The Old Testament Church

God Tests His People

God does test His people and the purpose of His tests are always to reveal whether or not their hearts are in the right place:
"But, O Lord of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I open my cause." (Jeremiah 20:12).
Adam and Eve were tested in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-6). Abraham was tested concerning his son (Genesis 3:1-13).

God also tested His church in the Old Testament, the Israelites, to see if their hearts were in the right place and to determine if they would follow His law:
"And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou would keepest my commandments, or no." (Deuteronomy 8:2)

Even after they reached the promised land, God continued to test them to see if they would keep His ways:
"That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or no." (Judges 2:22)
It is important in our study of tongues to take a moment and examine the Old Testament church.

God's Prediction

God predicted that His people would eventually turn from His way. God promised that the means He would use to judge them would be a nation whose language they could not understand:
"Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand" (Deuteronomy 28:47-49)

Remember that God split His people into two nations: Israel and Judah.

Israel Fails The Test

God allowed Assyria to become very wealthy (Ezekiel 23:6) and blessed them with political success (2 Kings 16:9). Israel saw how successful Assyria was and so it began to chase after the gods of Assyria (Ezekiel 23:5; 2 Kings 17:7-8), engaging in spiritual harlotry (Jeremiah 3:6) as they longed to achieve that which God's enemies had achieved. This was something God had thoroughly warned them not to do (2 Kings 17:15). As the Israelites continued to worship the gods of Assyria, God warned them to turn from their evil ways (2 Kings 17:13). This warning came through a simple prophecy that they could easily understand (Ezekiel 3:4), but they ignored it because they were too wrapped up in their carnal desires (Jeremiah 5:3).

All of this was as God predicted in Deuteronomy 28:47-49 and so the prophecy continued to be fulfilled as He brought judgment through another tongue (Isaiah 28:11-12). Israel lusted after Assyria, a nation whose language they did not understand, and so God used the very thing they lusted after to bring about their destruction: Assyria destroyed Israel (2 Kings 17:18-23).

Judah Fails The Test

Later, Judah began to chase after the gods of Babylon for the same reasons, because of Babylon's success and material possessions:
"At that time Berodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and shewed them all the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not.Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon."
(2 Kings 20:12-14).

So God, as with Israel, warned them to turn from their evil ways (2 Kings 21:8). And, like Israel, Judah ignored this warning (2 Kings 21:9; Jeremiah 8:5), so God brought judgment on them through another tongue:
"Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say." (Jeremiah 5:15).

Like Israel, Judah claimed to be followers of God (Hosea 8:2) but failed to put aside worldliness. They coveted Babylon and so God used the very thing they lusted after as a means of judgment. Babylon destroyed Judah (2 Kings 25).

The Corinthian Church

The New Testament Church