Southern Heights Baptist Church

Alcohol and Wine in Scripture: A biblical View

Use of Alcohol in the News

The subject of alcohol seems to never go away. It is back in the news again, Fort Wayne News Sentinel, Associate Press article, “2 Sides Sound off on Sunday alcohol sales”. Lawmakers hear debate on state ban Mike Smith (AP). Sunday take out alcohol sales make their cause before lawmakers. There are organized efforts on both sides—Indiana is one of 14 states that prohibits carryout and sales of alcoholic beverages on Sunday. Border states, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and Kentucky permit alcoholic purchases on Sunday. Indiana loses 9 million dollars because of this. Our government favors establishing Riverboat Casinos in Fort Wayne. The Bill is in the making. It probably will pass. Republican Phil Boots, Crawfordsville, is in favor of the bill.

Does Alcohol Help or Hinder the Mores of our Society?

The question is does alcohol help or hinder the mores of our society? There may be arguments on both sides of this issue; but what does God say about this subject? Alcohol and chemical dependence often produce consequences that are not healthy for our society. Crime and violence are more likely to occur when one is under the influence of alcohol or chemicals.

From the Biblical perspective

Old Testament:
When one studies the scriptures, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, God’s Word is not silent. Although the word “drink” occurs many times in the Old Testament, it rarely refers to alcoholic drunkenness. It refers to drinking of water (Exod. 15:24; 7:18, 21) and “to drink milk” (Ezek. 25:4; Ex. 15:24) and “to drink wine they rose up to play” (Exodus 32:6; 34:28; 15:24). They were not to “drink the blood of animals” (I Chron. 11:19; Ps. 50:13).

Drinking in Religious Circumstances:
1. Family problems persist when there is alcoholic drinking. Noah was a good example. He planted a vineyard and he drunk of the wine that it produced (Genesis 9:21). Consequently, Ham looked upon the nakedness of his father. When Noah awoke he cursed the son of Ham and pronounced a judgment upon him. A father pronounced a curse upon his grandson. How is that for family development? With this curse, Noah's family was scarred. The big issue is that the family problem started in this pronouncement by Noah. Noah was not alone in his drinking of alcoholic beverages. God plainly instructed the Levites, or those who cared for the temple and served God, not to drink.

2. A dedicated person to the will of God in the Old Testament was called a Nazarite. A Nazarite was to be a separate man unto the LORD. He was not to drink wine. A man who was a Nazarite was not to drink wine or shave his head or touch any thing that was dead (Number 6:2-3, 20). “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate them unto the LORD. (3) He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar or wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried” (Lev. 10:9; Amos 2:12; Luke 1:15). The Nazarite could drink wine only after his vow was fulfilled (Number 6:20 “And after that the Nazarite may drink wine….” Alcohol has an effect on people and God refused to permit one to minister to him under the influence of alcohol.

3. The sons of Aaron, the High Priest, were smitten because they offered “strange fire upon the altar of God” while under the influence of alcohol. (Lev. 10:1) “And Nadad and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not…Lev. 10:9 “Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations (1:8).

4. God makes a difference between the clean and the unclean: (Lev. 10:10) “And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean.”

5. Daniel and his friends in Babylon avoided alcoholic drinks (Daniel 1:5, 8) “And the King appointed them a daily provision of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.”…Daniel and his friends would not drink the wine of Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon Dan. 1:8 “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself” (Lev. 11:47; Ezek 4:13; Hos. 9:3).

6. Jezebel and her decision to take Naboth’s vineyard (I King 21:10-19), David’s vengeance against Naboth who almost lost his family because he was drunk when David came to kill his family. Abigail, Naboth’s wife, saved his family from destruction.

7. Some husbands are like Naboth who was content to drink himself drunk and yet his wife, Abigail, sought to protect her husband by taking charge of the situation and offering a gift to the king to keep her family safe.

8. Zechariah 7:6- 8 “And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?" (Deut. 12:7; 14:26; Rom. 14:6), “Should you not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?”

