Calvary Chapel of Jonesboro
 
Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to him whose life is bitter. 7 Let him drink and forget his poverty And remember his trouble no more. Proverbs 31:6-7

Is the Bible encouraging drunkenness here?  When I read this - at first glance I come away with the thought that the Bible is encouraging us, if we know someone who is struggling with poverty and bitterness, to encourage them to knock back a few - and they will forget all their troubles.  Is that what the Bible is saying here?  If it is - then this contradicts badly the passages that warn us against the harm that over indulgence in alcohol can do in our lives.  

To understand this Proverb we once again need to understand it based upon what it says in context.  God just moved on Bathsheba to instruct her son NOT to drink wine or strong drink.  Her reasoning is that such an action would lead her son to forget the Law.  With his thinking and reasoning impaired - he might pervert the rights of those who are afflicted.  So, two things we know here are that drunkenness is out of the question in what is being said - and - that Bathsheba is interested in how her son, as king, deals with the afflicted within his kingdom.

Her admonition to her son, next, is to give wine and strong drink to the one who is perishing.  This word means to perish, to be lost, or destroyed.  It was understood by the Jewish rabbis as dealing with two primary situations.  The first is when someone is suffering greatly with sickness - especially when that sickness is terminal.  It was a custom due to this admonition to medicate the dying with strong drink so that they would drink and forget the pain of their dying.  We do this today with terminal patients through morphine.  It is not evil to do so - it is merciful.  It is giving them something to help with the throes of dying.  The second instance where this was used was with those given to a death sentence - especially crucifixion.  We know this because Jesus was offered wine mixed with gall when He was on the cross.  This was a pain killing mixture that was given by godly women to those who faced the death penalty.  Jesus refused this because He needed to embrace all that the cross meant for sin.  But to offer some merciful pain killing substance to someone in the midst of horrific pain is something God counsels us to do. 

These admonitions are given for those "perishing" and also for those who are "bitter of soul."  Here is where things get a little bit more dicey.  For the one who is perishing - it is easy to see that we are easing their suffering as they draw near to death.  But what about the bitter of soul?  What is going on here?  Again, context is so important to remember.  We are in a section of Scripture where a mother has just warned her son against alcohol abuse - and how it clouds judgment and could lead to her son disregarding the Law in a moment of drunkenness.  Therefore, we can be assured that when it comes to those who are "bitter of soul" she is not advocating drunkenness to alleviate their problems.  This passage cannot be used therefore to justify men or women drowning their sorrows in whiskey or beer. 

What we do see though is that there is a benefit for the bitter of soul in having a drink.  The Bible itself says that "wine makes man's heart glad," in Psalm 104:15.  That verse is in the midst of a list of things that God Himself provides, including oil for the skin and the food that sustains a man with strength.  Wine was used in the feasts of Israel as well - and even offered up to God as a sacrifice.  Our problems with alcohol come from living in a society where drinking is too often done for the sake of partying - and with a view to getting drunk.  But God knows that drinking in moderation (let me stress here that this means NEVER getting drunk - and it also means drinking apart from the party scene, which in itself has more sins than just the drinking) can lift someone's spirits.  Wine does make a man's heart glad - and can lift someone's spirits.  Thus, Solomon was advised to give it to those who are bitter in soul to help them be lifted temporarily and cheered. 

I'm going to venture into an area where there is much disagreement and where I can be heavily criticized.  But in light of this passage, I feel the need to go there regardless of the dangers.  There are believers who struggle with periods of depression.  You could call these periods of time being bitter in soul.  Often a psychologist, psychiatrist, or a doctor encourages them to take something for a while to help them with their depression.  When this happens there is a cry from some that this is wicked, sinful - and it is only because the person does not trust God.  Yet here we have counsel given to the king that he should give wine or strong drink to someone who is too struggling with being bitter in soul.  Verse 7 in this section speaks of having him forget his poverty and trouble no more.  Poverty speaks of a lack - something is missing here - and it is further described as a man's "trouble."  This second word means a troublesome time - a time of labor and toil - and was used of the difficulties and hardships of life that lead to sorrow in a man's heart.  These times can be very difficult to handle - and I've actually watched brothers and sisters helped for a period of time by a medicine - something that lifts their spirits as they walk through a very difficult time.  Needless to say - or maybe it is better to say, Needful to say - God is not advocating drunkenness and the proverbial drowning of our sorrows in beer or hard liquor - but I do think what is advocated is something that would temporarily lift ones spirit and soul through a very difficult time.

