Do two walk together, Unless they have agreed?
"Can a bird fall into a snare ... etc." The two previous similes were from the standpoint of the predator; in these two (Amos 3:5) the standpoint is that of the prey.  "The snare" which God has set for sinners is "the consequence" inevitably connected with evil doing.  The very consequences of evil indicate that the Infinite Intelligence wills it so.  He indeed has "set the snare."  The springing up of the trap is always the consequence of the trigger having been set off by the trespasser.  None of the judgments, therefore, which have already been declared by Amos against Israel, and which he is here attempting to explain to the unbelieving people, are in any sense capricious or undeserved.  Israel has tripped the trigger of the wrath of God; and the trap would not have sprung had this not been so. Keil quoted a passage from Jeremiah to explain what is said here: "Can destruction possibly overtake you, unless your sin draw you into it?  (Jeremiah 2:35)."[13]