Alcohol in Religious Festivals
1. Amos 2:8 “And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.”

2. Amos 4:1 “Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, [probably a reference to the wives of Amos' day] that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink…, “(4) Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years; (5) And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings; for this liketh you, O ye Children of Israel, saith the Lord God (Lev. 7:13; Lev. 22:18; Deut. 12:6).

3. Amos 5:11 “Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat; ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them”

4. King Ahasuerus of Shushan the palace (Esther 1:3) “In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before them. (4) When he shew the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honor of his excellent majesty many days, even an hundred and fourscore days” (180 Days feast).

5. Isaiah 5:21-23 “Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight (Rom. 1:22)!

6. Deut. 32:38 “Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drink the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up and help you, and be your protection. (3) “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with them: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hands.”

7. (22) "Woe unto them that are might, “See now that I, even I, Am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand?”

We understand why Solomon discouraged the use of wine in the Old Testament. "Who had 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 color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder." (Prov. 23:29-32).

New Testament:

One may ask, “Did not Jesus turn water into wine?” (John 2:1-11) Yes, but it was not what is being sold on the market today. Plus, wine was a symbol of joy in the Old Testament and weddings are joyous occasions. But if they drank too much of that wine, it would have made one drunk (John 2:11). Pastors in the N T. are not to drank at all, unless it is for medical purposes (I Timothy 5:22-23. The phrase “for thy stomach sake” means “to act or to treat” a sickness. It was used for medicinal purposes. God condemns the misuse of alcohol in both the Old Testament and the in the New Testament in(Ephesians 5:18) believers are commanded "not to be drunk with wine, but to be filled with the Holy Spirit".

Ministers must be careful lest they “fall into the condemnation of the devil” (I Timothy 3:6) and “into a snare or “trap” of the devil” (I Timothy 3:7). For the preacher, he is not to be “addicted to wine, or not a drunken person” paroinos. He is not to be one who stays or tarries by wine.” (I Timothy 3:3). Women are to be careful with the use of alcohol (Titus 2:3).
Vine wrote, “The drinking of wine cold be a stumbling-block and the Apostle enjoins abstinence in this respect, as in others, so as to avoid giving an occasion of stumbling to a brother, Rom. 14:21” –The Expanded Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words: A Special Edition Keyed to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Brown’s New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology. Arndt and Gingrich’s Greek English Lexicon, by W. E. Vine, Editor John R. Kohlenberger III, Bethany House Publishers, 1984, pg. 1231.

Before we seek the money that comes from gambling and casonos we should observe the damaging consequences of alcohomism. Groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving should be studied and their council sought

It is alarming to see the Alcoholism Statistics in the United States from the lovetoknow.com news letter, by John Ziemba, Article contributed by JC Redmond, http://addiction.LoveToKnow.com Recovery Site Editor.

Alcoholism Statistics:
“Reading alcoholism statistics helps people understand the scope of this problem. It affects the person who is addicted to alcohol, that person’s family and everyone who interacts with that person. Alcoholism even has an impact on the economy when you take into account lost work days (and lost productivity) due to the addiction.

Alcoholism Statistics in the United States:
“Alcoholism is a condition that affects many people in the USA. According to Learn-About-Alcoholism.com, approximately 43 percent of the population has a family member who is an alcoholic. That works out to approximately 75 million who grew up in a home where someone had a problem with alcohol or married someone with one.”
“Additionally, 23 million people are addicted to some type of substance. (It is possible to have multiple additions at the same time.) Of these people, the majority (18 million) are addicted to alcohol.” Therapy www.AssistedRecovery.com Alcoholics Anonymous- alcoholics anonymous group. See alcoholics anonymous group now! www.Addiction-Assistance.com/Alcoholics

Alcohol and Children
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome causes mental retardation, hyperactivity and slow growth in children.
Alcohol use among teens has been linked to learning problems, motor vehicle accidents and violent behavior including date rape. It is a leading cause of death for young people.”
The Marin Institute’s web site reports that over 11,000 teens in the United States try using alcohol for the first time every day.”
“More than four million underage young people drink alcohol in any given month. The results of a national survey conducted amongst teens indicates that almost one-third of them (31.5 percent) reported that they had consumed five or more drinks in a single sitting within the previous 30 days. This level of consumption falls under the category of “hazardous drinking.”

