Psalm forty and verse six.
Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired;
My ears You have opened;
Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required.
Hold up and consider this verse.
Think about Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy.
Then read this verse again.
It does not follow.
We could turn back and find verse after verse where God declares His desire for sacrifices.
We could turn back and marshal a whole set of references where God commanded burnt offerings and sin offerings as His requirements for His people.
Is the Psalmist here denigrating what God revealed in the Pentateuch?
Is it the intent of the author here to disagree with the author there?
I don’t think so.
The key to the meaning is found in the verse as a whole.
Take all three lines of it together.
It does not say “God does not require offerings” or “God does not desire sacrifices” all alone as a categorical statement.
It wraps these around the important middle clause about open ears.
God does not want sacrifices presented by a man whose ears are closed.
God does not want offerings offered as a bill of payment, when the offerer is deaf to the Word of God.
God does not want a ritualistic religion that can be performed by people who don’t really care.
So many applications make themselves apparent in our lives!
Consider your worship, your giving, your ministry, and your obedience in the light of this truth.
If this topic intrigues you, here is a list of cross references which will trace this same concept.
Psalm 51:16-17
Jeremiah 7:22
Amos 5:22-24
Micah 6:6-8
1 Samuel 15