10 Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, You people of Gomorrah: 11 “To what purpose 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 cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats. 12 “When you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts? 13 Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies— I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. 14 Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. (Isaiah 1:10-15)
Israel had wearied the Lord God with their sacrifices of worship and offerings of praise while they simultaneously defiled themselves with all manner of sin (see Isa. 1:4, where God described His children as a “brood of evildoers”). We cannot successfully worship and serve God with defiled hands; only “holy hands” will do (cf. 1 Tim. 2:8). Pretending to love God while practicing sin is as unholy as the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. Cleanse yourself of sin’s defilement that your sacrifices of praise will honor and please Him (Isa. 1:18-20).
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