"The Day of the Lord" is a common term in the Bible, particularly the Old Testament prophets. It does not necessarily refer to a single day, but to a time when the will and purposes of the Lord are brought to fulfillment.
The people of Israel claimed to long for the Day of the Lord, but they should in fact fear it. For their actions and their hearts were far from the Lord, so when His Day comes they would be among the first to suffer. They would then receive the consequences of their actions. There would be no escape on that day, no clever legal arguments would carry any weight, there is no one who could be bribed.
There was an ostentatious display of religion in the land, but all of it was worthless, for there was no truth and no justice in it. Verse 24 was quoted by Martin Luther King in one of his famous speeches. Every rich society needs to consider these words.
God then points out that they did not bring sacrifices in the desert. They were given plenty of instructions on what the sacrificial system would be, but they did not bring sacrifices themselves. It was the heart of the people that God needed to change.
While they had the pretence of worship, in reality they were worshiping a god they had made themselves, not the one true God. Whether or not we are truly worshiping God will be shown by the fruit of our lives.
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