18 Alas , you who are longing for the day of the Lord , For what purpose will the day of the Lord be to you? It will be darkness and not light ; 19 As when a man flees from a lion And a bear meets him, Or goes home , leans his hand against the wall And a snake bites him. 20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness instead of light , Even gloom with no brightness in it?
21 "I hate , I reject your festivals , Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies . 22 "Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings , I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings . 23 "Take away from Me the noise of your songs ; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps . 24 "But let justice roll down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream . 25 " Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years , O house of Israel ? 26 " You also carried along Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun , your images , the star of your gods which you made for yourselves. 27 "Therefore, I will make you go into exile beyond e Damascus ," says the Lord , whose name is the God of hosts .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Amos 5:18-27
Commentary on Amos 5:18-27
(Read Amos 5:18-27)
Woe unto those that desire the day of the Lord's judgments, that wish for times of war and confusion; as some who long for changes, hoping to rise upon the ruins of their country! but this should be so great a desolation, that nobody could gain by it. The day of the Lord will be a dark, dismal, gloomy day to all impenitent sinners. When God makes a day dark, all the world cannot make it light. Those who are not reformed by the judgments of God, will be pursued by them; if they escape one, another stands ready to seize them. A pretence of piety is double iniquity, and so it will be found. The people of Israel copied the crimes of their forefathers. The law of worshipping the Lord our God, is, Him only we must serve. Professors thrive so little, because they have little or no communion with God in their duties. They were led captive by Satan into idolatry, therefore God caused them to go into captivity among idolaters.