Amos 3:3 NKJV
“Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?”
It is important for the church to walk together in unity. As Paul puts it, we are one body and should make every effort to keep ourselves united in the Spirit. However, does unity always mean agreement? We see in Romans 14 that Paul addresses believers who did not agree on matters such as what foods they should eat or which days they should observe. Yet Paul never told them they could no longer walk together because of these differences. Instead, he told them to pursue peace and mutual edification. They did not have to agree on every detail to remain one body.
In Amos 3, the prophet provides a series of rhetorical questions, using obvious cause-and-effect statements to lead into his declaration that the Lord has revealed His judgment through His prophets. Judgment is being pronounced on Israel, and it should come as no surprise to them. So Amos 3:3 is supposed to be an obvious statement, yet it seems to leave room for misinterpretation if you don’t take into account the Hebrew text. The Hebrew word used here for “agreed” carries the idea of appointing, agreeing upon, arranging, or meeting at an appointed time or place. So the idea is essentially: Can two walk together if they have not agreed to walk together? They may not agree on every level, but they have agreed to walk together.
This does not take away from making every effort to keep ourselves unified, though. We simply must not allow trivial disagreements to get in the way of the overall direction we are heading. We may run into disagreements along the way. We may not agree on the method; we may not always agree on the details, but we must always remember that the destination is Heaven and the mission is the Great Commission. We must stay on course, for there are souls that are dying while on their way to Hell. We have the remedy for sin. His name is Jesus, and the whole world needs to hear that Jesus saves! Simply put, let us agree to walk together!
