God’s Child and Alcohol (Part 2 of 3)

Do not be tricked; alcohol is not your friend!

May 21, 2021

"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging:  and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise."

Proverbs 20:1

Part 2

Yesterday:  Wine and Strong Drink are No One’s Friends
“Wine is a mocker.”
“Strong drink is raging.” (a)

“First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you”[1] (Benjamin Franklin).

 

Today:  The Foolishness of Being Deceived by Wine or Strong Drink

“Strong drink is raging.” (b)

“Is Raging”

Strong drink is a “brawler” (see Bullinger)[2].

“Raging — or boisterous as a drunkard”[3] (JFB).

“Raging – Makes men full of rage”[4] (John Wesley).

Have you ever seen a raging angry drunk?

“A brawler is loud and rowdy (7:11; 9:13).  To “go astray” is literally to “wander” into something (19:27) and “get lost” in it (5:19–20, 23).[5]

And so goes the life of the drunk.

 

“And whosoever is deceived thereby.”
Interesting thought, “whosoever is deceived thereby,” that is, they are misled by wine or strong drink or both.  Give some serious thought to this: the Bible says that people can be duped by alcohol.  Do you think that is a problem with the people where you live?  How many times have you heard someone say, “I can control my alcohol…. I can stop drinking any time I want”?  Oh really?  Okay, let’s see – never take another drink, starting now!  Usually, at this point in the conversation, the drinkers will say, “I can control it. I just don’t want to right now.”  Have you heard someone say, “I’ll quit after the next drink?”  But they mean after the next one and the next one.  For the drunk, there is always “one more drink.”  If you love to drink, think about Isaiah’s words,

Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink.  That continue until night, till wine inflame them!”[6] (Isaiah 5:11).

Maybe you don’t get up in the morning and look for a drink, but is alcohol what you look for after a hard day at work, or when there are problems in your life?  Do you sit up late at night drinking?  Remember, Isaiah said God’s “woe” is upon the drunk.  Is alcohol a liar?  Does it fool people into drinking more and more?  Yes!

The only sure way to control alcohol is to never take the first drink!

 

“Is not wise.”
“Wise” in this verse means, “to be or become wise, act wisely … to make wise … to be made wise.”  But we need to pay attention to the fact that “wine and strong drink” have the opposite effect on those who drink it.  The person who drinks “is not wise.”

Please note this, my friend, it is God our Maker who says that anyone who is deceived by alcohol “is not wise.”  The person without God’s wisdom is a “fool.”  And it is foolish to be tripped up by alcohol.  Why?

Are you a leader of people?  Are you involved in governing people?  Wine and Strong drinks are not wise for kings and princes…

“It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted” (Proverbs 31:4-5).

Could it be that those who rule over us “forget the law” and “pervert judgment” because of their love affair with alcohol?  How sad!

The Bible tells us of other people who should not be drinkers of alcohol, come back tomorrow and let’s learn more.

 

Quote:  “Alcohol [is] temporary fun with permanent consequences” [7] (Unknown).

 

 

 

[1] Franklin’s quote Downloaded: Friday, May 7, 2021.  From: https://drinkade.com/blogs/news/35-famous-drinking-quotes.  The emphasis is theirs.
[2] E.W. Bullinger, The Companion Bible, the electronic version in eSword.  Proverbs 20:1.
[3] JFB, Jamison, Fausset, and Brown.  Jamison-Fausset-Brown’s Commentary, the electronic version in eSword.  Proverbs 20:1.
[4] John Wesley.  John Wesley’s Notes on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.  Proverbs 20:1-4, Critical Notes.
[5] Stabnow, D. K. (2017).  Proverbs.  In E. A. Blum & T. Wax (Eds.), CSB Study Bible: Notes (p. 984).  Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009).  (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Is 5:11).  Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[7] Quote Downloaded: Saturday, May 8, 2021.  From: https://www.centralofsuccess.com/alcohol-quotes/.