Obedience

Psalms 51:16-17 ESV

“For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

David said that God does not delight in sacrifice. The sacrifice that was offered for sin in the Old Testament was more of a concession than a redemption. It was a provision God set up with Moses to forgive the people of their sins, but it was a remedy at best. What God wanted was obedience, plain and simple obedience.

You may say, well they had so many laws to obey. Really? Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love the Lord God with all of your heart, with all of your soul and with all of your mind. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Very doable!

David said in this passage, as he also was seeking forgiveness himself, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart…” God wanted all of Israel to trust Him, and to follow Him whole heartedly and David knew that. So, David penned these words as a reminder to himself and an acknowledgement to God that he understood what God required. If we sin against God, it should feel like we are breaking God’s heart and in turn it should break our heart for defiling God’s will for us.

Prayer:

Lord, hopefully we never willfully break Your heart with our sins and our actions of defiance. We know You require obedience much more that going through the motions of continuously messing up and then asking for forgiveness. Help us Lord to walk with You, in agreement with You. In Your name Lord, we want to honor You in all situations, Amen!