Part 1: Introductory Comments
Part 2: Sola Scriptura and the SBC
Part 3: What Does Scripture Say?
In the last installment of this series, I established the fact that wine and strong drink are a good gift from the Lord that should be received as such with gratitude and joy, as should all gifts from God's hand. Now I want to turn to the issue of abstinence according to Scripture. Does Scripture ever call for abstinence, and if so, under what circumstances and for what purpose?
Scripture really has little to say about abstinence. There are a few instances where abstinence is prescribed or described. When the account is prescriptive, it is always for a time and purpose. Only Samson and John the Baptist were called to a life-long Nazarite vow, which included abstinence from wine and strong drink.
In Leviticus 10, Aaron and his sons are commanded not to drink wine or strong drink when they were to minister in the tabernacle. The purpose was to set them apart as holy from that which was unholy, common. Ezekiel 44 contains a similar command.
Numbers 6 introduces the Nazarite vow. The Nazarite was forbidden to cut his hair. He could not go near dead bodies, including family members, should they die during the days of his separation. He was to “abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes. All the days of his separation he shall not eat anything that is produced by the grape vine, from the seeds even to the skin.” When the days of his separation were complete, he was to bring the prescribed offerings to the priest and shave his “dedicated hair.” “. . . and after that, the Nazarite may drink wine.”
In Judges 13, the angel of the Lord announces to Manoah and his wife that she, although barren, would conceive and bear a son, Samson, who would be a Nazarite from the womb, necessitating temporary abstinence for Mrs. Manoah as well.
Jeremiah 35 brings us the interesting story of the Rechabites, who had been commanded by Jonadab the son of Rechab “Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever: Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers.” The Lord instructs Jeremiah to bring the sons of the house of the Rechabites together, set wine before them, and instruct them to drink. In obedience to the patriarchal command, the Rechabites refuse. God then commends them for their obedience, and chastises Israel for their disobedience to him. It is a fascinating account of God and his holiness and justice and of disobedience and its consequences, but it has nothing to do with abstinence from alcohol. Obedience is the theme.
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah requested that they be allowed to forgo the king’s meat and wine because “the heathen at their feasts offered up in sacrifice to their gods a part of the food and the drink, and thus consecrated their meals by a religious rite;” (C.F. Keil). It has only now occurred to me that they probably ate meat and drank wine at other times, but I have not yet pursued the answer to that question. Daniel 10 tells us, “In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled” (emphasis added). Did he then eat meat and drink wine afterwards? It seems probable.
In Luke 1 we read the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist to Zacharias and Elisabeth. The angel said, “For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.” Like Samson, his was a special calling to be set apart for a unique purpose.
It may seem as though these special cases, because they are special cases, have no bearing at all on what the norm should be. However, I believe they are especially relevant to us for that very reason. These individuals were being set apart for special purposes. Set apart from what? From the normal, acceptable, expected behavior and practices of everyday life, which include wine and strong drink.
“Well then, Mr. Winebibber,” you might ask, “is there ever a time to abstain?”
Stay tuned . . .
Part 5: To Abstain or not to Abstain
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8 Comments:
#1 || 06·07·27··21:55 || Completious Abstentor
Well David, at least we are getting a good walk thru the Bible on the matters of wine use.
Perhaps you could address the historical abstinence of certain Baptist types compared to the moderate proponents of reformism.
Also, does the use of alcohol have any corrolation on mainline churches and their fondness of liberalism compared to the fundamentalism of the neo-conservative groups?
#2 || 06·07·28··07:04 || Kristina
I must say, this is quite an interesting read, David.
#3 || 06·07·29··02:36 || Bob Hayton
Thanks for tackling this difficult subject. I thought your argument concerning the examples of abstinence as pointing to the general normalcy of partaking of wine and strong drink was very good. I had not considered that before.
I understand how many still hang on to the "abstinence is better" position. In fact, my pastor, John Piper, holds that position. Yet from my own study and thought on the topic, I have begun drinking. God is my witness that I had not considered drinking or had any desire to drink. I was not trying to find an excuse to drink. No, I was convicted that the Bible teaches that wine, and specifically its intoxicating effect, is a good gift of God. Since it is, I believe it would be wrong for me to snub my nose at it. Abstaining from what God has granted as a blessing does not seem to be the most God glorifying position to me. Rather I have determined to moderately use and enjoy wine and alcohol in thankfulness to God for His good gift. And along the way, I will be modelling the temperate use of alcohol to my children.
Thanks again for the posts, and I am looking forward to future installments. If anyone wants to read my post where I explained my newfound position, they can click on its title: "'Wine to Gladden the Heart of Man': Thoughts on God's Good Gift of Wine".
God Bless!
#4 || 06·07·29··06:06 || centuri0n
David --
Brilliant stuff. Foundational for the discussion.
One of the things I constantly pick up in reading people who think abstinence is the only biblical choice is that they see everything else as drunkeness, which is at face value ridiculous. But the other thing that I find somewhat interesting is that some people think the argument that drinking can be normal and non-destructive is an advocation of always drinking.
I would agree with the position mentioned here by Bob Hayton that "abstinence is better", but better for what, and when? For example, abstinence is better when you are driving a car; abstinence is better when you suddenly find yourself in conflict with your spouse; abstinence is better when you are composing arguments on your blog.
But when the Bible says that wine is given to men to "gladden the heart", I think it's transparent that moderate use of the brew is certainly viable and agreeable. Much is made of the "medical" use of alcohol in the Bible -- as if all the benefits of a glass of wine a day can be summed up in the purification of water. What about lowering blood pressure? What about enjoying a "gladdened heart"?
Anyway, I appreciate your thoughts on this. Good stuff.
#5 || 06·07·29··10:12 || David
Frank,
Thanks, and thank you for your recent posts on this subject, as well. Some of your points will be making their way into a future post here.
#6 || 06·07·29··10:35 || David
Bob,
Thanks for that link. As you know, I agree completely with your post. It makes my work seem quite unoriginal. But then, there really is nothing new under the sun.
#7 || 06·07·31··09:06 || Jonathan Moorhead
So David, does alcohol lead to theological liberalism or not?
;-)
#8 || 06·07·31··09:40 || David
Jonathan,
No - but you know that. I'll expand on that in my next post.
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