In a response to a Daily
Visit with God I wrote based out of Proverbs 20:1 and the subject of wine, a
man commented back to me, “But what about Deuteronomy 14:26?” The verse reads, Deuteronomy
14:26 (KJV)
And thou
shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for
sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth:
and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou,
and thine household,
My first thought would be,
“What about the preponderance of passages that tell us of the evils of
drinking?”
What about, Genesis 9:20-21
(KJV)?
And Noah
began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
And he
drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
What about Numbers 6:3
(KJV)?
He shall
separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of
wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes,
nor eat moist grapes, or dried.
What about Judges 13:4
(KJV)?
Now
therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not
any unclean thing:
What about Proverbs 20:1
(KJV)?
Wine is a
mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
What about Proverbs
23:31-32 (KJV)?
Look not
thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when
it moveth itself aright.
At the
last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
What about Isaiah 5:11
(KJV)?
Woe unto
them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that
continue until night, till wine inflame them!
What about Isaiah 28:7
(KJV)?
But they
also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the
priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up
of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they
stumble in judgment.
What about Habakkuk 2:15
(KJV)?
Woe unto
him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest
him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!
There are so many passages
that give a clear and compelling argument against the drinking of alcohol that reason
says every passage that seems to approve of it should be reconsidered. Even if
we are not able to give a definitive understanding of those passages, good
sense says they are not condoning and approving of drinking any sort of
alcoholic drink.
I am reminded of the
question the Pharisees asked the Lord, Matthew 19:7 (KJV)
They say
unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to
put her away?
The Pharisees were looking
for a (Biblical) way to approve of divorce. Jesus gave them no such leave. His
answer to them was that, though Moses recognized divorce as a reality in his
world, God did not approve it and it was still sin. Though the souls of men may
“lust” after wine and strong drink along with their meals, it is not approved
and it is still sin.
- · Given that the Bible speaks clearly of the evil of drunkenness
- · Given that the habit of drinking alcohol so easily slips into drunkenness and
- · Given that the Bible tells us to be filled with the Holy Ghost instead of being drunk with wine
It is foolish to argue in
favor of any view of the Bible that approves of the use of alcoholic drink,
including wine.
