Introduction: "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." (Proverbs 20:1) In our last study, I stated that one of the most hotly contested subjects in all the Bible is that of alcoholic drink. Some insist that the Bible encourages the use of alcoholic beverage for personal pleasure while others insist that the Bible condemns it altogether. Which position is correct?
Even though Solomon may not have practiced this as he should have, he still knew that what his mother, Bathsheba, taught him, was right. Bathsheba taught Solomon that wine and strong drink were the destroyers of kings. "Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted." (Proverbs 31:3-5)
Let's review some of the words we defined before in Proverbs 20:1 and 31:3-5:
- Wine = the Hebrew word is yayin, and it means wine of every kind, fermented and unfermented. It is used 142 times in the Old Testament, and its meaning is determined entirely by its context. Most often, it is used of alcoholic wine.
- Strong drink = the Hebrew word is shekar, which comes from a root word which means to get drunk. It is a very intoxicating drink made from barley, honey, or dates.
In these two passages, we find strong warning concerning the drinking of alcohol. God plainly states, in these two passages, four facts about alcoholic drink:
- Wine is a mocker that scoffs at that which is right.
- Strong drink is raging, that is, a brawler, an argument maker.
- Both are deceivers, that is, both tell lies
- Both pervert clear judgment of right and wrong by possessing the brain.
In this study, I want to ask a series of questions and provide Biblical answers to each of them concerning wine and strong drink in the Bible.
1. What are the Old Testament words for wine and strong drink?
- Yayin [yah-yin]; it means wine of every kind, fermented and unfermented. It is used 142 times in the Old Testament, and its meaning is determined entirely by its context. Most often, it is used of alcoholic wine. Examples of contextual use:
* Alcoholic yayin; Genesis 9:21, "And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent."
* Non-alcoholic yayin; Numbers 6:13-20, "And this is the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: And he shall offer his offering unto the LORD, one he lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish for a sin offering, and one ram without blemish for peace offerings, And a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings. And the priest shall bring them before the LORD, and shall offer his sin offering, and his burnt offering: And he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, with the basket of unleavened bread: the priest shall offer also his meat offering, and his drink offering. And the Nazarite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it in the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings. And the priest shall take the sodden shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after the hair of his separation is shaven: And the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD: this is holy for the priest, with the wave breast and heave shoulder: and after that the Nazarite may drink wine."- Tirosh [ty-rosh]; this word comes from another Hebrew word yarash [yay-rash], which means to possess because it gets possession of the brain. It is used 34 times in the Old Testament.
- Chemer [key-mer]; this word comes from another Hebrew word chamar [kay-mar], which means to ripen, and is descriptive of strong, red wine and is used 8 times in the Old Testament. The rabbis referred to this wine as neat wine because, unmixed with water, it disturbs the head and brain.
- Shekar [she-kar]; it comes from a root word which means to get drunk. It is a very intoxicating drink made from barley, honey, or dates. This strong drink was not drunk by God's people but rather used as an offering which was poured out unto the Lord. Numbers 28:7, "And the drink offering thereof shall be the fourth part of an hin for the one lamb: in the holy place shalt thou cause the strong wine to be poured unto the LORD for a drink offering."
- Asis [hay-sise]; this word comes from the Hebrew word asas [hay-sas] which means to tread. This is descriptive, not of alcoholic wine, but of juice that has been freshly squeezed.
- Sobe [sob-ay]; this word is descriptive of any alcoholic drink. It comes from a Hebrew word which means to drink in excess and become drunk and is used only 2 times in the Old Testament.
- Mimsak [mim-sake]; this is mixed or spiced alcoholic wine.
- Shemarim [she-may-rime]; this word describes old wine that has fully fermented. It has been poured through a filter and all of the dregs or "lees" have been removed.
- Ashishah [ha-shy-shay]; this word is always translated "flagons of wine" and is descriptive of a hardened syrup made of grapes or a sweet cake of dried grapes or pressed raisins.
2. What are the New Testament words for wine and strong drink?
- Oinos; this is the general word used for wine and is equivalent to the Old Testament word yayin. Its meaning, like yayin, is determined by its context. Most often, it speaks of fermented wine but not always.
