Thanks for joining us to discuss biblical teachings on wine and other alcoholic beverages. The first time I became aware of alcohol was at age four. My father had inherited Kahn’s Market from his father, a meat-and-liquor store in South Boston, which was then predominantly Irish.
My family lived in Needham, a Boston suburb, and among my earliest memories are of the time after preschool, when my mother would take me to her job at the family market. I remember sitting on the long, wide counter, chatting with the customers, mostly disheveled-looking working men who smelled of alcohol. At closing, the “paddy wagon” would pick up the drunks outside the store. My dad sold the market after my mother was held up at gunpoint. Fortunately, I was not there, but I heard about it at supper.
Hence, drinking turned me off until I discovered Kahlua and cream at age 15. My best friend and I dressed up to look “mature,” took the trolley to Boston’s Kenmore Square, and were served at the bars without any questions. Then, the drinking age was 21, but it was lowered to 18 when I was 18 because of the Vietnam-era slogan, “old enough to fight, old enough to drink.”
I won’t belabor my high school toilet-hugging experiences with Boone’s Farm Apple wine, but I still can’t drink sweet wine. Enough about my inglorious drinking history!
Perhaps God created fermented drinks to offer humankind a way to relax and celebrate, easing the drudgery and hardship of everyday life. The Bible never says alcohol itself is wrong, but it warns that excessive drinking can lead to regrettable behaviors with lasting consequences. Overindulgence emboldens people to be less modest and to engage in or justify risky activities, which can be life-changing or even deadly.
Now let’s read about the first man in the Bible who got drunk:
“Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent” (Genesis 9:20-21).
Surely, we can sympathize with Noah for getting drunk and passing out naked after the stress of building a massive ark with God as his architect and project manager. Noah spent 40 days tossed about on rising water in his floating zoo, but then had to stay aboard for a year until the earth dried out.
The next drunken biblical incident was more sinful. We learn that drunkenness is a state in which people with agendas can take advantage of you.
In Genesis 19, after Lot and his two daughters escaped the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, they lived in a cave with their father. Unfortunately, their mother disobeyed the Lord by looking back at the carnage and was turned into a pillar of salt. So, the two motherless young ladies took matters into their own hands on two successive evenings:
“One day the older daughter said to the younger, ‘Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father’” (Genesis 19:31-32). The Bible says that Lot “was not aware” of both these encounters.
Next, a Psalm verse praises God, describing some of His creations, proving how He cares for humankind:
“You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart” (Psalm 104:14-15).
Yes, “wine does gladden the heart of man,” but:
“Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise” (Proverbs 20:1). And this:
“Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags” (Proverbs 23:20-21). At four, I observed the wisdom of that proverb!
Isaiah weighed in with a wine warning:
“Woe to those who rise early in the morning to run after their drinks, who stay up late at night till they are inflamed with wine” (Isaiah 5:11).
Our last Old Testament verse about alcohol morphed into the common saying “eat, drink, and be merry,” which sounds more like Shakespeare, but reads in full:
“Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do” (Ecclesiastes 9:7).
In the New Testament, we begin with John the Baptist. Before he was born, the angel Gabriel told his father, Zechariah, that John could never drink alcohol because he had a very important mission. Therefore, he needed to abstain from earthly pleasures and live a life of self-discipline:
“He [John] will be a joy and delight to you [Zechariah], and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. … he will make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:11-17).
Today, some Baptists and evangelical Christians abstain from alcohol because of John the Baptist’s example. However, Jesus’s first miracle was turning water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana. (See Vol. 87 for why it was Jesus’s first miracle.)
Luke records Jesus saying He drinks wine, contrasted with John the Baptist:
“For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by all her children” (Luke 7:33-35). Jesus explains that wise people can see that both His and John the Baptist’s ministries were godly.
Most famously, at the Last Supper, Jesus blessed a cup of wine:
“In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you’” (Luke 22:20). Tied to his first miracle, water to wine – wine to blood. Again, see Vol. 87.)
On the cross: “Then they offered Him wine mixed with myrrh, but He did not take it” (Mark 15:23-24).
I conclude with my favorite Bible character, Melchizedek, whom I believe is the prefiguration of Christ in Genesis, and why He was the subject of my first Bible study.
“Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High.” (Genesis 14:18-20).
Bringing “out bread and wine” is Melchizedek’s significant introduction and connects with the bread and wine that Jesus offers as His body and blood at the Last Supper.
In the Bible, wine has played a pivotal role, but alcoholic drinks are complicated. It is up to humans to control their intake. Yet, since God invented fermented drinks, they are part of His blessing upon humankind. Amen to that!
Myra Kahn Adams is a conservative political and religious writer. Her book “Bible Study For Those Who Don’t Read The Bible“ reprints the first 56 volumes of this popular study. “Part 2,” reprints Vols. 57 –113. Order it here.
Myra is also the Executive Director of the National Shroud of Turin Exhibit. You can help support our six-month exhibit at the Basilica in Orlando, Florida. Read more here. Contact: Myraadams01@gmail.com
This article was originally posted at Townhall.com.
