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Prayer

Song: The Sacrifices of God

Silence

Alright, we are going to take a quick clip today as we have a lot of redundancy in the Psalms. We will cover a few key items to pause upon.

Psalm 39 – 43 (April 6th, 2025)

Psalm 39

It is believed that David, having composed this Psalm, gave it to a man named Jeduthun and his company to sing. But several have supposed that Jeduthun himself was the author. It is also believed that this Psalm was written along with last week’s Psalm 38 as it relates to an unknown malady which David was afflicted with after his transgression with Bathsheba. Let’s read as verses 1-3 are like a preamble to verses 4-5.

1 I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.
2 I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred.
3 My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue,

He seems to be saying that he was extremely contemplative and withheld speaking until the end of verse 3. “Then,” he writes, “spake I with my tongue,” and verses 4-5 are what he said.

4 YAHAVAH, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.
5 Behold, thou hast made my days as a handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah

This is an introduction to the writer explaining how short life is, and we see sentiments reiterated in Ecclesiastes by Solomon. He writes about human existence being calculated up as nothing more than vanity, meaning “hollow, emptiness.”

The Frailty of Life and God’s Knowledge

We will talk more about this biblical view in a moment but look back at verse four and ask, “Will YAHAVAH make us to know our end,” so that we can see “how frail we are?” I wonder about this but really don’t have much to go on except some general insights.

First of all, the Bible suggests that God has a plan for each person’s life, including the time of their death, and that humans do not have control over this.

Job 14:5 says:

“Man’s days are determined; you (God) have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed,” implying that God has set the boundaries of human life.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 highlights that there is a “time for everything” under heaven, including a time to be born and a time to die, reinforcing the idea that death is a natural part of life.

This said, we do have people who knew that their time was coming – Yeshua included.

Examples from Scripture

Outside of him, we have some interesting examples orbiting around this theme including:

• Stephen’s Vision: Recorded in Acts 7:54–60, where he was shown the glory of the Lord in the sky as he was stoned to death, suggesting he knew he was leaving the earth.
• Paul’s Statement: In 2 Timothy 4:6-8, Paul told Timothy that “his time was up” and that he “had completed his salvation race successfully.”
• Peter’s Knowledge: Peter recounts in 2 Peter 1:14 that the Lord told him he would be leaving his tabernacle shortly.

That word translated “shortly” is from the root “Tachos,” and it literally means that which is why we read the word describing the events of Revelation happening both in the first chapter and then the last chapter of the book. If Peter died shortly, which he did, the events of Revelation happened in a short period of time too.

I wonder about premonitions given to some human beings around knowing their time of death – something to be considered as somehow viable to ask God about, as David does right here.

Reflections on Vanity

In any case, from verse 6 to 11, the writer delves a bit deeper into the theme of the vanity of life, saying:

6 Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
7 And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish.
9 I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it.
10 Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand.

Understanding Vanity in the Spiritual Context

Reflection on the Psalmist’s Melancholy

In Psalm 39:11, the writer expresses a somber sentiment: “When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah.” This verse, shared by the Psalmist, is quite morose as it reflects David’s state of depression. His vitality was in jeopardy, and the meaning of life felt void. Despite its somber tone, the verse resonates with many as we all encounter moments that prompt us to question the meaning, purpose, and value of life itself.

These existential moments often occur when the distractions and entertainments of life fade away. We are left alone—sometimes in castles, sometimes in hovels—pondering the true value and meaning of our existence. The paradox here is that life is supremely meaningful to each individual, a gift granted by God for a purpose. However, this purpose often remains elusive. This struggle is further compounded by the humbling realization that compared to God, the eternities, and even our mortal existence, everything boils down to that singular word used throughout scripture: vanity.

The Journey to Humility

These realizations lead any honest individual to humility—specifically, abject humility before God. This humility is the precursor to growing in faith, light, learning, love, and liberty. However, reaching this state requires a serious commitment to introspection, as we are surrounded by superficialities that inflate our accomplishments and lives with a false sense of ego.

The scripture plainly states that vanity is a pervasive human condition. We tend to esteem hollow things as valuable. It’s in our nature, and escaping it is nearly impossible. Be it our pursuits of pleasure, compliments, self, or wealth, our fleshly inclinations are vain, seeking and pursuing things that ultimately prove empty on the eternal spectrum.

Observing Vanity in Everyday Life

For forty years, I’ve sat in public places observing people around me with genuine curiosity. In environments where windows have reflective surfaces, people see their reflections and exhibit behaviors that reveal fascinating aspects of vanity. I am not a step behind them in this regard.

The Psalmist aims for self-awareness in recognizing vanity. In chapter 39, he states: “Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.” There is a common misconception that vanity is socio-economic, yet Psalm 62:9 clarifies: “Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.” Additional verses like Psalm 94:11 and Psalm 144:4 reinforce this notion: “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity,” and “Man is like a breath, his days are like a passing shadow.”

