The covenantal unfaithfulness of Israel, the Northern Kingdom, has doomed them for God’s irrevocable judgement. They are hopeless for deliverance and this is sealed by God’s silence towards them. For this reason chapter 8 is one of the saddest prophecies in scripture. It is also one of the most frightening for there is going to be a famine of hearing the word of the Lord. Among other lessons to be learned is that we dare not treat God with contempt by taking his grace for granted. We consider the text under the following headings:

1. An Ominous Silence (vv. 1-3)

2. Justified Silence (vv. 4-6)

3. The Sound of Silence (vv. 7-10)

4. Heaven’s Silence (vv. 11-14)