Bring no more vain oblations. The command is net "Bring no more oblations, "as though the daily oblation was to cease; but "bring no more oblations that are vain ones, "i.e. empty and unreal—mere forms, without the proper corresponding spirit.
The "oblation" spoken of is the minchah, or "meat offering," cf. Le Isaiah 2:1-11; Numbers 28:12-31, which was a cake of fine flour mingled with oil, and generally had incense joined with it, which explains the nexus of this clause with the following one.
Incense is an abomination unto me. God had commanded the use of incense in worship, as he had commanded burnt offerings and oblations (Exodus 30:1-8, Exodus 30:34-38; Le Exodus 2:2; Exodus 16:12, Exodus 16:13).
But incense symbolized prayer (Psalms 141:2); and if no heartfelt prayer accompanied its use, it was emptied of all its significance, and became hateful to God—a mere form, and consequently an "abomination."
The new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with. The weekly festival of the sabbath, the monthly one of the "new moon, "and the annual "assemblies" or "solemn feasts" (2 Chronicles 8:13), were the main occasions of Jewish worship.
As at this time conducted, God could endure none of them; all were tainted with the prevalent unreality. The construction of the passage is highly rhetorical, and indicates great excitement of feeling.
Kay translates it literally, "New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies, I cannot—it is ungodliness—even the solemn meeting." The authors of the Revised Version also suppose an aposiopesis. The solemn meeting.
The word thus translated is applied only to particular days in the great festival seasons, as to the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles (Le 23:36; Numbers 29:35; Nehemiah 8:18), and the seventh day of the Passover (Deuteronomy 16:8), or else to days specially appointed for religious services by civil authority (2 Kings 10:20; 2 Chronicles 7:9; Joel 1:14; Joel 2:15).
The meaning thus is, that even the very highest 'occasions of religious worship were abused by the Israelites of the time, and made an offence to God.