Isaiah Lesson 36

Isaiah 28 as a Judgment Oracle Against Ephraim

We're looking for your Holy Spirit to give us insight. As we continue in our study in Isaiah, we understand the Northern Kingdom's worldview was not accurate, and we know that the world today is falling down a rabbit hole.

Pray, Father, as we look to your word that we would be convinced and that our hearts would be drawn to a relationship that's honoring to the Kingdom of God, we pray in Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

All right, we're gonna speak a little today about language. Rick, what was the quote from Winston Churchill about ending a sentence with a prepositional phrase?

That's a situation up with which I will not put.

That is a situation up with which I will not put. Winston Churchill on ending a sentence with a preposition. Well, bad grammar can descend from bad to worse, and as a person's grammar gets worse and worse, it becomes less and less intelligible.

At some point, you arrive at the language of a drunkard, which is similar to the language of a baby. What do babies do when they come into the world?

Goo-goo. Goo-goo!

They babble, babies are babblers. This will be relevant to our lesson today. I have been to a Benny Hinn crusade. Ooh, I have been to many charismatic events over the years, and one of the common things that you will see happening at a charismatic Pentecostal gathering is you will hear the person up front on stage say, okay, everybody begin to pray in tongues.

Just pray in tongues. And before long, the entire assembly is speaking in babble. You not only recognize this in Pentecostal charismatic Christian circles, but also in non-Christian cults. For example, Oneness Pentecostals that deny the Trinity will do the same thing.

But it even extends beyond Christianity to many other pagan or mystical religions. In fact, free vocalization, just the ability to string syllables together, is a simple ability. A child is able to do that.

It doesn't prove anything to be able to freely vocalize syllables. And in fact, to speak in tongues without an interpreter in the assembly of Christians is explicitly denounced in Scripture. It is an affront to 1 Corinthians 14.

We're gonna get there, 1 Corinthians 14, 20 to 22, but you can't understand the argument of 1 Corinthians 14, 20 to 22 until you've studied Isaiah 28. Because Isaiah 28 is the quote taken from Paul in 1 Corinthians 14.

So let's go to Isaiah 28. We're picking up in the context here, there, of course, were all the judgment oracles through the 23rd chapter, and then there was a section break and a view of the coming tribulation, but then the view of the coming millennium and how we can have peace despite that.

We saw last week Leviathan, the fleeing serpent, which is a picture of Satan. And now we move into another judgment oracle in chapter 28. So John, would you be my first reader here? And we'll take the first four verses to begin with.

Ah, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine. Behold, the Lord has the one who is mighty and strong, like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest, like a storm of mighty overflowing waters.

He casts down to earth with his hand, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trodden underfoot. And the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley will be like a first ripe fig before the summer.

When someone sees it, he swallows it as soon as it is in his hand.

Okay, clearly a judgment oracle. But to begin with, where is this judgment directed? Or Rick, is it to where this judgment is directed? To where is this judgment directed?

To Judah and Ephraim.

Ephraim, and that is one of the Southern or Northern tribes?

Northern.

Northern, and often it stands as a metonym, one single thing speaking to the larger of all of the Northern Kingdom. So you'll just say Ephraim sometimes to refer to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. So the vast majority of the people of the Northern Kingdom have not built a biblical worldview, but instead have engaged in drunken revelry, drunkenness.

So God will send the Assyrians speaking a language that the Israelites do not understand to judge Israel for her lack of discernment. That's what 28 is about. Let's see some of the particulars of this.

Ah, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim. The charge here at the very beginning is drunkenness. Is it a sin to have a sip of wine at a wedding?

No. Depends.

Kind of depends on your motive and things like that. If you're causing somebody else to stumble, but no, not in and of itself. Jesus turned water to wine. Is there any explicit command against drunkenness in the New Testament?

Yes, against drunkenness there is. In Ephesians 5, do not get drunk on wine.

Full of the spirit.

Which is debauchery. Instead be filled with the spirit. So drunkenness is a sin. And this is one of the examples of the sins of Ephraim. The bigger picture here is that they're not serious men. These are not people who are building a worldview.

