Summary

Thanks to the unplugged, open ears, the words of the Lord entered. Now he says: I have come. With this the author shows himself to be available; he wants to serve the Lord. Here we think of David—the moment of his anointing perhaps, or even better, when he ascended the throne.

When he speaks about the scroll, Deuteronomy 17:14 comes to mind—the so-called king’s law. He may not acquire many horses, certainly not from Egypt; he may also not acquire many wives, nor acquire excessive silver and gold. There is also reference to a special book. In Deuteronomy 17:18–19 we read “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them.”

Here, too, obeying the Lord is central. The willingness that you hear in our text reminds us of Psalm 40:2, where it speaks about being drawn out of the miry bog, and being placed on a rock by the Lord. He has come to serve the Lord after his near-death experience. These words have their fulfillment in Christ. In Hebrews 10:9–14 we hear Psalm 40 as it pertains to Jesus Christ. It may be beneficial to place these texts side-by-side and compare them.

Thus, the scroll mentioned here can also be seen in a broader context. Scripture is filled with references to the future Messiah-King: Genesis 3:15, the great promise; Psalm 2:1–12, the Messiah must be kissed; Psalm 72:1–20, the shadow of God’s kingdom; Psalm 110:1–7, the Priest-King. Beside this, the many prophesies, such as Jacob’s prophecy about Judah; in Isaiah about the servant of the Lord. In Luke 24, we read the opposite movement: Jesus’ work has many shadows in the Old Testament. Luke 24:27: And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.