21:5-6). Moses has just explained the requirements of giving freedom to a Hebrew servant. Sometimes the servant may not want to leave the family they have served, so as a sign of willing service the master is to pierce the earlobe with an awl. Then the servant becomes a willing part of that family. As the psalmist says, “I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”
There is the key to showing proper thanksgiving to our merciful and generous God! When we willingly surrender our will to his, living a life of service to the one who made us and calls us to himself, then we offer to him the only proper response to all that we have received from him. It is the example set for us by Jesus. His response to replacing sacrifices and offerings was, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He said the entire will of God is summed up in two commandments: Love God and love your neighbor (Mark 12:26-31).
When we have God’s will in our hearts, then we can become messengers of his great love to others. “In the great assembly” we are sources of his loving kindness, his great deeds of love, and his many gifts to us. Then serving God becomes, not a calculation of how many good deeds we have done, but a natural expression of our character, our habit, our lifestyle. As the psalmist concludes:
“But may all who seek you
Rejoice and be glad in you;
May those who love your salvation always say,
‘The Lord be exalted.’” (v. 16)
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