We're gonna get to this later in the passage. And learning to walk with God. Instead they're led by their passions. They're hedonistic. They're just pursuing pleasure. And drunkenness typifies that. The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim.

And the fading flower of its glorious beauty. Where else do we remember Isaiah, famously, speaking of a fading flower? Chapter 40, Rich, you get to read it. It's in my notes here. Chapter 40, verse eight.

You can turn there or just look on the notes. You already know it, Rich, come on.

You're asked when there's the flower of faith.

You're asked when there's the flower of faith that the word of our God stands forever.

You wanted to get it exactly right. That's why you looked it up, good job.

Before you get this cake.

So in chapter 28, verse one, the comparison is the fading flower of its glorious beauty. The pride of the Ephraimite is in transient things. Things that are passing. There is a gift from God, which is the fruit of the vine.

But to put your pleasure in the fruit of the vine, especially wine, which is fermented, and become drunk on those things is to pursue the gift rather than the giver. It's to take the gift outside of the bounds that God has drawn around it.

The same is true of so many of God's gifts. Is sex a dirty and ugly and sinful thing? No, it is a beautiful gift from God. But there are boundaries drawn around that gift, which is, of course, marriage.

At which point, when a person crosses those boundaries, it's pursuing the gift rather than the giver, taking what's not meant to be and pursuing that rather than God's intention, which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine.

Ephraim has a region that is rich with wine, that has grapes that just come forth gloriously, and the people of Ephraim are rich in that valley.

A good gift from God,.

And yet they're putting their hope in it. Verse two, behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest, like a storm of mighty overflowing waters. He casts down to the earth with his hand.

Now, who is the mighty and strong in verse two?

I was gonna ask you that. Is that Jesus?

I don't think so.

Not in this context of judgment, no.

Right, in this context of judgment, think back to the judgment oracles that we've been reading, and especially think about Isaiah chapter 10. When God is wielding a certain nation like a sword, but they do not so intend in their heart, the rod of God's anger, the rod of his judgment is?

Assyria.

It's Assyria. Again, this is the Assyrian conquest. They come over like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest. They wipe everything out in their path. A storm of mighty overflowing waters. Maybe you've seen a documentary or a movie about when a tidal wave runs over a beach, coastline.

A tsunami, yeah, in Indonesia, places like that. It just completely levels hotels and everything and kills everything in its path. This is like a coming tsunami, the Assyrian army. He casts down to the earth with his hand.

The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trodden underfoot. What is June recognized as in the United States of America? Pride month, according to Proverbs. What comes after pride? The fall.

Pride goeth before the fall and the hottie before destruction. Sadly, that's the fate of those who elevate themselves in pride. There is a humbling that comes from God. Now, if you humble yourself before God and you beat your chest and you repent of your sin and you turn to God, what do you find him to be?

Merciful.

Merciful and forgiving. But if you puff out your chest in pride and you parade your sinfulness, that pride will be met with his judgment. And the problem with Ephraim is they're not humble before God.

They're prideful. The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trodden underfoot. Pride goes before the fall. Verse four, and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley.

Yes, Ephraim is prosperous. Yes, they're rich. Yes, they have so much excess that they can get drunk at night. Work during the day and the ground is bringing forth so much fruit. They have excess and they're beginning to delight in those things.

But this fading flower, it doesn't last forever, does it? It will be like a first ripe fig before the summer. When someone sees it, he swallows it as soon as it is in his hand. Walking along, it's picked from the tree and eaten the very second that it's noticed.

Ephraim is to be judged. So clearly a judgment oracle against the Northern Kingdom. Now, God always has a remnant. So who would like to be my next reader? Barb, do you got it there? Isaiah 28, five and six.

In the day of the Lord Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people. He will be a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.

Okay, this concept of a remnant is something we've seen over and over again in Isaiah. God sends judgment, but he always keeps a remnant. He has a remnant. And here in Ephraim, even so, now the nations will be lost.

There will never be a regathering of Ephraim after the Assyrians come and wipe them out. Contrasting that, the kingdom of Judah will be regathered after their exile, but the kingdom will be lost. Does that mean that there will be no believers from the Northern Kingdom?

