Daily Devotions
Amos
"Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD"
Text: Amos 5:18
FOOLISH THINKING
Israel had gone so far from the Lord that they could not fully comprehend the significance of “The day of the LORD”. Many still believed that God would overlook their sinfulness and deliver them from their enemies! They could not be more wrong!
“Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD!
For what good is the day of the LORD to you?
It will be darkness, and not light.
It will be as though a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him!
Or as though he went into the house, leaned his hand on the wall,
And a serpent bit him!
Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light?
Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?”
Amos 5:18-20
1. “The day of the Lord”
a) This was a common prophetic utterance.
b) In normal circumstances this word brought:
i) Hope for the future.
ii) There was faith and expectation of a special deliverance from the Lord.
iii) He would come and rescue them with divine power from the hands of the wicked enemies.
2. In the context of sinful and erring Israel (in the days of Amos)
a) The day of the Lord had a different tone.
b) The Lord would still come but not for the deliverance of the nation.
c) He would come as Judge and He would execute Divine judgment on a nation that refused to repent and seek God.
3. Terrifying description of the day of the Lord
a) It would be a day of great darkness.
b) There would not even be a glimmer of light.
4. Sobering illustrations employed
a) Meeting a lion
b) Meeting a bear
c) Being bitten by a snake
5. “Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD”
These illustrations were issued as words of warning that the day of the LORD would prove fatal to Israel. To desire the day of the LORD when it would only bring great harm to the nation was indescribably foolish!