This brings us to a conclusion on another matter of great importance. The observances regarding sacrifices, sabbaths, new moons, and all such things prescribed by the Jewish way of life of that day—they are not essential. Even when they were observed they could make no great contribution to virtue; nor when neglected could they make the excellent person worthless or degrade in any way the sanctity of his soul. People of old, while still on earth, manifested by their piety a way of life that rivals the way the angels live. Yet they followed none of these observances, they slew no beasts in sacrifice, they kept no fast, they made no display of fasting. They were so pleasing to God that they surpassed this fallen human nature of ours and, by the lives they lived, drew the whole world to a knowledge of God.
I am pierced by one wound and tortured with much grief, the bond of bitterness does not permit the tongue to perform its function, and it is easier to weep than to talk. Lo, one affliction comes upon another affliction and contrition upon contrition, “as if a man were to flee from a lion, and a bear should meet him,” or howl at being struck by a scorpion, “and a snake should bite him,” so completely am I dejected and afflicted with the misery of sorrow. I confess, madam, that every time I try to write to you about the passing of our lady Basilla of blessed memory, I am overcome with bitterness and experience a dullness in my mind, a heaviness in my sense and slowness in my tongue, because while I was occupied with grief, my mind was moved by death.
(Verses 21, 22.) I hated and rejected your feasts, and I will not take the smell of your heavens. But if you bring me burnt offerings and your gifts, I will not accept them, and I will not look at the fat of your animals. LXX: I have hated and rejected your feasts, and I will not be pleased with your assemblies. And if you bring me burnt offerings and sacrifices, I will not receive them, and I will not look upon the pleasantness of your presence: This is specifically said against the tribe of Judah, and those who had migrated from Israel for the ceremonies of God, and yet did not depart from the high places, and worshipped idols, and defiled the sacrifices of God with the magnitude of their sins. For I never said concerning the oblations of the calves, which they offered in Dan and Bethel: If you offer to me holocausts and your offerings, I will not accept them. But God hates and not only hates, but also has cast away their festivals, those who flee from the lion and fall into the bear, and enter the house and are bitten by the serpent, because they do not celebrate the festivals of God, but their own festivals, says the Lord: I hate and have cast away your festivals. And it does not receive the assembly of such men, nor does it have a fragrance of good scent, and it abhors all their gifts, and it does not regard the richest offerings. Indeed, this happens not only to the people of that time, but also to us, if we commit similar offenses, and think that we can offer to God the gains from robberies and perjuries and wicked deeds, and redeem our sins, when we have read that Zacchaeus restored fourfold whatever he had stolen and offered half of his well-acquired possessions (Luke 19). For one could not offer what was wrongfully acquired in the gifts of God, unless one first returned it to its rightful owners, and afterwards fulfilled what is written: Honor the Lord with your just labors (Prov. III, 9); and: The redemption of a man's soul is his own riches (Prov. XIII, 8): for God does not accept the vows of a prostitute's earnings (Deut. XXIII). On the contrary, the just one can say: Let my prayer be directed as incense in your sight (Psal. CXL, 2). The speech of Judas, the traitor, was turned into sin: for it did not have a good odor; but it spoke through actions: 'My wounds have become foul and corrupt, because of my foolishness' (Psalm 38:6). All of this can also be said about heretics, who while fleeing from a lion, run into a bear, and upon entering a house which they think is the Church of God, they lean on walls which they themselves made, and they are bitten by a serpent. Darkness and gloom take away their light and day, so that tangible darkness surrounds them, and their beginnings are destroyed. God hates their sacrifices, and distances himself from them, and whenever they are gathered in the name of the Lord, he detests their stench and closes his nostrils. To hate, to distance oneself, and to not smell, is spoken in the likeness of human language, so that we may understand the attitude of God through our words. And if they offer burnt offerings, or appear to fast, or give alms, or promise chastity, which are true sacrifices, the Lord does not accept those, nor does he deem worthy to look at their fattest offerings. For God judges not the greatness of sacrifices, but the merits and reasons of those who offer them. Hence, the widow who in the Gospel (Luke 21) gave two small coins as an offering is preferred by the Savior over those who believed they were offering the fattest vows and the choicest sacrifices, when in reality they were giving very little, since she had given everything she had. These things are said more clearly and truly after the coming of the Lord to the Jewish people, who, with the temple and altar destroyed, believe they are offering sacrifices, which God abhors and rejects their festivals, and does not accept the aroma of their assembly when they gather and say, 'Crucify him, crucify him' (John 19:6) and 'His blood be on us and on our children' (Matthew 27:25). And if they offer holocausts in synagogues, and gifts in the councils of Satan, and the richest vows, the Lord does not regard them, just as He did not regard the gifts of Cain (Genesis IV). Those who worship the one true God and offer rightly, yet they are not regarded because they do not acknowledge the confession of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But our offerings, that is, the Church, which we offer from our first fruits, are regarded by God, just as He once regarded the sacrifices of Abel.
This verse would apply particularly to the people of Judah and Benjamin. You see, whereas the tribes in Samaria were totally devoted to the worship of the idols, and were proven to be extremely lax and very neglectful of the laws of Moses, the people in Jerusalem, though sacrificing in the high places of Baal and pouring libations to the host of heaven, in addition made a pretense of paying respect to the Law and of being anxious to perform sacrifices and festival.
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Amos 5:20-24