Here is where I offer what I hope to be the other side of wisdom on this issue.  Although I do see a situation and a period of time where this might be profitable - I do not see it as "the answer" for depression and for times when we are bitter of soul.  Psalm 4:7 tells me that God puts, "gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and new wine abound."  A period of time may require this verse to be applied (if it does not refer solely to the perishing - and the bitter of soul is just another way of saying someone who is perishing) but we need to see God ultimately as our source of joy and as the ultimate One who can lift us out of any funk in which we find ourselves in life.  The one who turns to wine, strong drink, or even modern medicines as a permanent solution to their difficulties - and who does not turn to the Lord with them - is placing themselves in danger of looking to something rather than looking to Somone - as the answer to their problems.

Remember this - as we close today's look at Proverbs.  There is a mountain of Scripture dealing with the abuse of alcohol - of wine, new wine, and strong drink.  The Bible is overflowing with examples of how people lost their reason and their discernment with these things and wound up in grevious sin.  So as we see the wisdom of using wine and strong drink in the ways specified here - we need to do so with extreme caution and with God's wisdom guiding our every move in this area.  Too many, thinking they were just needing a little lift - have turned to alcohol and found it to be worse than their original problem in the end.  Wisdom, dear saints, should always color our use of such things.  May God give us grace and wisdom to do just as His counsel suggests here - and not find ourselves falling into sin by abusing something meant for a temporary benefit.  In the end, He is and always will be our source of comfort and of encouragment in difficult times - even in death. 
 
 
 
Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise. Proverbs 20:1

What does the Bible say about alcoholic drinks?  That is what we face here in Proverbs 20:1.  The first thing we need to do is to define what is referred to as wine and strong drink.  There are some who try to make a distinction between these two words saying that wine is not alcoholic, but strong drink is.  Problem with that view is that wine is referred to at least 20 times as having intoxicating properties.  It is paired with the other word used here 12 times in a negative context - each time indicating that one is likely to be drunk if they drink it to excess.  The word for "strong drink" is even more explicit.  It means in every situation a very intoxicating substance.  It is difficult to try to make a direct correlation between the levels of alcohol in these drinks and those of today.  What you can say with confidence is that both wine and strong drink when not controlled properly will cause intoxication - which the Bible strictly prohibits both in the Old and New Testaments.  You can also be confident in saying that one would get drunk faster when drinking strong drink rather than wine.  About the only comparison you could make this way would be comparing wine to the alcohol levels of win and beer - and strong drink to stronger intoxicants like whiskey, vodka, and other higher proof drinks. 

Here is what we learn though about both wine and strong drink.  Wine is called a "mocker" in this passage.  A mocker is one who boasts and scorns.  This person is given to deriding others.  Their actions lead us utter contempt toward someone.  The idea therefore here is that when a person drinks wine to the point of being deceived by it (the NASB calls this decieved state the point of intoxication) he is not wise - he is a fool.  Think a moment about this - when someone is intoxicated by wine - he no longer thinks clearly and can say and act in ways that he regrets later.  The alcohol deceives his mind - making it stray from wisdom - wander from godliness - and to make major mistakes.  Want to avoid being deceived and erring badly from the way of the Lord?  Then stay away from wine.  That is the implication made by this verse - this wisdom from God.

What is strong drink?  It is a brawler according to Proverbs 20:1.  This word is very illustrative of the drunk.  It is "hamah" and means to murmur, growl, roar, or howl.  When refering to the drunken fool it means to be a fighter - to be a boisterous, roaring, howling fool.  We all know that many who are affected by alcohol wind up becoming more agressive.  This is especially true of the "fighting" drunks who go home and beat family members when under the affect of wine and strong drink.  Why should we avoid strong drink of every kind?  Because the effect of this poison is to deaden our minds to kind and gracious behavior and turn us instead into a brawling, fighting fool.  The wise man would avoid these things altogether.

The Christian community has those who want to preserve our ability to have a glass of wine or a social drink.  They state that they have freedom in Christ to do so.  While I cannot categorically say that all alcohol is utterly forbidden by Scripture, I can say that the wise person would stay away from it.  I will give a couple of reasons for this.  First - to drink is to place yourself in a situation where it is far more possible to sin by becoming drunk.  Considering what the law considers drunken driving, the amount which a person can drink before they are considered drunk is minimal.  Why put yourself in that kind of jeopardy when there are plenty of beverages that pose no danger whatsoever?  Second - outside of a glass of wine with a meal at home - the usual places where drinking takes place also include a hedonistic lifestyle as well.  Bars, last time I checked, have not been traditional centers of godliness and holy living.  Why endanger your witness and testimony by drinking in these places?  Why endanger your heart by placing yourself in such places where far more than drunkenness is the possibility? 

This verse deals with being intoxicated and therefore deceived by wine and strong drink.  If you get the drift of the writer of Proverbs - the wise man would avoid these things altogether.  This should even more be the case in our day when the ability to purify water has led to a multitude of drinking options that do not have the danger of alcohol in them.  Truly - the wise man - just stays away from this.  You would be wise to do the same.