“I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies.
Here the Prophet, anticipating an objection, shows that the Israelites deceived themselves, for they believed that God was pacified by their sacrifices: he declares all these to be useless; not only, as I think, because they themselves were impure; but because all their sacrifices were mere profanations.
Their feasts and assemblies, their songs and viols, all were abominations to Him because their hearts were not with Him. Nothing is more hateful than this hypocrisy, this pretense of respect when none exists. God will not smell what is offensive; He despises services meant to buy leave to go on sinning.
AI summary
Commenting on Amos 5:21-27
I hate, I despise your feast days,.... Kimchi thinks this is said, and what follows, with respect to the kingdom of the house of Judah, which kept the feast the Lord commanded; but it is not necessary so to understand it; for doubtless the ten tribes imitated the worship at Jerusalem, and kept the feasts as the Jews did there, in the observance of which...