Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offering you did not require. Then I said, “Here I am, I have come- it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, O my God; Your law is in my heart. Psalm 40:6-8
I have been thinking about this passage lately. God does not long for us to perform religious rituals if they are done out of obligation or duty. He wants our love and devotion. In Exodus 21:6-7 God gives instructions to His people as to what they should do if a Hebrew slave desires to remain with his master forever not accepting freedom after serving for six years.
“But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.”
As I read Psalm 40, I believe that David is saying, “I love You, I desire to do Your will, Lord. Your law is written on my heart. You have pierced my ear, I desire to serve you forever.”
We know that David’s servanthood was not free of sin. I am thankful that God chose to reveal to us the imperfections in this man that He declared to be, “a man after His own heart.” As we look more closely at Jesus suffering, death, and glorious resurrection in the days and weeks ahead; may we be blessed with an ever increasing love for our Savior, may we be filled with the desire to obey Him and rejoice at the thought of serving Him forever.
The next time you put in or take out your pierced earrings, thank God for the gift of His loving grace and praise Him for filling you with a desire to serve Him forever.