“Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?”
The question about whether God eats flesh and drinks blood continues the rhetorical interrogation establishing the people's mistaken assumptions. The specific reference to eating flesh and drinking blood suggests the actual consumption implied by the sacrificial system. Yet the rhetorical form questions whether God actually requires such literal consumption; the people have confused the symbolic and substitutive nature of sacrifice with literal material necessity. The ongoing interrogation establishes that the people have completely misunderstood the purpose and nature of sacrifice. This verse continues to demolish the assumption that material offerings constitute the primary requirement of covenant relationship.
Church Fathers on Psalms 50:13
1. How much avails the Word of God to us for the correction of our life, both regarding His rewards to be expected, and His punishments to be feared, let each one measure in himself; and let him put his conscience without deceit before His eyes, and not flatter himself in a danger so great: for you see that even our Lord God Himself does flatter no one: though He comforts us by promising His blessings, and by strengthening our hope; yet them that live ill and despise His word…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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