The Digged Ear

In Psalm 40 we read: “Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou digged” (v. 6, margin). This undoubtedly gives us the birth of Christ—His incarnation; for Paul in Hebrews 10:5, quoting this Psalm, writes: “Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared me.” Till He had a body He had been an Actor, a Creator, Lawgiver. When come to do God’s will the digged ear is the sign of His becoming a servant to listen and obey.

In Isaiah 1:4 we read, “The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.” That gives us the dependent character of His life, as a servant and listener to the Father, to get the right word for every weary soul He met.

In Exodus 21:6, we read of the Hebrew servant, a type of Jesus, “His master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.” This prefigures His death. He would not be parted from the objects of His love, and suffers in His body consequently.

Study these scriptures in this light. David describes His birth, Isaiah His life, Moses His death, and each in connection with the ear, the mark of a servant.

W.T.P.Wolston

The Gospel Messenger 1904, p. 140