Isaiah chapter 28 - Hosea

What about Isaiah, chapter twenty-eight? The opening lines of the chapter speak of God’s judgment of “Ephraim”, the northern kingdom of Israel.

“Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand. The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet:” (Isaiah 28:1-30)

So, that is a direct quote from chapter twenty-eight of Isaiah. What is the 28th book of the Bible? Hosea. Is the book of Hosea about God’s judgment of Ephraim, the northern kingdom of Israel? Absolutely. That is the subject of the entire book. Hosea was called by God to act out with his personal life what God was about to do with the northern kingdom, the house of Israel (as opposed to the house of Judah, the southern kingdom). Perhaps the strongest statement is found right in the first chapter of Hosea.

“And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Lo-ruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away” (Hosea 1:6)

“Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.” (Hosea 1:9)

“And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms.” (Hosea 2:4)

These three verses reflect upon the names of Hosea’s three children. God would no longer have mercy upon the northern kingdom; He would no longer be their God, and they would no longer be His people. Did God bring judgment upon the northern kingdom, the House of Israel? Absolutely. The story of Hosea is the story of that judgment.

This is the story from the twenty-eighth book of the Bible, and it is the subject of the twenty-eighth chapter of Isaiah.