Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,
and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
Proverb 20:1 (NKJV)
Allow me to begin my commentary by stating that it is my belief that God does condone drinking alcoholic beverages. However, as with everything in life, moderation is the key. Now for those who claim God is against drinking I would like to refer you to the wedding where Jesus performed His first miracle by changing the water into wine in John 2:1-12. My point of emphasis in the account is the part where the master of the feast tasted the wine Jesus had created from water;
When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!" John 2:9-10
Now let's be serious, this guy was not stupid, he drank wine before and understood from man's view what good, full bodied, rich tasting, stronger wine was, and he knew that this was the real stuff. After all, by the end of the feast when everyone is already feeling good, you break out the weaker less quality wine, but the master of the feast was surprised to see the good stuff for last.
I also want to add that, that many use the account of Noah in
Genesis 9:21 getting drunk after the flood as another example strong drink being approved by God. However that would be a mistake, because while Noah knew how to make wine, he did not understand the way the environment changed since he last made wine. How you may wonder, well to begin with it has everything to do with the changing of the environment between the antediluvian period and the post-diluvian period. See the fermentation process was a much much quicker process after the flood than it was before. This would have been something Noah was totally unprepared for. Allow me to explain.
The antediluvian Earth's atmosphere (which is called "firmament" in
Genesis 1:7 ) was covered with a vapor canopy equal to a 12 meter layer of liquid water. Consequently the collapse of that vapor canopy, plus the waters being released from the deep, caused the rain to fall upon the earth for forty days and forty nights during the Flood
Genesis 7:11-13. Due to the waters which were above the firmament that caused the greenhouse effect, atmospheric pressure was 1.14 atmospheres higher than it is today - more than twice as high! So before the Flood the alcoholic effect of dry wine would not have been any stronger than the effect of common fermented milk products of today.
So the collapse of the vapor canopy surrounding antediluvian Earth's atmosphere caused the reduction of atmospheric pressure (and the partial pressure of oxygen dropped as well) more than twice. That certainly had an effect on alcoholic metabolism. So, alcoholic intoxication would have been at least a great surprise to Noah, if not the first such experience for all mankind. This is also indirect evidence for the credibility of the Genesis record in the Bible.
Thus the account of Noah getting drunk is not a good example strong drink being approved by God. Now, the problem with drinking is what it does to a person. Like over eating has it's problems with one's health, drinking too much causes problems with one's health and the way one acts in society.
One who drinks will inevitably take on the personality of what one drinks. the man or woman becomes silly, turns foolish, and loses all sense of control so that they becomes a brawler. Many drink because alcohol releases natural inhibition. The shy person becomes extroverted, but they also lose control of their common sense. They may feel uninhibited, but in truth the alcohol controls them. they have more difficulty in making decisions.
For many, alcohol gives them a mean personality. They easily take offense when others do not see how wonderful their lack of inhibition makes them. They are surprised to find others taking offense when they mock people. Can't everyone see how witty they are? Can't everyone take in the fun?
The drinker certainly is not wise while intoxicated, but their real lack of wisdom lies in not seeing that they cannot control their drinking. Scripture does not condemn the enjoyment of wine, but it does warn of the danger of intoxication. The immediate danger is turning over control of one's own personality. The long range danger is losing control when one is sober. One who drinks too much, becomes an alcoholic who finds it almost impossible to stop drinking. They even lose the ability to handle reality while sober. In it all, they will not even recognize that they are an alcoholic. Even if they do, they will deny it, to keep from stopping. The strong drink controls them.
All the negative things in life that accompany one who drinks too much are summed up in today's Proverb of emphasis.
Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,
and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
Proverb 20 (NKJV)
Wine Is a Mocker
01 Wine is a mocker,
00 Strong drink is a brawler,
00 And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
02 The wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion;
00 Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life.
03 It is honorable for a man to stop striving,
00 Since any fool can start a quarrel.
04 The lazy man will not plow because of winter;
00 He will beg during harvest and have nothing.
05 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water,
00 But a man of understanding will draw it out.
06 Most men will proclaim each his own goodness,
00 But who can find a faithful man?
07 The righteous man walks in his integrity;
00 His children are blessed after him.
08 A king who sits on the throne of judgment
00 Scatters all evil with his eyes.
09 Who can say, "I have made my heart clean,
00 I am pure from my sin"?
010 Diverse weights and diverse measures,
00 They are both alike, an abomination to the LORD.
11 Even a child is known by his deeds,
00 Whether what he does is pure and right.
12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
00 The LORD has made them both.
13 Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty;
00 Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread.
14 "It is good for nothing," cries the buyer;
00 But when he has gone his way, then he boasts.
15 There is gold and a multitude of rubies,
00 But the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
16 Take the garment of one who is surety for a stranger,
00 And hold it as a pledge when it is for a seductress.
17 Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,
00 But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
18 Plans are established by counsel;
00 By wise counsel wage war.
19 He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets;
00 Therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips.
20 Whoever curses his father or his mother,
00 His lamp will be put out in deep darkness.
21 An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning
00 Will not be blessed at the end.
22 Do not say, "I will recompense evil";
00 Wait for the LORD, and He will save you.
23 Diverse weights are an abomination to the LORD,
00 And dishonest scales are not good.
24 A man's steps are of the LORD;
00 How then can a man understand his own way?
25 It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy,
00 And afterward to reconsider his vows.
26 A wise king sifts out the wicked,
00 And brings the threshing wheel over them.
27 The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD,
00 Searching all the inner depths of his heart.
28 Mercy and truth preserve the king,
00 And by lovingkindness he upholds his throne.
29 The glory of young men is their strength,
00 And the splendor of old men is their gray head.
30 Blows that hurt cleanse away evil,
00 As do stripes the inner depths of the heart.
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