18 “Woe to you who desire the day of Yahweh!
Why do you long for the day of Yahweh?
It is darkness,
and not light. 19 As if a man fled from a lion,
and a bear met him;
Or he went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall,
and a snake bit him. 20 Won’t the day of Yahweh be darkness, and not light?
Even very dark, and no brightness in it?
21 I hate, I despise your feasts,
and I can’t stand your solemn assemblies. 22 Yes, though you offer me your burnt offerings and meal offerings,
I will not accept them;
neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat animals. 23 Take away from me the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps. 24 But let justice roll on like rivers,
and righteousness like a mighty stream. 25 “Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, house of Israel? 26 You also carried the tent of your king and the shrine of your images, the star of your god, which you made for yourselves. 27 Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus,” says Yahweh, whose name is the God of Armies.
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.