Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? will a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing?
All Commentaries on Amos 3:4 Go To Amos 3
Cyril of Alexandria
AD 444
God is like a lion, he says, that normally cries out before catching its prey as if to give warning in advance of its attack, while the prophets are like cubs in imitating His behavior, protesting at those given to impious behavior, as I said. Just as with animals in the mountains, however, the savage creature’s warning is not without benefit in that it prompts them to flee before perhaps being taken, so too, with sinners the threat and prediction before the disaster is most helpful, moving them to repentance and avoidance of their exploits. God therefore compares Himself to a lion that does not attack and inflict on some people the effects of wrath before threatening in advance, His purpose being for them to repent and be saved by taking the prediction of the future the onset of disaster as a saving remedy.