No, in fact, what do we see in Revelation? 12 ,000 from each tribe. Yeah, so you will still see God regather a remnant. He's not done with his ethnic people. Israel as a nation, the book of Revelation sees the regathering and his gathering a remnant from the Northern tribes too.

But even so, in this day, in the days of Isaiah, there will still be some believers saved. And how so? In that day, the Lord of hosts will be a crown of glory. Those who have made God their delight. They delight in God as their crown, a diadem of beauty to the remnant of his people.

Not by and large, this is probably a small remnant in the vast number, millions of Israelites at that time. A spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.

He is one who vindicates those who belong to him. John, do you feel like reading a long passage?

Sure.

It's gonna be Psalm 26. So guys, if you turn to Psalm 26, this is a good reminder that when you live in a generation that's hedonistic, that seeks only pleasure, as Paul described the last days, when people are lovers of selves rather than lovers of God, you're a remnant in a people that is not concerned with God.

You feel like an outsider. You're outside the camp. You're rejected. And it seems like you're constantly losing and the wicked constantly prosper. But Psalm 26 reminds us that there comes a time when God not only establishes his own kingdom, but he vindicates the righteous.

The righteous will ultimately be vindicated. In chapter 54, Isaiah will say, no weapon formed against you will prosper. And he vindicates us in that passage as well. But Psalm 26 captures this. Let's just read it, John.

If you'd read that whole Psalm, Psalm 26. The Bible tells us to devote ourselves to the public reading of scripture. Sometimes we just need to read the word and let the word wash over us.

Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Examine me, O Lord, and try me. Test my mind and my heart. For thy loving kindness is before my eyes and I have walked in thy truth.

I do not sit with deceitful men nor will I go with pretenders. I hate the assembly of evildoers and I will not sit with the wicked. I shall wash my hands in innocence and I will go about thine altar, O Lord, that I might proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving and declare all thy wonders.

O Lord, I love the habitation of thy house and the place where thy glory dwells. Do not take my soul away along with sinners nor my life with men of bloodshed. In whose hands is a wicked scheme and whose right hand is full of bribes.

But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity. Redeem me, be gracious to me. My foot stands on the level place in the congregation. I shall bless the Lord.

It's a song of vindication. Vindicate me, O Lord. And there is a distinction between people, those who cling to God and obey his commands and those who are bloodthirsty and they are often persecuting the righteous.

There's a day of vindication and we call to God to let our feet be set on level ground in the great assembly. I will bless the Lord.

Verse two, I would challenge you in your quiet time and your devotions or whatever. When you consider something like verse two, to not take it lightly, it says, examine me, O Lord, and try me. Test my mind and my heart.

There needs to be a realization of sin, of confession, of repentance, but is your heart true to God?

Amen, amen. All right, and yeah, Rick.

I have an aside question. Do Israelites or Israelis who are resettling now identify with different tribes in the resettlement?

That's a good question.

I don't think that most do that yet, no. Have you noticed that, that they're knowing their?

The Jews do have a cultural propensity towards knowing their heritage. Now, whether there is an overt, I'm using these words because you're an English teacher, whether there's an overt realization of the 12 tribes, we don't know that for sure.

But the Jews do have a propensity for knowing what heritage, where their roots come, from where do their roots come.

And probably a lot of that was lost. I think the records were all destroyed in 70 AD. I think of Andrew Rappaport, who comes here, a Messianic Jew, he knows that he's a descendant from Levi. So there's many who at least think they know.

So there might be some gathering in Israel, but I think a lot of it is lost. But God knows, and when he happens to draw up the 12 ,000 from each tribe, he'll probably reveal that to them, what tribe they're from, or else it'll just be the case and they won't know it.

That almost makes that realization of what goes on there all the more, it's more of an expression of God's omniscience. I got that wrong last week, of his omniscience, that he knows, and then his omnipotence that he's able to let people know where they're from.

Do you think that has anything to do with remnants of God's people passing down what they'd been through to their children and grandchildren?

Yeah, I think the oral tradition, and yeah, I think they have passed on, and that's so important to the Jewish people, I think they would try to keep those traditions alive.

