By HERB EVANS, Ltt.D.
157 PATTIES PLACE
PORTERSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA 16051
E-Mail: herbevans@juno.com
And he (Noah) drank of the WINE, and was DRUNKEN; and he was uncovered within his tent. -- Gen. 9:21
And the firstborn said unto the younger . . . Come, let us make our father DRINK WINE and we will lie with him (Lot) . . . And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him . . . And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. -- Gen. 19:30-38
And he (Jacob) brought . . . him (Isaac) WINE, and he drank. And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son . . . And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob . . . that Esau his brother came in . . . And he said, Thy brother came with subtlety, and hath taken away thy blessing. -- Gen. 27:25, 26, 30-35
. . . Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very DRUNKEN . . . when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died. -- 1 Sam. 25:36-38
And when David had called him (Uriah), he did eat and drink before him; and he MADE HIM DRUNK: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house. -- 2 Sam. 11:13
Absalom invited all the king's sons . . . Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon's heart is MERRY WITH WINE, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon; then kill him . . . -- 2 Sam. 13:23,28
And his (Asa) servant Zimri . . . conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, DRINKING HIMSELF DRUNK . . . And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him . . . -- 1 Ki. 16:8-10
Benhadad was DRINK HIMSELF DRUNK in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him. And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first . . . and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Benhadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen. And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter. -- 1 Ki. 20:16-21
And they gave them drink in vessels of gold . . . and royal wine in abundance . . . when the heart of the king was MERRY WITH WINE, he commanded . . . To bring Vashti the queen before the king . . . to show the people and the princes her beauty . . . But the queen Vashti refused to come . . . therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him . . . let it be written . . . That Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate unto another . . . Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him . . . let the maiden which pleaseth the kings be queen instead of Vashti. -- Esther 1:5-12; 19-22; 2:1-4
Thy (Job) sons and thy daughters . . . DRINKING WINE in their eldest brother's house: And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead . . . -- Job 1:18-19
Belshazzar the king . . . DRANK WINE before the thousand . . . Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone . . . In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. -- Dan. 5:1-4, 30
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. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again. -- Prov. 23:29-35
Wine will cause woe, sorrow, wounds without cause, contentions, babbling, perversion, immorality, and loss of mind or faculties. It will cause calamity, shame, failure, divorce, infidelity, health loss, and death, It will make a man an addictive slave to the TOXIN that intoxicates–-poison.
"A mortal drug, or a deadly drug, is poison." – Shakespeare
Abstinence and Grape Juice Examples
And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand. -- Gen. 40:11
Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: -- Lev. 10:9
And I have led you forty years in the wilderness . . . Ye have not eaten . . . drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the LORD your God . . . and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape [grape juice]. -- Deut. 29:5, 6; 32:14
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman (Manoah, Samson’s mother), and said unto her . . . drink not wine nor strong drink . . . --Judges 13:3, 4
I (Hannah) have drank neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD. --1 Sam. 1:15
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself . . . with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself . . . Thus Melzar took away . . . the wine that they should drink . . . -- Dan. 1:8, 16
. . . they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever . . . Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters . . . The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father's commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me. -- Jer. 35:5-14
For he (John the Baptist) shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither WINE nor STRONG DRINK . . . --Luke 1:15
A number of scriptures reflect total abstinence and drinking fresh grape juice. That they drank alcoholic wine in Bible times is freely admitted by Bible Christians. Noah did get drunk in his tent, and the scriptures are filled with cases of drunkenness. Still, social drinkers and unbelievers seem to have a problem with admitting that there were also total abstinence and grape juice drinking in Bible times.
Abstinence will prevent woe, sorrow, wounds without cause, contentions, babbling, perversion, immorality, and loss of mind or faculties. Abstinence will prevent calamity, shame, failure, divorce, infidelity, health loss, and death. Abstinence will not make a man an addictive slave to the TOXIN that intoxicates -- poison.
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