Useful Bible Studies > Hebrews Commentary > chapter 10
Hebrews 10:5-7 contains a translation in the Greek language of Psalm 40:6-8.
Psalm 40 is really a prayer for God’s help. David wrote it when his situation was very desperate. People were trying to kill him, so David needed God to save him. But before David’s request for help, David gave 4 powerful reasons why God should help him:
(1) God had rescued David on a previous occasion (Psalm 40:1-3). God would not save David then, and refuse any help now. If God did that, then his original action would be without purpose. God does not change his mind as people do (James 1:17). And everything that he does achieves its purpose (Isaiah 55:11).
(2) God has done very many wonderful things for his people (Psalm 40:4-5). So we know about God’s character. He always does what is good. He cares about his people. So he will act to rescue them from their troubles.
(3) David was God’s servant. And he even declared himself to be God’s slave (Psalm 40:6-8; see Deuteronomy 15:12-17). It is a matter of honour that a master should protect his servants. And the master himself would suffer loss if someone hurt his slave. David declared that he had become God’s slave because of his love for God. (See my note on Hebrews 10:5). And that was a special reason why God must help David. Someone who served the master because of love had a special position in the master’s house. (See my note on Hebrews 3:5.)
In this passage, David mentions God’s book. That may refer to the record that masters kept of their permanent servants. The Bible says that God has such a book, called the book of life. And in it are the names of those people who are God’s servants (Revelation 20:11-15).
(4) It would bring God honour when he rescued David (Psalm 40:9-10). David would make sure about that. He promised to declare in public what God had done for him. He would tell everyone about God’s goodness.
David was careful not to do something that other people often did. When people asked false gods for help, they often gave valuable gifts to their gods (for example, 2 Kings 3:27). Really, they were trying to pay their gods for help. But God’s servants did not do such a thing (Psalm 40:6 and Hebrews 10:6). Instead, they knew that they should obey God completely. That was what God really wanted (Micah 6:6-8).
The author of Hebrews seems to say that Christ also spoke these words to God (Hebrews 10:5). We do not have a record elsewhere in the Bible of that. But the Bible often tells us that Christ behaved like a servant, or even a slave. See Philippians 2:5-8; Mark 10:43-45; John 13:1-17 and Isaiah 52:13 to 53:11. Christ obeyed God the Father completely, especially in his death (Mark 14:36).
Next part: It is better to obey God than to offer sacrifices (Hebrews 10:8-9)
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© 2014, Keith Simons.