And what's also interesting, going under the teaching of the rapture before those seven years, we have Messianic Jews now, but the Jews that are going to be called back are not the Messianic Jews because they would be raptured with the church.

Precept Upon Precept and the Need for Biblical Discernment

All right, let's do verses seven and eight, and one of the big ideas here of what God is judging is that the Ephraimite has not built a biblical worldview. They don't value discernment. Discernment is like, eh, you know, whatever, they're just getting drunk, and so they're a lot like children, they're babblers, and like a drunken babbler, they have not built a biblical worldview, and this makes an absolute mess of things, so verses seven and eight.

Who would like to read? Who would like an opportunity? Rick, thank you.

These also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink. The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink. They are swallowed by wine. They stagger with strong drink. They reel in vision. They stumble in giving judgment.

For all tables are full of filthy vomit with no space left.

All right, when a man is drunk at the bar and he's getting in a bar fight and dancing on tables, what do you recognize about him? He has no judgment. Alcohol has an effect on the mind that causes a person to lack discernment, to lack judgment, and to act in ridiculous ways.

In Israel, the people, it says the tables are full of filthy vomit with no space left. This is a people that has not learned a biblical worldview or learned to act with discernment. That word discernment was mentioned as John taught last week.

Look at chapter 27, verse 11. When its bows are dry, they are broken. Women come and make a fire of them, for this is a people without discernment. Therefore, he who made them will not have compassion.

On them.

He who formed them will show them no favor.

Yes.

As another aside, in the New Testament, Paul admonishes Timothy, take a little wine.

Yes, take a little wine for your stomach. The building of biblical discernment in the body of Christ is an essential. It is not just like an extra. Look at verse 11 again. This is a people without discernment.

Does God look at that as a small problem in the church or in this case, in Israel? How does he describe it? Therefore, he who made them will not have compassion.

On them.

It is a big deal to live your life like a drunkard. To not develop discernment, to not pay attention to what's happening around you, to not be wise like the sons of Issachar who understood the times and knew what they are to do.

These are not optional things. To not have discernment will destroy you. Your drunkenness will bring you to the grave. And church leaders that don't take these things seriously and don't develop discernment to deal with the issues of the day are going to ruin their churches.

They will ruin them for lack of discernment. So let's look at the positive side of this there in verses nine and 10. John, would you read that?

To whom will he teach knowledge and to whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from the milk, those who have taken from the breast, for it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.

So it's kind of a sarcastic question, isn't it? Who will the Ephraimite teach? The priests and the prophets are just like everybody else. So who's gonna do the teaching in Ephraim? Well, here's who you can teach.

You can teach a baby because that's how much you know. Look at verse nine. To whom will he teach knowledge and to whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from the milk, those taken from the breast.

That's about what they're capable of doing. They need to learn from square one. They're back to the basics. But then you see in verse 10 how a biblical worldview is built. And I think this is a beautiful verse that we need to really hold onto and think about.

For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little. It's a strange verse, but that should be memorized because this is how a biblical worldview is built.

Precept upon precept, precept upon precept. Systematic theology is the building of precept upon precept. When you think about Trinitarianism, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, to recognize that all three are one God, one being, well, that's Deuteronomy 6 .4.

Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one. And yet in the New Testament, Jesus communicates person to person with his Father. How can there be only one God when there is interpersonal communication between Father and Son?

Well, there's distinction between Father and Son. And the Son was there and the world was created through the Son. And so there's a distinction between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and yet they're united in one being and one essence.

As you begin to pull all of these precepts of the scripture together, you develop a systematic theology and you recognize that God is Trinitarian, but that applies to salvation as well. All areas of theology connect because the one that the Father elected is the one for whom Christ interposed his precious blood.

And the one that Christ interceded for with his blood is the very one that the Spirit will draw. So Trinitarian theology affects soteriology. All areas of theology are connected. It's precept upon precept, precept upon precept.

It's also line upon line, line upon line. Some people would think that it's ridiculous to study through the Old Testament. In fact, Andy Stanley said he would like to see us unhitch from the Old Testament.

