I am studying with a brother in Christ about alcoholic drinking. He is quite persistent in his assertion that moderate drinking is not only acceptable for a Christian but that it is beneficial. How would you approach Isaiah 25:6? His assertion is that this must be alcoholic wine and as a metaphor of the beauty and richness of God’s reward it implies that alcoholic wine is not inherently evil — and that God wouldn’t use something sinful to talk about something (probably the pure word of God under the New Covenant) good under the New Age. What do you think?<\/p>\n\t
“And in this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees<\/em>” (Isaiah 25:6).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The Hebrew word\u00a0shemer<\/em> refers to the dregs or lees when pressing grape juice. It is the small bits of solids from near the skins that make their way into the juice. If the lees are left in the juice for a period of time, the juice will take on a stronger, more robust flavor as the heavier lees slowly settle to the bottom. But if left too long, the lees contain the yeast that causes fermentation. Thus, one method for preserving grape juice was to refine or filter the juice with the lees to remove the dregs.<\/p>\n
The filtration method aims to separate the albumen of the grapes, a layer next to the skin and seeds, from the pulp of the grape. The albumen is where the gluten (or yeast) is naturally present in grape juice. Without gluten, fermentation could not take place. Plutarch, who lived between 46 and 120 A.D. said, “Wine is rendered feeble in strength when it is frequently filtered. The strength or spirit thus being excluded, the wine neither inflames the brain nor infests the mind and passions, and is much more pleasant to drink.” Pliny said, “The most useful wine was all its force or strength broken by the filter.” Notice that non-alcoholic beverages were valued more than the alcoholic variety.<\/p>\n
Notice that the beverage spoken of there was well-filtered or well-refined juice with the lees. Perhaps it can be argued that there are two types of\u00a0shemer\u00a0<\/em>being spoken of here: both the unfiltered and filtered variety.<\/p>\n
It is true, that in making fermented alcohol, the lees remain in the juice while the fermentation takes place. These wines have to be filtered before drinking. “If wine were simply left on the lees unfiltered, it would become thick and syrupy.” [The Complete Biblical Library<\/em>]. This is the imagery God used to describe Moab.<\/p>\n
““Moab has been at ease from his youth; he has settled on his dregs, and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into captivity. Therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent has not changed. Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “That I shall send him wine-workers who will tip him over and empty his vessels and break the bottles”<\/em>” (Jeremiah 48:11-12).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Moab was bottled grape juice that was never filtered. They never had real challenges to improve them and remove the dregs of their society; thus that society became useless.<\/p>\n
The same imagery is used against Jerusalem.<\/p>\n
“And it shall come to pass at that time that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and punish the men who are settled in complacency, who say in their heart, ‘The LORD will not do good, nor will He do evil.’ Therefore their goods shall become booty, and their houses a desolation; they shall build houses, but not inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards, but not drink their wine.<\/em>” (Zephaniah 1:12).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
“Settled in complacency” translates the same word,\u00a0shemer<\/em>. Again, we find it used in a negative sense because the juice was never filtered and the result was unusable.<\/p>\n
“For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is fully mixed, and He pours it out; surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth drain and drink down<\/em>” (Psalms 75:8).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Once again\u00a0shemer<\/em> is used in a negative sense. The wicked will drink an intoxicating beverage that is foaming (red) and mixed with spices (drugs), and they will be forced to drink all of it, down to the unpalatable dregs. The description is that of the type of wine Israelites were told to avoid: “Those who linger long at the wine, those who go in search of mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly; at the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart will utter perverse things<\/em>” (Proverbs 23:30-33).<\/p>\n
Thus,\u00a0shemer\u00a0<\/em>tells us the physical state of the juice (it is pre-filtered), but it does not tell us whether the filtering takes place before or after the juice is fermented. We do know that unfiltered\u00a0shemer\u00a0<\/em>was viewed as something bad after it was left for a while. It was only good after being filtered or drank immediately before it began to change.<\/p>\n
The false assumption is that a good-tasting beverage must be alcoholic. No such assumption is required by Isaiah 25:6.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: I am studying with a brother in Christ about alcoholic drinking. He is quite persistent in his assertion that moderate drinking is not only acceptable for a Christian but that it is beneficial. How would you approach Isaiah 25:6? His assertion is that this must be alcoholic wine and as a metaphor of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[371],"class_list":["post-42937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-alcohol"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":55927,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-gospel-sanction-the-use-of-beverage-alcohol-in-different-countries-according-to-local-customs\/","url_meta":{"origin":42937,"position":0},"title":"Does the Gospel Sanction the Use of Beverage Alcohol in Different Countries According to Local Customs?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 18, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jim E. Waldron In our approach to the word of God, we must not assume that modern definitions of words are those which are found in the word of God. Words in the Scriptures must be used in the context in which they were used at the time they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1670,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-wrong-with-drinking-so-long-as-it-is-done-in-moderation\/","url_meta":{"origin":42937,"position":1},"title":"What is wrong with drinking, so long as it is done in moderation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 4, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What's wrong with drinking, so long as it is done in moderation? After all Jesus turned water into wine in John 2. The disciples were accused of being drunk in Acts 2, so alcohol must have been in use. Older women were only told not to be given to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2598,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-the-bible-indicate-that-god-accepts-alcohol\/","url_meta":{"origin":42937,"position":2},"title":"Doesn’t the Bible indicate that God accepts alcohol?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 26, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Doesn't the Scriptures say that God accepts alcohol? It was used for blessings (Genesis 14:18;\u00a027:28;\u00a0Proverbs 3:10). He gave permission to use strong drink (Deuteronomy 14:26). It was used in the drink offering (Exodus 29:41). God made the grape, which would make the wine, which makes man's hearts glad (Psalm\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23592,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-have-sources-showing-that-oinos-and-yayin-can-mean-both-fermented-and-unfermented-drinks\/","url_meta":{"origin":42937,"position":3},"title":"Do you have sources showing that oinos and yayin can mean both fermented and unfermented drinks?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 24, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Our Baptist church is considering the elimination of the statement in the church covenant that states, \u201cdo not use or sell any alcoholic beverage\u201d. Obviously, this is to condone moderate drinking.\u00a0 The basis for this is Romans 14:21.\u00a0 The pastor has a lexicon that shows all wine as written\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20648,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-jesus-make-alcoholic-wine\/","url_meta":{"origin":42937,"position":4},"title":"Did Jesus Make Alcoholic Wine?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 3, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Greg Gwin It is discouraging, even disgusting, to hear some brethren continue to use the same old, worn-out arguments to defend \u201csocial drinking.\u201d Is it not clear that their stubborn adherence to these discredited \u201cproofs\u201d is evidence of a rebellious heart? For what it\u2019s worth, let\u2019s cover one of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/IMG014-300x197.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8408,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-blessing-of-wine-outweigh-its-dangers\/","url_meta":{"origin":42937,"position":5},"title":"Does the blessing of wine outweigh its dangers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 9, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Generally, the Bible condemns drunkenness (in a variety of places) but nowhere condemns wine or alcoholic beverages in total. In fact, the mild exhilaration that comes from moderate imbibing of wine is seen as a blessing of God in several Old Testament passages. Health advisor says alcohol impairs the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42937\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}