Welcome to day 31 of our 40 day challenge! Today, we are in Psalm 40 and Hebrews 10

(You can catch up on our Intro, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23, Day 24, Day 25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28, Day 29, Day 30 if you missed them)

Psalm 40:5-10

Many, Lord my God,
are the wonders you have done,
the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
they would be too many to declare.

⁶ Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—
but my ears you have opened—
burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
⁷ Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
it is written about me in the scroll.
⁸ I desire to do your will, my God;
your law is within my heart.”

⁹ I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly;
I do not seal my lips, Lord,
as you know.
¹⁰ I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help.
I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness
from the great assembly.

Hebrews 10:4-10

⁴ It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

⁵ Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
⁶ with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased.
⁷ Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
I have come to do your will, my God.’”

⁸ First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. ⁹ Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. ¹⁰ And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

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The Pharisees’ job was to lead others in serving and worshipping God, but when He stood before them, they didn’t recognize Him. They don’t have a relationship with God.

And that’s a remarkable thing about David. He knows the Lord. If Jesus had been born in his day, David would have recognized Him. David has relied on the Lord his whole life. They have a history together.  David is notoriously bad at relationships with others, but he knows the Lord and His heart. And because of this, he can say that God does not desire sacrifice or offerings.

David lives right in the middle of all the laws and elaborate sacrificial system, and yet he knows the Lord’s heart so well that he can say the Lord does not desire sacrifice or offerings and He doesn’t require burnt offerings or sin offerings. The laws and the whole system might suggest otherwise. The Pharisees thought otherwise. But David knows the Lord desires mercy, not sacrifice, even well before Hosea and Micah tell us:

And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
    and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:6)

In Jack’s article called A New Commandment I Give You he worded it this way:

God views the way we treat others as evidence of our feelings toward Him… Obedience is acceptable only if it’s undertaken in response to God’s love for us.

If we want to show the Lord how much we love Him, our actions toward others are the way we do so.  May the way we treat others show God that we love Him radically and without limit.

Options for further  journaling or discussion throughout the challenge:

• Choose a part of the passage to write out by hand. Writing by hand helps us slow down and focus on what the Lord might highlight for us in the passage. Our brains can focus and remember better by writing than just reading alone.
• Journal about what the passage brings to mind. Does the passage tell us anything about God? Does it tell us anything about our response to Him?
• Does your heart respond in gratitude to any part of the passage? Write or pray your gratitude to the Lord.

We’ll see you tomorrow for Day 32,  in Psalm 105 and John 8

♥ Samantha