When a ... In other words, God is warning: "Don't be a birdbrain!
Amos although not a happy book to read is the real time eye of prevention concerning God was not pleased at all!
He was deadly serious! If the people would not repent, they were doomed!
When a lion roars, anyone within hearing distance should change the direction of his path, especially if the lion is very close!
When the divine Lion roars, the people need to shake off their complacency because His roar means He is about to spring into action! He means what He says about living His way of life, and He follows through when we depart from it.
Symbolically and metaphorically, the roar of a lion or the crack of thunder shows the imminent intervention of God in human affairs (I Samuel 2:10; Isaiah 29:6; 31:4; Hosea 11:9-11; Revelation 16:18).
Israel's economic base pastures had already begun to feel the effects of God's roaring against the supposed stronghold of Baal as the result of God's judgment.
The prophets are to use those effects to illustrate that God is not an absentee landlord. He governs His creation (Psalm 104; Matthew 6:26) and knows everything that happens in it (Psalm 139; Matthew 10:29). He has neither abdicated nor delegated these responsibilities. If calamity strikes, God is involved in some way, possibly executing judgment.
Some people, like birds, unwittingly stumble into trouble. Oblivious to everything around them, they fall into traps, like being swindled by con men or crafty deceivers. God's people are often just like birds, unsuspectingly going to their destruction, unmindful of the dangers around them. In other words, God is warning: "Don't be a birdbrain!" We must think about the direction that we are heading. In His mercy, God always warns His people of coming calamity, either through His prophets (Amos 3:7) or through escalating disasters that lead to His ultimate judgment.
Amos 3:3 stands alone without a second question following it: "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" It pictures a couple who have arranged to meet and do something together; they have a date. In the language of the Bible, this agreement is a covenant. God considered His covenant with Israel to be a marriage (Isaiah 54:5; Jeremiah 3:8, 14). Could the silent second question be: "Can a marriage be restored if the bill of divorce has already been issued?"
But there came a point in Israel's history that it was too late. The die had been cast. Repentance was no longer possible. The trumpet blew, the trap sprang, the lion pounced. Through Amos, God is warning our nations today that similar, devastating calamities lie just ahead, and escape from them is still possible.
As yet, the lion has not pounced—it is not too late.
God chose to withdraw Himself from Israel because He realized He had nothing in common with her. They could not walk together any longer.
But in Amos' day, the divorce was not yet final; reconciliation
between God and His people was still possible.
Amos although not a happy book to read is the real time eye of prevention concerning God was not pleased at all!
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