Isaiah 43:23Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

You did not present your lambs as burnt offerings, nor did you respect Me with your sacrifices. I did not force you to serve Me with bread offerings, nor did I weigh you down with incense. He expresses this because they had taken these offerings for their own glory: through the former, it is made clear that I called you without the need for sacrifice, and through the latter, it is shown that I redeemed you without sacrifice as well. I have not placed upon you the burden of incense, yet they still bring me incense from distant lands.

Thus, He states, "I have not now called you Jacob." This implies that it is not due to your offerings that I have called you, but you, who did not temper oxen or offer sheep; lest you think you have received salvation as if in exchange for your sacrifices. Rather, I have granted mercy and love to those steeped in sin and tainted by idol worship in Egypt. Grace is the gift of mercy and the product of love, and redemption stems from this love. He insists, "Nothing from your burnt offerings is pleasing to Me, nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices; how can what is rejected and offered in vain bring Me glory?" Moreover, He declares that He will not bind you with your sacrifices; for only he who engages in good deeds and excels in virtuous actions, one who submits to My workings and serves sacred revelations, can truly be said to labor for the God who reigns above all. However, the person who fills the holy sanctuary with incense and offers oxen and sheep but does not perform the highest deeds will not receive true glory, for they have not pleased Me. Thus, serving God is not about sacrifice, but rather about willingly submitting oneself to His will. Regarding what is pleasing to Me, He asserts, "I did not weary you in Lebanon, nor did you buy incense for Me with silver, nor did you offer the labor of your hands for Me." This aligns with what another prophet indicated: "Gather your burnt offerings alongside your sacrifices, and prepare meat; for I did not speak to your ancestors, nor did I command them on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices" (Jeremiah 7:21, 22). In another passage, Jeremiah asserts, "Why bring Me incense from Sava and cinnamon from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor are your sacrifices pleasing to Me" (Jer. 6:20). Similarly, the Psalmist declares, "I will not accept bulls from your house, nor goats from your flocks" (Ps. 49:9). He consistently denies shadowy service to the unworthy, guiding them away from mere symbols and directing them toward justification through Christ, while teaching them to embrace the life of the Gospel, which alone can please God and offers true purity in service. As He states, "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24).

Regarding your sacrifices and the lambs that you slaughter, understand that they were not pleasing to Me, for they were common to Me and to idols. The Lord asks, "Why do I need your multitude of sacrifices?" I am sated with your burnt offerings of sheep and the fat of lambs, and I have no need for the blood of bulls and goats (Isaiah 1:11). For I, the Lord, have not required anything burdensome from you, nor have I demanded offerings or incense, or fragrant reeds, or incense smoke, or varied anointments to indulge in their fragrance; rather, it is obedience that I desire, which surpasses sacrifice, and the sacrifice mentioned by David in the Psalms: "Sacrifice to God a broken spirit, a contrite and humble heart, God will not despise" (Psalms 50:19). This is what I sought, this is what I required. Yet you have continued to weigh Me down with your sins, so much so that I was compelled to declare, "I am weary of bearing" (Isaiah 1:14), and I can no longer endure you. Therefore God also speaks through Hosea, "What shall I do for you, Ephraim? Shall I protect you, O Israel? What can I grasp from you? I will establish you as I did with Adam, and as I did with Seboim" (Hosea 11:8). The words of the Seventy, "But in your sins I have defended you, and in your iniquities," may relate to the previous thought, indicating that the defense of sinners is a labor and weariness for God.