Isaiah 1:12

“When ye come to appear before me, &c.] At the grand festivals of the passover, pentecost, and tabernacles, at which times all the males in Israel appeared before God, (<022317>Exodus 23:17) who hath required this at your hand; either to appear at such times, these feasts being no more to be observed; or to offer the above sacrifices; these were not required of the Israelites when they first came out of Egypt, (<240722>Jeremiah 7:22) nor were they necessary to appear before God with, or to introduce them to the throne of his grace, (<330606>Micah 6:6,7) and much less under the Gospel dispensation, being abolished by the sacrifice of Christ; or this relates to what follows, to tread my courts?…”

“appear before me--in the temple where the Shekinah, resting on the ark, was the symbol of God's presence (Exo 23:15; Psa 42:2). who hath required this--as if you were doing God a service by such hypocritical offerings (Job 35:7). God did require it (Exo 23:17), but not in this spirit (Mic 6:6-7). courts--areas, in which the worshippers were. None but priests entered the temple itself.”

“When you come to appear before me - The temple was in Jerusalem, and was regarded as the habitation, or dwelling-place, of the God of Israel. Particularly, the most holy place of the temple was deemed the place of his sacred abode. The Shekinah - from שׁכן shâkan, to dwell - the visible symbol of his presence, rested on the cover of the ark, and from this place he was accustomed to commune with his people, and to give responses to their requests. Hence, ‘to appear before God,’ Hebrew ‘to be seen before my face,’ פני לראות lerâ'ôth pânāy for פני את 'et pânāy, means to appear in his temple as a worshipper. The phrase occurs in this sense in the following places: Exodus 34:23-24;…”

“To appear - Upon the three solemn feasts, or upon other occasions. Who required - The thing I commanded, was not only, nor chiefly, that you should offer external sacrifices, but that you should do it with true repentance, with faith in my promises, and sincere resolutions of devoting yourselves to my service. Isaiah 1:13”

“When: Isa 58:1, Isa 58:2; Exo 23:17, Exo 34:23; Deu 16:16; Ecc 5:1; Mat 23:5 appear: Heb. be seen required: Psa 40:6; Mic 6:8 Isaiah 1:13”

“Jeremiah says this with regard to the sacrifices ( Isa 7:22); Isaiah also applies it to visits to the temple: "When ye come to appear before my face, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?" לראות is a contracted infinitive niphal for להראות (compare the hiphil forms contracted in the same manner in Isa 3:8; Isa 23:11). This is the standing expression for the appearance of all male Israelites in the temple at the three high festivals, as prescribed by the law, and then for visits to the temple generally (cf., Psa 42:3; Psa 84:8). "My face" (panai): according to Ewald, 279, c, this is used with the passive to designate the subject ("to be seen by the face of God"); but why…”