Why did he say unhitch from the Old Testament? Because he wants to focus only on the new or especially on the new. Unhitching from the Old Testament can cause us to distance ourselves from some of the unseemly things you read in the Old.

But that's not what Isaiah teaches. He says line upon line, line upon line. This is why expository preaching is so important. Expository preaching is the line upon line explaining of the Word of God. It's taking what's in the text.

By exegesis, you study what's in there and you draw out what the meaning of the author originally was. And you teach that to the people, line upon line. Systematic theology, expository preaching.

I'm sorry, I wasn't here Sunday night and you guys might have talked about this, but isn't that what's being challenged now, the systematic theology? Because if it's all based on my experience, then it has nothing to do with systematic, preset upon preset, line upon line.

So to take it in the direction of social justice, social justice is the rejection of systematic theology because social justice has within its epistemology of how it knows things, standpoint epistemology, meaning your standpoint, your feelings, your experiences are your truth.

And you bring that subjectively to the table. Other people have different approaches and that's equally valid. Truth is not known objectively by the Word of God, but rather subjectively by the standpoint of a person's experiences and feelings and background and skin color and gender and sexuality and all of the identity markers.

This is how they discover truth, which is a wrong epistemology. And therefore you arrive at all the wrong conclusions.

Some claim that there is no absolute truth, but isn't that an absolute statement that nullifies itself?

Of course, yeah. Postmodernism is self-defeating. If there's no absolute truth and the idea of postmodern epistemology isn't true either, and yeah, it unravels.

That, what he just said, was mentioned in the tactics workbook.

Oh, in tactics.

When someone said there's no absolute truth and is that absolute truth?

Right.

And the other thing I'd like to say is that we're talking about wine and drunkenness, but could that just be a picture of what happens when we intoxicate ourselves with the wrong things?

Yeah, I think this is a metaphor. It's literal and it's metaphorical, I think, of Ephraim. One, I think they actually were getting drunk. Like physically, they were rich in wine and they were just sensual, but it's a picture of a way of living your life as a hedonist and rather than actually doing the work of building a Christian worldview in that time, a biblical worldview, Old Testament worldview.

Strange Lips, Tongues as Judgment, and the Need for Clarity

All right, so this is the work we need to do next. Verses 11 to 13. John, would you read that for us?

For by people of strange lips and with a foreign tongue, the Lord will speak to this people, to whom he has said, this is rest, give rest to the weary and this is repose, yet they would not hear. And the word of the Lord will be to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little, that they may go and fall backward and be broken and snared and taken.

That is an interesting passage. What is happening there? Look at verse 11. For by a people of strange lips, the context of Isaiah has already established that this is the Assyrians, right? As they sweep over the nations.

When Assyria overruns the Northern kingdom, they come not speaking Hebrew, but speaking Assyrian, right? The strange lips, a foreign tongue. What does that sound like to a non-speaker of the Assyrian tongue?

Sounds like battle, sounds like drunkenness. The Lord will speak to this people to whom he has said, so God is the one sending the Assyrian army and as they come in judgment, they're babbling, it's God judging them with tongues.

This is really interesting. We'll make the application. To whom he said, he told them, this is rest, give rest to the weary and this is repose, yet you would not hear. He sent prophets speaking in Hebrew.

He sent priests speaking in Hebrew with clarity. God values clarity. Dennis Parker says, I value clarity over agreement. I prefer clarity over agreement. He knows people won't always agree, but what he's seeking is let's make this thing clear.

Postmodernism obfuscates ideas. I have a quote from Karl Marx where he's speaking on hedgel and he talks about how his intention is that you could hear whatever you want to hear in the words he writes.

He wants to obfuscate. The enemy loves to obfuscate ideas. Christians love truth and part of truth is clarity of speech. We love to say exactly what we mean. That's also, by the way, guys, why we name names.

If we're gonna call somebody out, don't do it in this vague kind of effeminate way of not really, and I don't mean feminine because women can be clear, but when men speak effeminately, it means they're not willing to actually come up and stand up to what they're opposing, so they never name names.

