Sun 9:30a Class; 10:30a Worship; 11:35a Communion
Bible Bites
To Booze or Not to Booze
Give strong drink to him who is perishing,
And wine to him whose life is bitter.
Let him drink and forget his poverty
And remember his trouble no more (Proverbs 31.6-7).
Given the Bible's consistent warnings against drunkenness and strong drink (see for example, Proverbs 20.1; 23.19-21, 29-35), these two verses are a shock. Solomon, who himself was no stranger to drinking (Ecclesiastes 2.3) concluded it was vain and pointless (Ecclesiastes 2.10f). So why does the enigmatic "King Lemuel" (Proverbs 31.1) appear to commend it?
The answer, as always, is in the context. A sitting king is being advised by his mother (the queen mother). She tells him what will preserve and strengthen his kingdom, both positively and negatively (v 2-9). Negatively, she warns against sex (v 3) and booze (v 4-7). Positively, she is concerned about the rights of the poor within his kingdom (v 8-9, also v 5b).
Her first bit of advice (v 3) is to avoid giving his strength to women. He shouldn't waste his time building up a harem. Solomon got into trouble that way. Solomon's father David also got into trouble because of women. From a king's vantage point, pursuing women instead of wisdom was to ask for trouble. This warning, however, is balanced by the beautiful poem that begins in v 10, which praises the virtuous women.
Her second bit of advice (v 4) is to avoid alcohol, especially strong drink. Why? Drunkenness leads to forgetfulness and oppression of the poor (v 5) — the very people the king is obligated to protect. Verses 6-7 should be viewed as sarcastic, especially in view of the two statements on either side promoting the king's role as protector (v 5b, 8-9). Mama Lemuel seems to be saying, that constant attention to alcohol (like constant attention to women, v 3) is not fit for a king. It's what one would expect with the poor and desperate. They have little else, so they drown their sorrows in booze (v 6-7).
This conclusion is reinforced by two successive verses (v 8-9) that positively describe the king's duties toward the people. By his word and decrees, he is to speak for those who have no voice (v 8a); to affirm the legal rights of all his subjects (v 8b); to judge righteously (v 9a); and especially to secure the rights of the lowest citizens. Mama Lemuel's implication is that alcohol affects the capacity to make such impartial judgments and to speak clearly and objectively for the rights of others.
Some might contend that this does not apply to them, inasmuch as they are not kings! But remember that the king was intended to be the embodiment of justice and righteousness (Psalm 45.4, 6-7). His character was intended to be exemplary for his subjects. The logic of the advice to Lemuel is from the greater to the lesser. If the king must refrain, so too must his subjects.
Kingly or not, it is always wise to avoid those things that impair your judgment.
