Amos 3:3. Can two walk together Comfortably as friends; except they be agreed Except they be in peace with each other? So neither can I conduct myself toward you as a friend or benefactor, nor can you have my presence with you, while you walk so contrary to me, and act in such perfect opposition to my nature and laws. read more
3:1-6:14 REASONS FOR ISRAEL’S PUNISHMENTThe prophet’s responsibility (3:1-8)Many Israelites thought that because they were God’s people, they could do as they liked without fear of punishment. On the contrary, says Amos, God’s choice of them to be his people is all the more reason why he will punish them if they are disobedient (3:1-2).To prevent the people from thinking that he is making idle threats, Amos points out that he has good reason for speaking with such boldness. He gives a list of... read more
Can two . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis (in negative affirmation). App-6 . This is the first of five parables. The answer to each is self-evident, be agreed = have met together by appointment [of time and (place]. read more
"Shall two walk together except they have agreed? Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing? Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is set for him? shall a snare spring from the ground, and have taken nothing at all? Shall the trumpet be blown in a city, and the people not be afraid? Shall evil befall a city, and Jehovah hath not done it?These verses are the prelude to Amos 3:7,8, below; and they consist... read more
Amos 3:3-8. Can two walk, &c.— The similies in these verses have the same meaning, and they all tend to shew that calamities happen according to the appointing, permissive, or suffering will of God; and that prophets prophesy not, without the Lord's speaking to them. Instead of, Shall one take up a snare, &c. Amos 3:5. Houbigant reads, Is a snare taken from the ground, unless something be caught in it? Upon the seventh verse we may observe, that there was no great revolution in the... read more
3-6. Here follow several questions of a parable-like kind, to awaken conviction in the people. Can two walk together, except they be agreed?—Can God's prophets be so unanimous in prophesying against you, if God's Spirit were not joined with them, or if their prophecies were false? The Israelites were "at ease," not believing that God was with the prophets in their denunciations of coming ruin to the nation (Amos 6:1; Amos 6:3; compare 1 Kings 22:18; 1 Kings 22:24; 1 Kings 22:27; Jeremiah 43:2).... read more
Two people do not travel together unless they first agree to do so. By implication, God and Israel could not travel together toward God’s intended destination for the nation unless the Israelites agreed to do so on His terms (cf. Amos 3:2). read more
Israel’s inevitable judgment by Yahweh 3:3-8Amos asked seven rhetorical questions in Amos 3:3-6 to help the Israelites appreciate the inevitability of their judgment. In each one the prophet pointed out that a certain cause inevitably produces a certain effect. The five questions in Amos 3:3-5 expect a negative answer, and the two in Amos 3:6 expect a positive one. Amos 3:7-8 draw the conclusion. read more
The First Address1-8. A call to attention. 9, 10. The oppressions practised by the powerful. 11-15. The disasters which should overtake them, their sanctuary and their palaces.1. ’Race’ would be a more correct word than family. Judah is included in the appeal, but immediately drops out of sight again.2. In the Bible to know frequently means to care for, to be deeply interested in (Genesis 18:19; Hosea 13:5; Nahum 1:7; Job 22:13; Psalms 1:6; Psalms 73:11; Proverbs 2:10; Galatians 4:9): at... read more
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Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Amos 3:3
Sacred parables or enigmas must have many meanings. They are cast on the mind, to quicken it and rouse it by their very mystery. They are taken from objects which in different lights, represent different things, and so suggest them. This series of brief parables have, all of them, this in common, that each thing spoken of is alternately cause and effect, and where the one is found, ‘there’ must be the other. From the effect you can certainly infer the cause, without which it could not be, and... read more