Alcoholism Costs:

Alcoholism cost everyone, not just the person with the addiction. The Mairin Institute reports the following:
Between 25 and 40 percent of all hospital beds in the United States (except for those being used by maternity and intensive care patients) are being used to treat health conditions that are related to alcohol consumption.
Alcohol-related problems that are not treated account for about $185 billion in costs to businesses as well as the health care and justice systems.
When underage teens decide to drink, it costs the health care system approximately $3.7 billion per year to treat those injured in motor vehicle accidents and suicide attempts. When teens choose to consume alcohol, the total cost to society is about $52.8 billion.
Here’s a final, sobering example of alcoholism statistics that will give you food for thought. A Canadian study found that the treating alcoholism and the health problems that accompany it costs more that treating cancer.” JC. Redmond, LoveToKnow Recovery Site Editor.
“In a study of more than 450 American alcoholics and 80 heroin addicts, it was found that the absent father is a very typical occurrence. In fact, according this study, it is the rule rather than the exception..” http://www.alcoholism-information.com/Alcoholism_Statistics.html
Divorce Rates “A growing percentage of committed couples have decided to live in a common-law relationship rather than get married. This is particularly true among some elderly who fear reduction in government support payments.”
“The Americans for Divorce Reform estimates that “Probably, 40 or possibly even 50 percent of marriages will end in divorce if current trends continue. However, that is only a projection and a prediction.” 2009
Divorce rates among Christian groups:
“The slogan: The family that prays together, stays together” is well known. There has been much anecdotal evidence that has led to “unsubstantiated claims that the divorce rate foam Christians who attend church regularly, pray together or who meet other conditions is only 1 or 2 percent”. 8 Emphasis ours] Dr. Tom Ellis, chairman of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Council on the Family said that for “…born-again Christian couples who marry…in the church after having received premarital counseling…and attend church regularly and pray daily together….” Experience only 1 divorce out of nearly 39,000 marriages—or 0.00256 percent, 9.
Ezine @articles Google Search ads by Google
“Divorce has become a common occurrence both in the United States and around the world. According to divorce statistics, it is estimated that between 40 percent and 50 percent of first marriages end in divorce in the United States. In some countries, divorce rates for first marriages exceed 50 percent. Second and third marriages in the United States have even higher divorce rates. According to statistics, second marriages fail at a rate of 60-67 percent, and third marriages fail at a rate of 73-74 percent.”
Google. By Robert Grazian http://www.webcrawler.com Wedding statistics http://www.TheWeddingReport.com www.Deloitte.com/us www.divorce.GovtRegistry.com

Video on Homosexuality, Lesbian ISBN-10:1-559636-015-1 Illegal to post on internet. http://www.DrThrockmorton.com Video “I Do Exist” www.idoexist.com Straight Talk Homosexuality, Science & the Bible Rose Publishing www.rose-publishing.com 4733 Torrance Blvd, #259 Torrance, California 90503 U.S.A.

The author experienced a problem of alcoholism in his family. When one observes the devastations that comes to broken families, it makes an impact upon generations to come.

I had a friend who trusted Christ as his savior and never went back to drinking again. He experienced cirrhosis of the liver and made numberous visits to the hospital, loss of employment and family trouble before he trusted Christ Jesus for deliverence. He heard someone quote Romans 12:1-2, "I beseech you therefore, brethren by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, whiech is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." He had been free from alcohol for 17 years when he died. He often said, "I realize that I cannot take one drink." Alcohol had a negetative influence upon his life.

It is true, it must come back to individual commitment as to whether alcohol should be an approved social drink. Today is is for many people. As for me, I chose to remain free of alcohol. I choose to use my liberty to abstain from alcohol as a beverege. Otha Aden SHBC