Embracing Eternal Worth

The reality is that we are the very embodiment of vanity because we are but passing shadows. Therefore, the goal is to not live, act, and think in ephemeral terms but to focus on what is lasting, meritorious, and truly meaningful in our lives. With no boast, only shame, I acknowledge understanding vanity and hollow living all too well. It’s for this reason that when I saw the Eternal, I transitioned from the most vain to the most sublime. Not because of my own goodness, but because God is good. When we redirect our shallow minds and hearts to Him, who is the Alpha and the Omega, we transition from the temporary to the eternal.

Certainly, as individuals, scripture conveys our tendencies to “chase windmills” and “build houses on sand,” symbolic of hollow and unstable personal existences. But to truly grasp what vanity manifests, we must acknowledge its root: idolatry, and the pride it yields.

Ezekiel’s Message: A Call to Awareness

Listen to how Ezekiel describes what the nation had become in his day:

Ezekiel 22:24-28:

• 24 Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation.
• 25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.
• 26 Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
• 27 Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.
• 28 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.

Prophetic Warnings: A Question of Familiarity

Sound familiar? These vanities found in idolatrous religious practices? Listen to Zechariah, who wrote in Zechariah 10:2:

For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.

Sound familiar?

Wisdom from Proverbs: Avoiding Vanity

But the Proverbs say:

Proverbs 30:8: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me.

The feeding is of His Wisdom and Word, not the food which too becomes empty and hollow and short-lived.

Apostolic Insights: Guidance from Paul

Moving out to the apostolic record, Paul says to the Bride in Ephesians 4:17:

This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind.

Which is where everything resides and hence the need for mind renewal through the washing of the Word.

Insights from Romans: Hope and Redemption

It is in the amazing chapter of Romans 8 where Paul gives insight to the believers in that day and to us today. Principally, when he wrote:

Romans 8:16-28:

• 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
• 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
• 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
• 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature (those still in the flesh who believed) waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
• 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
• 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
• 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
• 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
• 24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
• 25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
• 26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
• 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
• 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

A Personal Understanding: Overcoming Vanity

I have come to understand something recently that may help us understand what the process is to overcome the vanity in which we are all subject as human beings.

Different States of Being

Take a quick look, as I am personally convinced in the face of fulfillment that we might see the world’s inhabitants of abiding, dwelling, living in one or more of the following states:

• Those reconciled but without faith and spiritually and physically dining on the Tree of Knowledge of Evil.

Note: The “GRAPHIC” section has been removed as per the instructions.

The Realms of Light and Dark

#1 Realm of Dark

In this realm, the condition is marked by justification but a lack of sanctification. The mind is governed by a Little Spirit, truth is absent, and the diet is metaphorically the Tree of Knowledge of evil. The will is dictated by self, and emotions are earthly.

#2 Realm of Religious Light

The condition here is justification with an inclination towards religion. The mind is guided by His Spirit, with the knowledge of good from the Tree of Knowledge. The diet is a religious one, and both will and emotions are religiously driven.

#3 Children of God/The Kingdom

The conditions in this realm reflect both sanctification and justification. The mind is under the influence of His Spirit and truth. The diet is a Tree of Life (TOL), and the will, as well as emotions, are in alignment with His Son.

Putting It All Together

Combining all realms, the progression from justification to sanctification becomes evident. In the Realm of Dark, the absence of truth influences the self-driven will and earthly emotions. Transitioning through the Realm of Religious Light, there is a shift towards religious influence. Finally, in the Kingdom, the full alignment with His Spirit and Son reflects a sanctified and justified existence.

The Role of the Mind

From this, I would submit to you that everything is in the mind, including all of our vanity. Once the mind has been renewed by the washing of the Word, the Spirit equips each individual to govern their will and emotion. Our will and emotion is always in the hands of each individual and only conform when we allow Him to renew our minds.

Reflections from the Psalms

Psalm 39

The Psalmist calls for divine attention:

12 Hear my prayer, O YAHAVAH, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. 13 O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.

The closing lines reflect the belief in an afterlife destination of sheol or the grave, as also seen in Job 10:20-22.

Psalm 40

Author: Unknown, possibly David. This Psalm shares similarities with Psalm 70, with some notable additions. Verses 6, 7, and 8 contain a prophecy regarding the incarnation and offering of Christ, with verses following this possibly belonging to another Psalm.

1 I waited patiently for YAHAVAH; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. 2 He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. 3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in YAHAVAH. 4 Blessed is that man that maketh YAHAVAH his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. 5 Many, O YAHAVAH my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

Interpretation of Sacrifices

Verses 6 through 10 suggest a Holy Spirit inspiration with Messianic undertones:

6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.