It's just like they're touching around the edges. We name names. Alexander the Coppersmith, Demetrius. Diotrephes loves to be first. Tim Keller has Marxist underpinnings in some of his work. We will name names if we have to oppose something that's wrong because that's clarity, preferring clarity over agreement.

To whom he has said, this is rest. Give rest to the weary. This is repose, yet they would not hear. They would not listen. They would not engage. They just ignored it. They didn't want clear teaching.

They did not want precept upon precept, line upon line. Now, here's where it gets so interesting, and the word of the Lord will be to them, precept upon precept, precept upon precept. This is the Assyrian talking, and they don't understand.

Line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little, that you may go and what? Fall backward and be broken and snared and taken. Okay, I began this sermon. Is it a sermon? This teaching. Speaking of charismatics who tell everybody just to pray in tongues, to do that is to judge people with a horrible judgment.

You are cursing them and saying, be broken and snared and taken captive. Turn with me, 1 Corinthians 14, verses 20 to 22. Who'd like to read that one for me? John DiToli, 1 Corinthians 14, 20 to 22.

Brothers, do not be children in your thinking, be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. In the law it is written, by people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.

Thus tongues are a sign not for believers, but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers, but for believers.

Okay, for the longest time I misunderstood verse 22, because I didn't know Isaiah 28. There was no line upon line, precept upon precept, so I thought, verse 22, tongues are a sign not for believers, but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers, but for believers.

I assumed simeon in the Greek there, Paul was referring to, for example, when Jesus would heal a blind person, and it's a sign of his grace and his mercy that he heals the sick. Or when someone is raised from the dead, it's a sign, he's the Messiah.

It's a gracious thing, a signpost pointing to the identity of Messiah. That was my wrong assumption. Look at verse 22. Thus, referring to verse 21, thus tongues are a sign. This is not a merciful sign, this is a sign of judgment.

Tongues are a sign not for believers, but for unbelievers. You see that? While prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers, but for believers. Here's the juxtaposition in 1 Corinthians 14. Prophecy and tongues.

Prophecy is being commended because it's intelligible, it's understandable, it sounds a clear note, and the listener is able to hear it and respond. Tongues in a certain condition is a sign of judgment.

Now, what is that? Tongues without interpretation. Because no one can understand. It's well and good for a person to pray in tongues between that person and God. Speaks to God, not to men, that's fine.

But in the assembly, to pray in a different language without an interpreter is judgment upon everybody gathered in that room. That's what he's saying, look at verse 23. If therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your mind?

An outsider comes walking into a Benny Hinn crusade and he says, everybody pray in tongues. And they're looking at the guy next to them who's just babbling like a drunkard. And he says, these Christians are out of their mind.

But, verse 24, if all prophesy, see here's the juxtaposition, prophecy versus speaking in tongues without interpretation. If all prophesy and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed and so falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.

The intelligibility is a good thing, Rich.

A legitimate use of tongues is to build yourself up.

Yeah.

Whereas verse three talks about the gift of prophecy, but those who prophesy speak edification, exhortation and comfort to all men.

Right.

It's a building of others.

Yeah, that's what's so beneficial and good about it. It's a building, so prophecy builds other people up, builds up the church. Speaking in tongues can edify an individual. A person can pray in tongues and be edified privately and personally before God if they have that gift.

Now, I think it's clear that this is referring to some kind of spiritual gift. Otherwise, why not just speak the language that you know, that everybody understands? There's a context here in 1 Corinthians 14.

But what's being said, and this is why we bring it up, from verse 21 is a reference to Isaiah 28, which we just studied. When the Assyrian comes speaking a foreign language that nobody knows and wipes you out and you don't understand and it sounds like babbling, you drunkard, you're being judged by God.

And so we're not to judge other people in that way. We're not as a church to be here speaking in tongues so that the unbeliever comes in and has no clue what you're saying. You're not blessing them, you're judging them.

That's God's place to give judgment. So don't, Christian, you fall into that. That's the argument of 1 Corinthians 14. Does that make sense? Does that unlock the teaching there? So therefore, tongues are a sign of judgment.

It sounds like it's also a judgment on the church that speaks in tongues.