- Gleukos; this word speaks of wine that is beginning to ferment. Its usage in the New Testament proves without a doubt that it speaks of alcoholic wine.
- Sikera; this is the word used to describe a strong, intoxicating drink made from any sweet ingredients including grain, vegetables, fruit juice, or honey. It is used one time in the New Testament, "For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb." (Luke 1:15)
3. What are the differences between old, new, and good wine?
- Old wine is aged wine. This is very intoxicating. Luke 5:39, "No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better."
- New wine is expressed in two New Testament words or phrases:* Oinon neon; this is freshly squeezed juice and able to be fermented. "Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved." (Matthew 9:17) See also Mark 2:22 and Luke 5:37-38 which say the same thing.
* Gleukos; this is fermented sweet wine and is used only in Acts 2:13, "Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine."- Good wine; this is juice without admixture of any kind. It is pure and unfermented and is used only in John 2:10, "And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now."
4. How did Jesus refer to wine used at The Lord's Supper?
- Jesus always referred to the drink used in The Lord's Supper as "fruit of the vine."
* "But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." (Matthew 26:29)
* "Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God." (Mark 14:25)
* "For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come." (Luke 22:18)- There is not one New Testament reference that teaches that the fruit of the vine used in The Lord's Supper should be fermented.
- In 1 Corinthians 11:20-22, Paul rebukes the Corinthian people for coming to church and getting drunk, "When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not."
- He then refers to the drink used during The Lord's Supper as "the cup," quoting Jesus from the Bible passages concerning the last supper. Paul indicates that their drinking of fermented wine and their drunkenness brought shame to their local church there in Corinth.
- Unleavened bread represented his sinless body, and unfermented wine represented His sinless blood. What leaven is to bread, fermentation is to juice.
5. What kind of wine did Jesus make at the wedding in Cana?
- The story of Jesus' first miracle, turning water into wine at the wedding at Cana, is found in John 2:1-10.
- Notice the words of the ruler of the feast in John 2:10, "And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now."* Worse [wine] = inferior wine, indicating that this was old, intoxicating fermented wine.
* Good wine = wine that was intrinsically good, that is, wine that was pure and free from fermentation or admixture.- The wine served by Jesus at the wedding of Cana was pure, unfermented grape juice.
6. Does the Bible ever warn about drinking alcohol?
- Proverbs 20:1, "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise."
- Proverbs 23:29-35, "Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. 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. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again."
- Proverbs 31:4-5, "It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted."
- Hosea 4:11, "Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart."
- Habakkuk 2:15, "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!"
- Ephesians 5:18, "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit."
7. What is the application today?
- It is evident from Scripture that no good thing ever came from drinking fermented wine or strong drink.
- Since there are no contradictions in the Bible, God cannot condemn alcoholic wine and strong drink on one hand and commend it on the other. Therefore, Proverbs 20:1 stands faithful to the whole of Scripture. Wine remains a mocker and strong drink remains raging, and both are great deceivers of mankind.
Conclusion: Even a casual study of the Scriptures surrounding the use of wine and strong drink in the Bible, shows plainly that alcoholic wine and strong drink are not good. Paul recommended that Timothy use a little wine for his stomach, "Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities." (1 Timothy 5:23) If indeed wine is a mocker, would Paul have recommended it to a young preacher? I think not. The wine that Paul recommended to Timothy was the intrinsically good wine that was not fermented. Modern-day studies in medicine have proven that pure grape juice is a healer of stomach infirmities. Solomon's own mother, Bathsheba, insisted that wine and strong drink were not good for those who intended to do the will and work of God. Without recommending wine and strong drink, she said, "Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more." (Proverbs 31:6-7) These Scriptures can be compared to a statement like this made in our last Bible study, "Don't let them drink in your house. Send them to the bar down the street." It is not a recommendation but a condemnation, and this is how Bathsheba meant it.
Jesus said in John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Truth is what sets a person free. Perhaps this is why so many Christians today justify drinking because they have never had the truth presented to them. In this study, I have done my best to "rightly divide the word of truth" to you. It is my prayer that your knowing the truth will strengthen your faith and perhaps set you free. You may know someone who justifies drinking alcohol. The truth in this Bible study can help to set them free.