The Old Testament established sacrifices for sin until the Messiah’s coming, intended to show that sin had a cost—sacrifices were meant to symbolize the price of sin. However, people often misunderstood these intentions.

The Heart Over Sacrifice

God has always desired the focus to be on the heart, on walking humbly before Him, rather than on acts of sacrifice and burnt offerings. It is as if God had spoken to the Polynesians two thousand years ago, instructing them to remember Him by dabbing coconut oil on their eyelids, ears, and lips at the first of each new moon. Imagine then, if He sent an angel to visit them and found that they were bathing in coconut oil daily, wore only coconut clothing, and placed a giant coconut on an altar to worship. This highlights what God means in passages such as:

Biblical Insights

1 Samuel 15:22 says, “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” The obedience that Samuel referred to in his day was to have a humble heart and a contrite spirit before Him. This is what God sought in humans then, and it is what God continues to seek today. Psalm 51:16-17 reads, “For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

Historical Context

Humans, throughout history, have instinctively believed in making offerings to gods to please them. From Pele to the Aztec world, sacrifices to the gods for protection and good harvests have been a way to appease the divine. In a worldly show I’ve watched called “The White Lotus,” set in tropical locations like Thailand, employees are shown offering fruit on the altar of their god amidst tranquil surroundings. These settings, adorned with fresh flowers and the tinkling of wind chimes, evoke a sense of reverence, yet Hebrew scripture makes it clear: God desires a humble and contrite heart as the sacrifice that pleases Him.

Modern Observations

I once lived with the largest cutter and sower of fabric in South East Asia for a month. His Buddhist priest blessed him daily with threads and smoke offerings meant to protect his business. While impressive to the flesh, it seemed incomplete as the true offering God desires was neglected. The religious world today has similar affectations where the blood of bulls and goats has been replaced by worship services, financial offerings, special dress, cultural expressions, and more. However, these miss the point when it is the individual heart, broken and contrite, that He seeks.

A Call to Heartfelt Obedience

Consider the words of Isaiah from Ancient Israel:

Isaiah 1:10-18 encourages us to hear the word of the LORD and questions the purpose of sacrifices. It suggests that God is tired of burnt offerings and blood and that He delights not in these rituals. Instead, He calls for genuine repentance and a heart that strings away from evil, promotes justice, relieves the oppressed, and supports the fatherless and widows. God invites us to reason together, promising that though sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

In summary, God desires our broken and contrite hearts over any external acts of sacrifice or offerings. The focus should always be on internal transformation and genuine humility before Him.

Introduction

Isaiah 66:1 states, “Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.”

The Futility of Sacrifices

The passage continues, “He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.”

Understanding God’s Desires

The most oft recited passage on this comes from Hosea 6:6, where it says, “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” This is why we gather and why I teach – to bring about the knowledge of God in our lives. To know Him is life eternal. And if we know Him, we should understand that material sacrifices are not what He seeks.

Yeshua’s Teachings

This understanding was clear in Yeshua’s day, as we read in Matthew 9:11-13: “And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Yeshua’s meaning was akin to saying, “Why do I eat with sinners? Because it is an act of mercy, which my Father loves and seeks. Therefore, I am not here to engage with those who believe they are righteous but to help sinners turn and look to me.”

Exploring Hebrews and Translations

Hebrews 10:5 states, “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.” The interesting part is where did he say this?

Translation Comparisons

Hebrew Based Translation

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire— but my ears you have opened— 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.'”

Greek Based Translation in the LXX

“You did not want sacrifice and offering, but a body you restored to me. You did not ask for whole burnt offering, and an offering concerning sin. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have arrived. In the scroll of the book it has been written concerning me.'”

These variations show why I believe Christ cited the Septuagint and not the Hebrew Bible. “Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me.”

Remember when Christ said, in John 5:39: “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” I see this as a direct fulfillment of Psalm 40:7, and then verses 8-10 state, “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.”

God’s Law Within

Again, this speaks of Yeshua, who was the first to have God’s Law within Him and on His heart, and with this very same inner-inscription applicable to all who believe in Him today. It is His Spirit within and never the letter without, as hard as this is for people to comprehend. We read the scripture to learn of Him, but our relationship with Him and others around us is not through the Bible.

Conclusion

Listen to what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:1-2: “Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? Ye are our epistle written in our hearts…”

Epistle of Christ

Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

Messianic Teachings

Let’s finish up reading the rest of Psalm 40 with the rest of verse 9 and 10 being messianic and saying, “I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, YAHAVAH, thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.”

Divine Assistance and Deliverance

Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, YAHAVAH: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me. For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.

Be pleased, YAHAVAH, to deliver me: YAHAVAH, make haste to help me. Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil. Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha.

Joy and Salvation

Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, YAHAVAH be magnified. But I am poor and needy; yet YAHAVAH thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.