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Pathways Through Paul
Daily Devotional
August 26
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Today's Pathway:
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I want to continue yesterday's discussion of the purpose of tongues. It is very interesting that Paul, under the inspiration of God, shows the significance of hearing someone speak in a foreign tongue by quoting the Old Testament. I could be wrong, but if I had to guess, very few of us, if any, upon first reading Deuteronomy 28, or Isaiah 28, or Jeremiah 5, immediately associated the tongues and lips that were being spoken of there with the gift of tongues spoken of in the New Testament. Yet this is where Paul goes for an explanation. If you remember from yesterday, it's clear in the Old Testament that tongues were a sign of the impending judgment of God upon Israel because of their rebellion against Him. One passage that we did not look at is found in Isaiah 33:17-22. There we see Isaiah encouraging the Jews about the Millennial Kingdom which is to come. He writes,
"Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off. Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers? Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand. Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken. But there the glorious LORD will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby. For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us."
So, in the Millennium, when Israel has been restored and national salvation has come to them, they will no longer need to fear the judgment of God. And Isaiah illustrates that by saying that at that time Israel will not see any people who speak in a language that they can't understand.
Paul writes in verse 22 "Wherefore". "Wherefore" means that what is about to be said is based upon what has previously been said. So, based upon the Old Testament illustrations, Paul writes that tongues are a sign. Who is the sign geared towards? According to verse 22 it is a sign for unbelievers, and according to the Old Testament it is a sign for Jews. Back in I Corinthians 1:22 Paul wrote,
"For the Jews require a sign".
So because the Jews required a sign, and because most of Israel was in unbelief, God gave the gift of tongues so that the unbelieving Jews would realize that the judgment of God was coming soon. This fact also helps us to understand why tongues ceased (I Corinthians 13:8). Christ spoke of the coming judgment on Israel at the end of His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He says in Luke 19:43-44,
"For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation."
This took place in 70 AD when the Roman general Titus sacked Jerusalem. So, since Israel had been judged by a foreign invader because of their rebellion against God, there was no need for tongues anymore. The warning had been given, and ignored. Thus, judgment had fallen,and further warnings were no longer necessary.
We will make some practical applications of this tomorrow.
Pastor Mark J Montgomery
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