Bible Synapse
Is wine a blessing or a danger?
Hard question · Psalms, wisdom and the prophets · raised by 2 of the lists sceptics circulate
See the passages joined in the interactive mapThe passages
God gives food from the earth, “wine that maketh glad the heart of man”, oil and bread.
He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth; And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.
Paul tells Timothy to drink no longer only water but to use a little wine for his stomach.
Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.
“Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging”; whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
Those who linger long over wine have woe, wounds and confusion, and wake only to seek it again.
Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. …
Kings should not drink wine lest they forget the law; strong drink is for those who are perishing.
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. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
“Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit”.
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
The objection
Psalm 104 praises God for “wine that maketh glad the heart of man”, Paul tells Timothy to take a little wine (1 Timothy 5:23), and Proverbs even says, “Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish” (Proverbs 31:6). Yet Proverbs also says “Wine is a mocker” and warns, “Look not thou upon the wine when it is red” (Proverbs 20:1; 23:31).
The answer
The Bible treats wine as a good gift that is easily abused, and both sets of verses say so. Psalm 104 lists wine among God’s gifts alongside bread and oil, and Jesus himself made wine at the wedding at Cana (John 2:1–11). Paul’s advice to Timothy is medical and measured: “a little wine” (1 Timothy 5:23).
The warnings in Proverbs are aimed at drunkenness: Proverbs 20:1 condemns “whosoever is deceived thereby”, the one whom drink leads astray. Proverbs 23:29–35 describes “they that tarry long at the wine”, with their wounds, confusion and craving for more, and its command not to gaze at the wine as it sparkles in the cup is addressed to such people. Proverbs 31:4–7 sets two cases side by side: kings must not drink, lest they forget the law and pervert justice, but should give strong drink to the dying and wine to the heavy-hearted, to relieve their misery. As Matthew Henry and Gill read it, that is a call to mercy, not to drunkenness. Wine used with thanks and restraint is approved; what is condemned is drunkenness, as Paul says: “be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess” (Ephesians 5:18).
Other answers Christians give
Abstaining by choice
Many Christians choose not to drink at all, out of caution or out of love for others who might stumble (Romans 14:21). Scripture leaves that to conscience: it commends restraint without forbidding wine outright.
Two kinds of wine
Some Christians have argued that the wine the Bible approves was unfermented grape juice, and the wine it condemns was fermented. Most scholars think the Hebrew yayin and the Greek oinos normally mean fermented wine, which is why the warnings against drunkenness are needed.
From the classic commentators
Wine deceives a man; it not only overcomes him before he is aware, but it promises him a pleasure which it does not give; but, on the contrary, excessive drinking gives him pain, and so mocks himJohn Gill, Exposition of the Bible, on Proverbs 20:1
Sources
- John Gill, Exposition of the Bible: Proverbs 20, at Bible Hub
- John Gill, Exposition of the Bible: 1 Timothy 5, at Bible Hub
- Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible: Proverbs 23 (HelloAO)
- Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible: Proverbs 31, at Bible Hub
- John Gill, Exposition of the Bible: Proverbs 31, at Bible Hub