I will not take calves out of thy house: nor he goats out of thy flocks.
לֹא־אֶקַּ֣ח מִבֵּיתְךָ֣ פָ֑ר מִ֝מִּכְלְאֹתֶ֗יךָ עַתּוּדִֽים׃
9 Church Fathers comment on this verse · 10 commentaries
Observe how He gradually elevates the minds of those who are humbled, purifying their blinded perceptions, and indicating that He ordained the offerings not out of necessity, nor did He establish them in the law because He found them pleasing. For if I had desired such service, He states, possessing the entirety of creation and being the Maker of all, I would have designated the most plentiful offerings to be presented to Me.
New Offering He proclaims the New Covenant, in which all previous sacrifices are rendered obsolete. This serves as a preview of an upcoming Offering, through whose blood we have attained purification.
Certain burnt offerings are referenced in another psalm, which states: If You desire a sacrifice, I will certainly provide it; You take no delight in burnt offerings. The psalmist further expresses that a sacrifice pleasing to God is a contrite spirit, a heart that is broken and humble. God does not reject such offerings. Which burnt offerings then does He not disdain? What sacrifices are perpetually before Him? The psalmist implores the Lord to show favor, to act according to Your will for Zion, and to restore the walls of Jerusalem, ensuring that then the offerings of righteousness, the gifts, and the burnt offerings will be accepted by Him. This indicates that God is willing to accept certain holocausts. But what constitutes a holocaust?
It is when the entirety is consumed by the fire; the substance is offered up, yet the essence remains unchanged. The burnt offering represents complete consumption by the flames. There exists a fire of profound love—let our hearts be ignited with this love, driving us to dedicate our members in service of others rather than self-serving pursuits, enabling us to be wholly enkindled by divine love, thereby presenting our burnt offering to God. Such are the offerings, continually before Me. Perhaps Israel has yet to comprehend the nature of the burnt offerings that God constantly observes, still fixating on bulls, sheep, and goats; let him abandon that notion: I will not accept your house calves. Describing holocausts, I see you quickly turn to earthly herds to select something pleasing for Me: I will not receive your domestic calves. He foretells a New Covenant where all these sacrifices will come to an end. For they symbolize a future Sacrifice that is to be made, whose Blood will bring about our purification. I will not accept calves from your house, nor goats from your flock.
If you endeavor to offer sacrifices to Me as something noble and essential, take heed with complete assurance that I will not receive any of these from you, for they hold no necessity for Me.
I am the Creator and Sovereign of all, encompassing the creatures that roam the earth and the birds that soar in the sky. Therefore, do not assume that you satisfy any need of Mine. I have granted them life, and I command the earth to yield its bounty. For He proclaims the beauty of creation as the various fruits of the land. However, since sacrifices have been made from the animals of the earth, such as oxen, goats, and sheep; from the birds, including doves and turtledoves; and from the produce, like grain offerings, wine, oil, and incense: it is essential to mention all these elements to bring an end to all such offerings.
Do not assume, the Lord instructs His people, that your obligation to Me consists solely of offerings. Understand that I require neither your sacrifices nor anything material; instead, I provide for every individual according to their needs. Therefore, from this point forward, I shall not receive your sacrifices. The Lord strongly admonishes the people of Israel for their misguided understanding of offerings through the prophet Isaiah, who declares, “What is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” says the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats. When you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand?” (Isaiah 1:11-12).
Subsequently, the Lord expresses the same rebuke through the prophet Jeremiah, asking, “Why do you bring Me incense from Sheba, and sweet cane from a far country?” (Jeremiah 6:20). Furthermore, the prophet states, “For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices” (Jeremiah 7:22). Numerous other prophets have conveyed similar messages regarding sacrifices, and the aforementioned phrases are not the sole examples.
It may be questioned, however, that God Himself first relayed various laws about sacrifices through Moses and now deems them unnecessary. To clarify this apparent inconsistency, it is essential to recognize that while God indeed provided His people with laws regarding sacrifices, He did so not for His own benefit—as He stands in no need of them—but out of compassion for the frailty and insensitivity of His people. Aware that they had learned to offer sacrifices during their time in Egypt and found satisfaction in such practices, the Lord, in His infinite wisdom, instituted sacrificial laws to help His people remember Him when they gathered. These offerings served not only as a means of worship but also as a way to instill true devotion in a people prone to ingratitude and forgetfulness of God’s blessings. Now, after many centuries and through significant signs confirming that the God they worship is indeed the one true God, the Lord elucidates the true purpose of sacrifices, declaring them ultimately unnecessary. Therefore, let those among the Jews who turn away from the truth and ignore the light of Scripture reflect on their actions.
The realization of the prophecy When the Jews encountered this message, they were unconvinced and questioned its likelihood for themselves. The proclamation has now been validated, as there is no longer a place for offerings due to the devastation of the temple, the destruction of the altar, the loss of their governance, and the conquest of the city designated for sacrifices in accordance with the Law.
Previously, he communicated to them, “You offered the flesh of fruits and the bodies of strange creatures for sacrifice: now you understand that God ‘shall not take of thy house calves, neither shall he take of thy flocks goats’ (Psalms 49:9); ‘neither shall he take of the hands of men pleasure, as though he required any thing, himself giving to all life, and breath, and all things’ (Acts 17:25).
Instead, present to Him a more excellent offering—your own bodies, or more accurately, your very selves: ‘present your bodies a sacrifice.’ In the past, your sacrifices involved taking the life of what was living and annihilating what had no spirit; now, learn to worship God not by harming His creations, but by nurturing them, or even by restoring them to a higher existence: ‘present your bodies a sacrifice to live.’
These words reveal a second reason for God's demand for no offerings from Israel: He is the Creator of everything. Consequently, if He had wished for sheep, cattle, birds, or anything else, it would have been effortless for Him to acquire them, as He knows and owns all that exists.
This psalm was inspired by the Holy Spirit through David and entrusted to Asaph, the leader of his musicians, to perform. The prophet conveys a prophecy regarding the second advent of Christ, which will be both awe-inspiring and overwhelming. A river of fire emanated from before Him, a vision once perceived by the prophet Daniel, whose throne is enveloped in flames and whose wheels are a blazing fire (Dan. 7:9-10) (Theodoret). Here, he highlights the extraordinary humiliation that calls all inhabitants of heaven and earth to gather in great numbers to condemn both overt and hidden wickedness (Theodoret).
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS