Alcohol is a subject about which the Bible is not silent. It is also an issue that is still highly topical today. We notice this every day – in our surroundings and perhaps from our own experience.
So, how can a Christian deal with this topic responsibly? King Lemuel (perhaps another name for King Solomon) received important guidance on this from his mother, which still helps us today to make godly use or non-use of alcohol.
… It Is Not Proper…
The first lesson is that it is simply not proper for kings and princes to ask for alcohol and strong drink. It’s just not appropriate for them! That doesn’t apply to me, you may think (with relief). But – aren’t we made for royalty (Rev. 1:6)? Will we not one day reign over this earth with the Lord Jesus? And shouldn’t that already have an impact on our lives now? What would we think of a king’s son who is later to take over his father’s business and is now walking the streets drunk? It is even less fitting for a child of God to be drunk!
… Lest He Drink and Forget the Law…
Now, we are told why it is not fitting for kings and princes to drink wine and strong drink. First of all, this verse points us to the real danger: it is not so much a question of completely condemning the consumption of alcohol but of the fact that too much alcohol affects the senses. This is one of the great dangers of alcohol. Another, of course, is that alcohol can become an addictive substance that leads to dependence – faster than we sometimes think because alcohol dependence has different levels of dependence.
Then, we come to the reason for the warning against alcohol. Alcohol can make us forgetful – forgetful of the “prescribed.” For us, this means the sum of God’s thoughts. Isn’t there already a danger without alcohol that the thoughts of God are not in the right place in my life? The excessive consumption of alcohol will only lead us to forgetting God’s thoughts more quickly.
… And Pervert the Justice of all the Afflicted…
Forgetting the thoughts of God will quickly show itself in our behavior! In the case of kings and princes, it will mean that they will no longer be able to carry out their task of managing the legal affairs of the people properly. In my life and yours, it will also have the effect that we will no longer behave in a way that corresponds to God – that we will no longer be able to fulfill our task of being a witness for the Lord Jesus. We will then also no longer be able to judge right and wrong with the eyes of God.
We find a similar reason in Leviticus 10:8-10, where the priests are forbidden to drink alcohol. Priests are in danger of no longer being able to distinguish between the holy and the unholy. The loss of the right ability to distinguish between what corresponds to the nature of God – i.e., what is holy – and what contradicts the nature of God – i.e., what is unholy – is also a danger for every Christian today.
Alcohol – Literal or Figurative?
Bible passages such as Ephesians 5:18 make it clear to us that we must take the teachings of the Old Testament on the subject of alcohol quite literally. Many passages in the Old Testament show how specifically God presents us with the problems associated with alcohol (e.g. Prov. 23:29-35).
However, alcohol in the Old Testament is also a symbol of “earthly pleasures.” Alcohol is mentioned for the first time in the form of wine (Gen. 9:20). Wine is a fruit of the earth and thus belongs to the blessing that God has given men on this earth. We, therefore, recognize in it a symbol of the joys that God wants to give people – including Christians – on earth (Jdg. 9:13; Ps. 104:15). We can gratefully accept these joys from the hand of God and use them in His purpose! And yet – it is no coincidence that the sad story of the drunken Noah must be reported at the very first occurrence of wine (and therefore alcohol) in the Bible. How quickly we treat what God has given us on this earth irresponsibly! The warning against excessive alcohol consumption in connection with the symbolic meaning of alcohol, therefore, wants to make it clear to us: If we lose ourselves in earthly pleasures, we will lose sight and mind of what really matters – the thoughts of God. We have already seen the consequences of this.
No Extremes
As always, the Bible is balanced when it comes to alcohol! On the one hand, we are warned urgently about the dangers of alcohol. On the other hand, Paul urges his brother and coworker Timothy to use a little wine because of his frequent indisposition (1 Tim. 5:23). Do we not realize that we can – without going to extremes – come to a godly approach to the subject of alcohol? It is certainly not excessive to ask about God’s will when using alcohol – even before a glass of wine or a bottle of beer with a meal!
However, we should not forget that nowhere in Scripture do we find an invitation to drink wine or other forms of alcohol. This makes us cautious and helps us to refrain from drinking alcohol altogether if we or others we are involved with are at risk.
Perhaps you have sensed while reading this that you have already gone too far when drinking alcoholic beverages. Maybe it has become an addiction already. Then remember: this is not a “trivial offense” neither a “small thing” – it is a sin. But if you realize this, then there is also healing: “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. “(Prov. 28:13). And: “Whoever commits a sin is a slave of sin … If the Son therefore makes you free, ye shall be free indeed” (Jn. 8:34, 36). With God’s help, there can be freedom – including freedom from addiction!
Better Joy
Finally, let’s return to Ephesians 5. Doesn’t this passage make it clear to us that there are much better joys for the Christian than the supposed joy that alcohol pretends to give? Instead of being filled with the “spirit of wine,” we can give the Spirit of God room in our lives and be filled by Him. Then, a much better joy will enter our lives because the great concern of the Spirit of God is to make the Lord Jesus important to us. Even if we think again of the symbolic meaning of wine, the same applies. If we do not want to lose ourselves in earthly pleasures, this does not make our lives joyless at all. On the contrary – those who throw themselves into earthly pleasures are ultimately those losing something. The comparison between Abraham and Lot or between the two nazirites Samson and John the Baptist makes this clear (cf. Lk. 1:44; Jn. 3:29). Can there be any better joy than that associated with the Lord Jesus?
Comments (0)
No comments yet.